Swiss Alps and the Matterhorn

Skiing at Matterhorn Paradise Ski Resort

Skiing in the Swiss Alps was a bucket list item for us, and it truly couldn't have gone better. The research I had done in advance made for as smooth a trip as possible, without personal experience. I couldn't find any blogs written with the level of detail I wanted, so I hope I can provide one for you. There were key tips I wish I had known in advance, even if we did manage to enjoy the trip. I was glad to have booked our ski passes in advance, and we saved money by also paying for the ski rentals in advance. I will explain how to do all that, but below are some essential tips you should know about skiing at Matterhorn Paradise.

Matterhorn Paradise, Zermatt - Skiing to Cervinia in Italy

Essential Tips

• There are a lot of flat areas where you need to build up speed to avoid a lot of poling or skating.

To connect from one area to another in this massive resort, there are a lot of flat areas that require you to propel yourself. We had a guide the first day, which helped, because he would let us know when to speed up before a flat spot. After one day with the guide, we learned how to spot these for ourselves (hint - seeing lots of people stryggling ahead). It's probably not the best ski area for young kids or snowboarders for this reason. I can't even imagine trying this with a child that might fall and then have to struggle the whole way, or worse yet, expect me to pull them along.

• When they tell you it's going to snow, that's not necessarily a good thing, because then there is limited visibility.

The hotel staff told us it was going to snow the first few days we were there, and they acted like this was a bad thing. Coming from New England, we were pretty psyched, wondering why they weren't thrilled. Oops. Sometimes the visibility was less than 50 feet. Definitely no Matterhorn views on those days. We still skiied, but very carefully! Also, many lifts and trails were closed due to avalanche risk on those days. Crossing to Italy was not possible. If you are in town for more days than you will be skiing, you might want to consider spacing the ski days out, to let any possible weather pattern pass, giving you at least one day with a view. For example, if you arrive on Monday and leave Friday, maybe ski Tuesday and Thursday, hoping that at least one of those days will be clear.

• You must download the app "SkiGuide Zermatt" on your phone, to help you navigate trails and find lunch spots. It's essential, as the trails are not well marked compared to resorts in the USA.

Not sure why the guide didn't tell us this on the first day (I think he wanted us to continue to need him!) but this guide is AMAZING. You can see yourself on the map, which really helps, especially with the lunch spots. Once we heard about this app, we realized we would never need a guide again. It's fantastic.

• Lifts and trails close throughout the day; the app is the only way to know about these changes.

Did I mention how much we loved that app? It's important to check your planned route regularly because you could get stuck. That happened to us because we didn't check. It wasn't too bad because we can out at a hotel (Cervo), and were able to get a taxi in about 30 minutes (we weren't the only ones - there was quite a line for the cabs).

• Given the above tip, it's essential only to ski to Italy on a nice day, because if they close the lifts due to wind or precipitation, you will get stuck.

I don't know how you would get back to Zermatt if you got stuck in Italy. The guide said that it does happen, and people can pay to somehow be helped back again, potentially by helicopter. That was definitely not in the budget. We made sure to head back around 2:00 p.m. to give a full hour in case of an unexpected delay.

• It's really nice to stay very close to the slopes or with a hotel that offers a shuttle.

Walking through Zermatt in ski boots isn't fun. You'd be mad to try it with young children. We stayed at the Hotel Matterhorn Focus, which was the closest hotel to the Furi gondola and cable car. You could also easily walk from the Cervo Mountain Resort, closest to the Sunnegga lift.

• Lunch reservations are essential in busy seasons on the ski mountain.

We were there between Christmas and New Years (St. Sylvester's Day). There was no place to sit and have a meal indoors without a reservation for lunch on the mountain. You could get cheese fondue or a hot dog without a reservation outdoors at the igloo bar area, but the area was very small and had few tables.

• Taking the train up once with your ski equipment is pretty fun if you're not pressed for time.

We ended up taking a wrong turn on the slopes, and ended up where there was no lift back up. Luckily we were at a train station, and our ski pass covered the far to take the train up to Gornergrat. It was a happy accident. We all enjoyed the short rest and the views. This is something tourists do all the time, but not with skis! No reservation and a train comes by at least every 30 minutes. We were lucky and happened to arrive within 10 minutes of the next train.

• Paper maps get wet and disintegrate, and sometimes you don't want to take your hand out to use your phone app. Splurge and buy a map printed on a microfiber cloth (used to clean your goggles) in one of the tourist shops in town for about $12 USD.