Zermatt Winter Week
Seven days on the Matterhorn, in a village with no cars in it.
Alpine & Skiing · 7 days · December to March
A full ski week in Zermatt, structured around the three sectors rather than the piste map: Sunnegga to warm up, Gornergrat for the long red runs and the view, and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise for the high days and the crossing into Cervinia. Two non-ski afternoons are in on purpose — this is a resort with a good reason to stop.
Day by day
- Day 1
Arrive by train
Into Täsch, the shuttle up, boots fitted before the shops close.
16:30Bahnhofstrasse and the Matterhorn view
The mountain is visible straight down the main street, which is the whole trick of the village layout.
Cars stop at Täsch; the shuttle train runs every twenty minutes and takes twelve.
- Day 2
Sunnegga to warm up
The easiest sector, and the one that faces the Matterhorn all day.
09:00Sunnegga and Rothorn
Legs on day one, sun all day, and the Matterhorn in front of you on every run.
The funicular from the village takes three minutes. Blues and easy reds, south-facing.
13:00Chez Vrony
Ski-in mountain lunch in the Findeln hamlet, and the reason people ski Sunnegga at all.
Book. It has been booked out for thirty years.
- Day 3
Gornergrat
The cog railway up, and the long runs back down.
08:30Gornergrat Bahn
Europe's highest open-air cog railway, and it does the climbing for you.
Sit on the right going up. Thirty-three minutes to 3,089 m.
09:30Gornergrat summit
Twenty-nine four-thousand-metre peaks and the Gorner glacier, from a platform you arrived at by train.
11:00Riffelberg to Zermatt
The long reds off Riffelberg run all the way to the village — roughly 1,500 m of descent in one go.
- Day 4
The high sector
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and lunch in Italy.
08:45Matterhorn Glacier Paradise
Glacier skiing with the Matterhorn's south face directly across from you.
3,883 m — the highest cable-car station in Europe. Go early; the altitude is noticeable and the afternoon light flattens.
11:15Glacier Palace ice cavern
Fifteen metres inside the glacier itself, and a reasonable way to sit out the worst of the altitude.
- Day 5
A day off the skis
Walk the winter trail, then the thermal baths.
10:00Riffelalp winter walking trail
Seventy kilometres of winter trails exist here and almost nobody on a ski holiday uses them.
Prepared and signposted; boots are enough, no equipment needed.
15:00Matterhorn Museum
The 1865 first ascent and the rope that broke on the way down, in the village where it happened.
- Day 6
Best of the mountain
Whichever sector has held the snow, plus a long lunch.
09:00Rothorn to Blauherd
North-facing and above 3,000 m, so it holds condition when the sunny side has gone heavy.
- Day 7
Out
One last look, then the train down the valley.
08:30Kirchbrücke
The bridge everyone photographs the mountain from, and it is on the way to the station.
Questions
- How long is the Zermatt Winter Week itinerary?
- The Zermatt Winter Week itinerary runs 7 days and covers 12 stops across Zermatt.
- When is the best time to do the Zermatt Winter Week itinerary?
- December to March is the best window for the Zermatt Winter Week itinerary.
- What happens on day one of the Zermatt Winter Week itinerary?
- Day one is arrive by train: Into Täsch, the shuttle up, boots fitted before the shops close.
Sources
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