El Blog: El Cielo tiene k ser Zermatt, Switzerland...

Been quite some time since posting, but...rest assured my excuse is being busier than ever- with examenes finales, a lovely visit from the familia, but most importantly... a snowboarding trip to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Our group of five flew into Geneva, and at the airport, conveniently boarded a train headed to Visp.

In Visp we transferred on to the Matterhorn express which began to climb the steep sides of the Alps, as snow coverage got better and better. With every turn of the train, the group's anticipation for the next three days of snowboarding could barely be contained.

We passed gorgeous waterfalls, glaciers, rockslides, and bridges...

Finally, we arrived in Zermatt. From then on, everything was a dream...well, not everything...

Zermatt is Switzerland's premier Mountain resort- ideal for its small size (5500 or so yr. round residents) and the fact that cars are strictly prohibited. Instead of cars, the village is home to small electric taxis which are essentially, glorified golf carts (thanks Leila). Also, a romantic horse drawn carriage can of course be substituted.

(Main st. of Zermatt at night)

THE highlight of Zermatt however is most certainly the sublime landscape of ze Matterhorn.

(Took this one our first day at lunch...mhmm...our view, at lunch)

(This picture was taken at the end of Day 1 of boarding, the end of a 17km long run)

(Stole this one from Marc, but it shows how freakin close we were...those are ski runs at the base! )

The resort is by far the most well connected, and efficient of any I've ever seen (although Mammoth is the usual destination, and there are many more I've yet to discover). The lift system is divided into gondolas, cable cars, tow lifts, regular lifts, lifts with wind shields on them, and my favorite...even trains.

The mountain is divided into three sections of Zermatt resort (this picture shows the train lift to Gornergrat) and on the back side of the Mtn., two Italian resorts. Yes, that's right...our group purchased the International ticket and was able to casually board down to the Italian town of Cervinia and gorge on amazing lasagna and pizza. The best part is, the lift ticket ends up being cheaper per day than Mammoth, and altogether is probably three times the size.

We stayed at one of the two hostels in Zermatt- the village is quite "shee shee" and not a place you'd expect to find many college students (although we did).

The hostel was completely booked through March for weekend nights however, so...we had planned to stay two nights at the hostel, and two nights in a Budget hotel. This turned out to yield our only real problems on the trip. Well, not problem...obstacles rather; just like on any viaje, there are always slight throwbacks. As it turns out, there are two Hotel Elites (what we had booked online). The one we found located in central Zermatt had no record of our reservation, while the one we had no idea existed in Tasch, did. Tasch, is the last train stop before Zermatt and is not nearly as nice, nor tourist friendly. But, we had to load up our gear and ride 20 min. back down the Mtn. to our hotel. Along the way, the group decided to add to our colloquial language, the term "tasch"- best defined as "lame, and unnecessarily out of the way"

ejemplo:
Person 1: "We have to leave Zermatt and go somewhere else"
Person 2: "Man, that's so Tasch"

(Thought this foto was appropriate due to circumstances)

So, despite our one setback, the snowboarding was for the most part, UN REAL. The snow coverage was pretty damn good, and the tree days we had to explore every corner of the Mtn. were very succesful. Derek, Marc, and I are at the same skill level, and flew down each run together- with hopes of covering between 10,000 and 12,500 vertical meters of descent each day.

( An enormous glacier, seen from the top of Rothorn)

(View of Zermatt, from above on a Gondola)

(Marc and I, at the bottom of Schwarzsee Paradise, with Matterhorn in background)

One specific adventure was supremely thrilling: there's a cable car that enters into the side of the tallest peak. A cave was constructed for the car to park in, and groups of skiiers are dropped off inside this long tunnel. There's an optional viewpoint, where persons can board an elevator that will dump them out on the top floor of the Swiss Alps. The panorama from the top of the "Klein Matterhorn" was without a doubt, the highlight of the entire trip for me. The day we chose to go there, it was sunny, beautiful, perfect. The Matterhorn to the left, Breithorn to the right, and a valley in between them- surrounded by tall, jagged, and snow covered peaks. Breathtaking.

After taking in the view and managing to have an elaborate photo shoot, the group sank back into the tunnel, and exited atop the highest ski run. Before we could ski down some 100 meters in front of us, we noticed a small entrance to something sort of like a cave, that people were entering and exiting. We clipped out, and walked into this long tunnel. As we walked the sides of the tunnel suddenly went from plastic...to ice. We were inside a Glacier, walking for 10-15 minutes in. The sides were illuminated with blue neon lights, so the ice shimmered and glowed. Finally, the tunnel ended in a large room, which housed several different ice sculptures, formed out of the side of the wall of course! Also, there was an ice bar inside, haha. This was AWESOME. They call this place the Glacier Grotto, and its at 12, 746 ft.

The last night, we all stopped in Zermatt on the way back to Tasch so we could try something we'd had our eye on for the last few days: hot spiced wine :) Standing around a small table in front of a beautifully lit hotel on the Main street, we drank and watched horse drawn carriages, and groups of tired skiiers from around the world, walk about this small haven.