As a child, I spent many enjoyable winters skiing in Switzerland with my Swiss family. This Christmas, my brother Guy and I had an opportunity to go back and spend a few days with my eldest brother Alan and his family in Zermatt. We went by car - an unfortunate decision!
On the day after Boxing Day we set off for Dover in Guy’s utterly unreliable 15-year-old Jaguar XJS. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Calais, the Jag finally conked out and had it not been for Christophe from SARL Depannage, our trip would have ended there.
With the Jag off for repairs, we continued our journey in a plucky fuel-guzzling Opel Meriva. 7 ½ hours later we arrived in Tasch and caught the last train (by the skin of our teeth) to the picturesque car-free village of Zermatt, which lies at the foot of the iconic Matterhorn.
Day 1 started refreshingly well with barely any queuing at the Schwarzsee Bubble Lift, and although it was bitterly nippy (just below freezing in the village) the sun was out. A second chair lift took us almost to the top of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, and from here you have a choice of fast red runs that take you all the way to the village, as well as a rather zippy black run that follows the summer downhill mountain bike route.
We then travelled back up and over the top of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise into Cervinia, the Italian side of the mountain. Due to recent snow falls and the fact the Italian side is more sheltered from the wind, we were able to find a few stashes of new powder and had a great afternoon making fresh tracks in the sunshine.
The following day we were again blessed with sunshine, despite freezing temperatures, and spent our time on the two other sections of the Zermatt ski area. Originally, the mountain’s lift system was owned by three different companies so the lifts are not as well connected as they could be. The Gornergrat section is the most beginner-friendly area on the mountain and the restaurants around the Riffelberg also serve the best Rosti and Bratwurst.
In the afternoon we raced around the Rothorn ski area, which gets the most sun and has some of my favourite runs through the trees in Zermatt. Again with a little searching and walking we managed to find the odd slope of untouched powder, which nicely rounded off a thoroughly enjoyable two days of hard skiing.
At 6am on the morning of New Year’s Eve, we headed for home in our gutsy Opel Meriva – only to come unstuck when we tried to cross the Jura Mountains in a snowstorm. It was a step too far for the Meriva (which didn’t have any snow tyres or chains) and the only way to get back to Lausanne was to deflate the tyres for extra traction and drive on at a snail’s pace, munching Skittles to keep us alert.
The only way back to Calais was to take the long-winded route to via Geneva. Unfortunately, all these delays meant that I welcomed in the New Year on the Northern line on London’s underground with nothing but my ski gear and some flamboyantly dressed students for company. Lesson learnt: fly next time.
By Christopher Fischer
Go further: You should also consider taking the traing the next time you go skiing. Especially now that Momondo now also searches for the best offers on trains.
Find out more about Zermatt and other places to spend Christmas in the Alps here.
