Almost exactly one year after my winter hike in Zermatt, I went here again, this time for skiing. Epic views of the Matterhorn and over 360 kilometers of pistes of all levels make Zermatt the perfect place for all keen skiers, from beginners to advanced.
How to get to Zermatt
By car: Zermatt is a car-free village. You arrive in Täsch (Bahnhofstrasse 1, 3929 Täsch), where there is a large car park by the train station. Then you must take the shuttle train from Täsch to Zermatt. It runs every 20 minutes and takes about 12 minutes. You need a train ticket for this.
By public transport: Wherever you’re coming from, Visp will be your main transfer point, where the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn trains to Zermatt leave from. The ride from Visp takes an hour. As you can see from the photos, my friend and I also headed to Zermatt by train. No need to worry when traveling by train with your ski equipment – there are particular spots on the trains for your skis.
Where to keep your things when you arrive by train?
I’m sure you’re wondering where we put our stuff (i.e., ski packs, boots we arrived in when we changed into ski boots, etc.). At most Swiss train stations, you’ll find luggage storage (look for the suitcase icon) in lockers like the one pictured. In Zermatt, it’s located on the first underground level, and you’ll find lockers of several sizes (even ones that can fit skis). Some of the lockers here are more modern (like the ones in the picture) and you can pay by card, some are older types where you can only pay with cash. We paid 7 francs for our locker.
Prices of ski passes
The 2023/24 winter season started on 1 November 2023 (opening of Sunnegga/Rothorn and Gornergrat: 2 December 2023) and ends on 1 May 2024 (closing of Sunnegga/Rothorn and Gornergrat: 21 April 2024).
If you book your ski pass online in advance, you can benefit from their slightly lower price. We bought a day pass on the spot, which cost 102 francs + 5 francs depot (so don’t forget to return the ski pass when you get down!). If you have a Swiss Pass card, you can load the ski pass directly onto it. Our ski pass only included the ski area on the Swiss side (see map below).
Children under nine ski for free, and children under 16 ski for half price. Young adults up to 19 years old also get a 25% discount.
Ski slopes in Zermatt
As you can see, the whole resort is vast when you add the Italian part of the slopes. If you wanted to ski the entire area, you’d need at least two days.
Since we only bought a ski pass for Switzerland (see above), our skiing area was reduced but still remained relatively large. It got a little smaller when we discovered that the lifts in the purple box (otherwise a glacier area where you can ski in summer) were not running due to high winds.
Gornergrat and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
Zermatt’s most famous tourist destinations are undoubtedly the Gornergratt cog railway and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Both are included in the price of the ski pass! As I wrote before, the area where Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is located was closed to skiers, and we didn’t have enough time to take off our skis, leave them at the intermediate Trockener Steg, and head up as tourists. So we’ll have to save our visit to the world’s highest glacier palace for next time.
Skiing in Zermatt with kids
Zermatt is a very family-friendly ski resort. The children’s ski area at the Leisee Wolli-park for beginners is easily accessible by the Sunnega “metro”. Another area for children is Riffelberg.
Zermatt for gourmets
Almost every lift station has a mountain restaurant. We chose the Riffelberg mountain restaurant for our lunch.
Zermatt for “Photo-spots” hunters
What would a visit to Zermatt be without a photo of the iconic Matterhorn? Since we had roller coaster weather while we were skiing, we didn’t always manage to capture the Matterhorn perfectly. In addition to the Rothorn station, you can also find the red photo spot of the Grand Tour of Switzerland at the top of Gornergrat.
My impressions
Skiing in Zermatt, in fact, all activities in Zermatt if the weather cooperates, is an experience. But what impressed me the most (perhaps more than the view of the notorious Matterhorn) was the view of the glaciers. This view of Findelgletscher, for example, was absolutely breathtaking.
PS: don’t forget that you can also find a short video of our skiing on my Instagram!
