ZERMATT

'Zermatt' (French: ''Praborgne'') is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
It is located at the northern base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking and predominantly Roman Catholic section of the canton. It is 62 km southeast of Gstaad, and only about 10 km from the border with Italy.
Zermatt has a permanent population of around 5,500 people, although the actual population varies considerably through the seasons as tourists come and go. The village is situated at the end of a north-facing valley, at an altitude of 1,620m (5,315ft). The valley is a dead end; although the border with Italy is close, it cannot be crossed by road, as it traverses a glacier at an altitude of over 3,000m.

Contents

Tourism

Transportation

Skiing

Sunnegga

Gornergrat

Klein Matterhorn / Schwarzsee

History of the lift system

Future developments

External links

Tourism

Zermatt is famed as a ski resort and as a tourist destination. Until the mid-19th century, it was predominantly an agricultural community — its name, as well as that of the Matterhorn itself, derives from the alpine meadows, or ''matten'', in the valley. In the German language, the town is "Zur Matte", or "in the meadow."
The town was "discovered" mid-century by British mountaineers, most notably Edward Whymper, whose conquest of the Matterhorn made the village famous worldwide.
Zermatt is a closed village, which means that non-Swiss nationals are not permitted to buy property within the area. Traditionally, May heralds the beginning of the construction season, and this contributes towards May being possibly the worst time to visit, as, during this month only, large trucks are permitted to trundle through the town, turning all of the roads into rivers of mud.
There are several distinct "suburbs" within Zermatt, and the largest of these organise summer street parties, where the local shops, restaurants and bars contribute towards large communal events. Notable parties include the Steinmatte (held in late August), and the Winkelmatten (held in September). Winkelmatten itself was once a separate small hamlet, but as Zermatt has grown it has become incorporated within the greater conurbation. This areas is rather hopefully marketed as the "Beverley Hills" of Zermatt, and a number of large (for Zermatt) residences have sprung up here recently.
As Zermatt attracts visitors nearly all year round, the tourist office works hard to make sure that events are scheduled all summer, and examples of this include celebrations for Swiss national day in August, and a music festival held in September.

Zermatt is a starting point for many hikes into the surrounding mountains, including the Haute Route that ultimately leads to Chamonix in France. A complex of cable cars and chair lifts carry skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer; the highest of them leads to the Klein Matterhorn at 3,883m, a small outcropping on the ridge between Breithorn and Matterhorn that offers spectacular views in all directions. It is possible to cross into Italy via the Cervinia cable car station. A spectacular rack railway line (the Gornergratbahn, the highest open-air railway in Europe) runs up to the summit of the Gornergrat at 3,089m (10,134 ft). Zermatt is also the western terminus for the Glacier Express rail service connecting to St. Moritz and the MGB (Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn).

Transportation

To prevent air pollution which could disfigure the town's lovely view of the Matterhorn, the entire town is a combustion-engine car-free zone. Electric vehicles are allowed for local commerces. The Cantonal police can issue a permit which allows residents to drive and park at the northern outskirts. Some emergency vehicles (firetrucks, ambulance,..) are also allowed to use combustion engines.
Most visitors reach Zermatt by cog railway train or taxi from the nearby town of Täsch. Trains also depart for Zermatt from farther down the valley at Visp and Brig, which are on the main Swiss rail network.

There are various passenger vehicles operating within Zermatt, from tiny electric shuttles provided by hotels to carry visitors from the main train station (or the taxi transfer point just outside town) to the hotel properties, to "electro" taxis operated by four major Zermatt families, and "electro" buses, which serve two routes: one between the major hotel areas and the stations of the various ski-lifts, and the other following a similar route but also serving the more rural "suburb" of Winkelmatten. Horse-drawn carriages can also be found; some are operated by hotels and others are available for hire. The town also has a heliport (ICAO: LSEZ) and a local helicopter operator, ''Air Zermatt'', which also provides alpine rescue services.

Skiing

Zermatt is well known throughout the world for its great skiing, especially Triftji for its moguls. The high altitude results in consistent skiing continuously up until the summer.
Skiing in Zermatt is split up into four distinct areas; Sunnegga, Gornegrat, Klein Matterhorn and Schwarzsee. There is also a connection to Cervinia and Valtournenche in Italy.
Trail Map.

Sunnegga

Main articles: Sunnegga Paradise ski area

The Sunnegga Paradise is accessed via a funicular railway, followed by a gondola to Blauherd and finally a cable car onwards to the Rothorn (3,103m) above. The unique topography of the mountain and the valley tends to keep the Rothorn clear and sunny, even when Zermatt itself is submerged in cloud.
From Blauherd there is a gondola down to Gant, and from here there is a large connecting cablecar up to Hohtälli. This cable car is currently the only connection between Sunnegga and Gornegrat.
With few steeper slopes, this mountain is often used to train younger skiers.

Gornergrat

The Gornegrat is served by a railway of the same name (Gornergratbahn) and, whilst picturesque, the journey is a very slow ride up to the Gornegrat peak (3,089m), via Riffelalp, Rotenboden and Riffelberg, (with limited stops at Findelbach and Landtunnel just above the town). At the summit, the hotel and restaurant have been completely refurbished, and there is a further cable car that seemingly heads more across than up to the Hohtälli (3,286m), where the Gant cable car connects the mountain to Sunnegga.
Two final cable cars head up to the Stockhorn (3,405m) and across to the Rote Nase (3,247m). These final two lifts serve a unique freeride area and can be unreliable as this mountainside requires high snow cover to be skiable. The lifts generally open for the season in late February or early March, depending upon the amount of accumulated snowfall. For the 2007 season, the Rote Nase opened on the 6th March, with the Stockhorn opening the 8th of March.
It is planned that the ancient Hohtälli to Gornegrat cablecar will permamently close at the end of the 2007 season, with no replacement lift planned. A new slope leading back from Hohtälli to Kellensee just under the Gornergrat will open for the winter of 2007 to maintain the link from the Rothorn to Gornegrat. In addition, to the dismay of locals, it is probable that the Stockhorn cable car will cease operation from May 2007.

Klein Matterhorn / Schwarzsee

Near the southern end of the Zermatt village, the Matterhorn Express gondola speeds passengers up to the interchange station at Furi. From here a there is access to the Schwarszee via a gondola to the right, a cable car that leads on to the Trockener Steg mid station (and then on to the Klein Matterhorn), and a brand new gondola, opened on the 18 December 2006, links Furi to Riffelberg on the Gornergrat mountain. This lift addresses one of the most persistent criticisms of Zermatt: that it is very difficult to ski the two sides of the valley without a tiresome trek through the village between the Gornergratbahn and the Matterhorn Express at opposite ends of the town.
Testa Grigia at the top of the Theodulpass servers as a connection to the Italian ski-resorts of Cervinia and Valtournenche. From the Swiss side it is only reachable by skilift, but from the Italian side by a chairlift and by a cablecar. There are customs offices here as well as a small alpine museum.
Zermatt is marketed as an all year skiing resort, with summer skiing limited to the Theodulgletscher behind the Klein Mattehorn. Whilst strictly true, during the off season in May and June there will only tend to be one or two runs open, and the main glacier area does not open until July.
In operation since 25 October 2003, the Furggsattel six-seater chairlift has twelve (of eighteen) masts that stand directly on the glacial ice of the Theodulgletscher - a first for Switzerland. It is one of very few lifts worldwide with bottom- and top-station in different countries: resp. Switzerland and Italy (EU).

History of the lift system

★ 1898 Start of summer operation of Gornergratbahn.

★ 1928 Gornergratbahn introduces a twice daily winter sports service to Riffelalp.

★ 1939 Development of Theodul area from Breuil Cervinia to Testa Grigia.

★ 1942 Zermatt-Sunnegga skilift (summer: foot lift, replaced by chairlift in 1967).

★ 1946 Weisti trainer skilift (moved to Riffelberg in 1969). Zermatt-Sunnegga sideways facing chairlift (replaced by funicular in 1980).

★ 1947 Sunnegga-Blauherd skilift (replaced by cable car in 1967).

★ 1955 Cableway Plan Maison-Furgghorn (discontinued 1955).

★ 1956 Suspension lift Gornergrat-Hohtälli (due to be discontinued in the summer of 2007). Skilift Riffelberg (replaced by chairlift 2003). Skilift Furi (discontinued 1960). Chairlift Findeln-Sunegga (due to be replaced in the summer of 2007).

★ 1957 Suspension lift Zermatt-Furi.

★ 1958 Suspension lift Hohtälli-Stockhorn (due to be discontinued in the summer of 2007). Furi-Schwarzsee suspension lift (replaced by cable car lift 2002).

★ 1960 Skilift Garten (discontinued 2003).

★ 1962 Suspension lift Furgg-Schwarzsee (replaced by group turnaround lift in 1991).

★ 1963 Skilift Hornli.

★ 1964 Suspension lift Furi-Furgg (replaced by Matterhorn Express in 2002). Theodullift (replaced by extension of Gandegglift 2003). Skilift Triftji-RoteNase

★ 1965 Furgg-Trockener Steg suspension lift. Skilift National (replaced by chairlift Patrullarve 1989).

★ 1967 Cable car lift Sunnegga-Blauherd (replaced by combi system in 2005). Suspension lift Blauherd-Rothorn (repplaced in 1996). Skilift Furgsattel (replaced by chairlift oin 2003). Skilift Eisfluh (replaced by chairlift 2001). Passlift (replaced by extension to Gandegglift 2003).

★ 1968 Platform skilift Kumme (replaced by chairlift 1982). Skilift Gandegg (extended and renewed in 2003).

★ 1971 Cablecar Gant-Blauherd. Skilift Gant-Platte (discontinued 2002). Skilift Riffelberg-Gifthittli (replaced by chairlift 2003). Skilift Test Grigia 1.

★ 1979 Suspensionlift Trockener Steg-Klein Matterhorn.

★ 1980 Funicular Zermatt-Sunnegga. Skilift Testa Grigia 2 (moved to Plateau Rosa 3 2005). Border skilift (Gobba di Rollin). Skilift Plateau Rosa 1.

★ 1982 Suspension lift Furi-Trockener Steg. Cable car Zermatt-Furi. Chairlift Kumme-Rothorn.

★ 1984 Joint skipass in Zermatt.

★ 1986 Suspension lift Hohtälli-Rote Nase.

★ 1989 Chairlift Patrullarve-Blauherd.

★ 1991 Chairlift Furgg-Sandiger Boden-Theodul Glacier. Skilift Plateau Rosa 2. Group turnaround lift Furgg-Schwazsee.

★ 1995 Joint skipass Zermatt-Cervinia.

★ 1996 Suspension lift Blauherd-Rothorn.

★ 1998 Suspension lift Gant-Hohtälli.

★ 1999 Electronic ticketing system introduced.

★ 2001 Chairlift Eisfluh-Sunnegga.

★ 2002 Merger of Zermatt Bergbahnen (saving the Sunnegga lift company from iminent bancruptcy). Cable car lifts Matterhorn Express (Zermatt-Furi-Schwarzsee).

★ 2003 Chairlift Furgsattel Gletcherbahn. Chairlift Gifthittli.

★ 2005 Combi system (car/chair) Sunnegga-Blauherd. Passenger lift funicular-Riedweg.

★ 2006 Suspension lift Furi-Schweigmatten-Riffelberg.

Future developments

The summer of 2007 will see a continuation of a major improvement programme, including a new four seat chairlift from Sunegga down to Findeln and up to Breitboden just above Grünsee. From here it is possible to reach Gant, Riffelalp and Findeln (the yellow slope from Grunsee will be leveled and equipped with snow-making installations). In connection to this, the tunnel on this ski run will be demolished to increase the capacity of the run down from Riffelberg.
The summer of 2007 will also see work start on the Klein Matterhorn, building an undergound access to the glacier palace, a new restaurant, climbers' refuge and preparation for potential new cable car constructions in the future, such as a rumoured lift from Testa Grigia.
2008 should see the start of work for building a new luxury hotel on the Klein Matterhorn, but this is very much dependent on securing financing for what is a higher risk project.
There is continued speculation about the future of the Stockhorn cable car. The permit for its operation has been extended several times and it now seems probable that it will not be renewed again, nor granted for a replacement lift (the cable car system is 50 years old). There are rumours that a new T Bar will be erected in a couple of years to allow renewed access to the Stockhorn from the Triftji skilift.
Further ideas and rumours about future lifts include extending the Schwarzsee section of the Matterhorn express down to Furgg (replacing the Group turn around lift) and on up to Trockener Steg (replacing the old cable car), thus providing an easy alternative to the Furi-Trockener Steg cable car. There is also some talk about a further extension of this gondola lift up from Trockener Steg up to Test Grigia, and even over and up to the Klein Matterhorn. This idea is severely complicated by the fact the Theodulgetcher is rapidly melting, thus creating great uncertainties for construction work.

External links

★ Zermatt.ch official website

★ Air Zermatt website

★ Municipality of Zermatt

★ Burgergemeinde Zermatt

★ Photo gallery dedicated to Zermatt and surrounding nature

★ Webcams in Zermatt

★ Images from Zermatt

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