When it comes to snow sure, Zermatt has built a reputation on it. Operating the highest ski lifts in Europe, and one of only two resorts in the world that endeavours open its ski slopes 365 days a year (weather permitting).
It’s where the world’s great ski racers go to train in the summer months when the ski slopes of the Klein Matterhorn high above the stunning, pedestrianised alpine village of Zermatt itself are still open for skiing and boarding when 99.9% of the rest of Europe’s ski slopes have closed.
By early December its huge Matterhorn ski paradise ski region which straddles the Italian border, often has the most terrain open in Europe at that early point of the season, and you can ski over into Italy for a proper pizza or just a fabulous espresso before heading back around the mountain to picturesque Zermatt with kits great shopping, dining and apres ski scene.
Everything about Zermatt is dominated by the magnificent Matterhorn. It seems to hang magnificently and majestically in the air above the resort, but surreal and sublime at the same time and definitely one of the great ‘must sees’ in world skiing.
It’s worth noting that Zermatt’s skiing is not only reliable but it’s quick and easy to access. The resort has invested vast amounts in the latest fast, comfortable ski lifts which whisk you up to the top of its magnificent slopes in minutes.
All this tech, speed and comfort do not come cheap alas, the lift tickets here are believed to be the most expensive for adults (although conversely among the cheapest for teens who pay half price to age 16 and then save 15% until 20, while children ski completely free up to age nine).
Of course, even here, we are not completely immune to the climate emergency. The year-round opening was broken for about seven weeks in August and September last year when the hot summer of 2022 thawed so much snow from the glacial ice that operations had to cease – a scenario considered impossible only a few years earlier.
Thankfully though that wasn’t repeated in 2023, with snow farming techniques starting to be used on the glacier. But it just goes to show that sadly there’s nowhere truly snow sure anymore, albeit we are talking in mid-summer-skiing for Zermatt – it has never yet closed for lack of snow in winter. In fact, Switzerland’s brief pandemic closure in spring 2020 was the first time the lifts and runs had closed this century.
If you’re looking for unlimited trails in the snow, surrounded by breathtaking Alpine views, multiple 4,000m peaks, with pistes for every ability and taste and snow guaranteed any month of the year, Zermatt’s Matterhorn Ski Paradise, the highest ski area in Europe, is the place to head.
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