I walk with my skis to the base of the gondola, a little far away, but not a bad walk. As I walk I get my first glimpse of the Matterhorn, dominating the horizon from below, though was not as impressive up closer, as is often the case with large things. Lift tickets are expensive here, even more expensive than the recent price increases at Tahoe! As I ride the gondola up, I get nice views of Zermatt, covered in snow.
After the gondola, I ski down a short bit to get to another lift, and then proceed to ride that up even higher. All in all, it take almost an hour to get to the very top. I’m in an area called the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise and almost all of the skiing will be on the glacier. Or, as it turns out, on the significant amount of fresh powder that was dropped last night on the glacier! This day is perhaps the best ski conditions I’ve skied in in many, many years. Fresh powder, no crowds, clear blue skies, almost no wind. Apparently the days before have been overcast and windy, and I hit the perfect day. Tomorrow will not be so nice, so I get in as much skiing as I can, taking in many gorgeous views.
I have lunch at the top of the gondola, and then take a different kind of gondola over to another peak which allows me to ski down into Italy. Heh, “ski into Italy”. The views are gorgeous over there too, though quite similar.
I walk a bit around old town Zermatt, and then return to my hotel.
Jimbly's Wanderings 