Snow Conditions

We had fresh tracks for 4 days up on the huge Furggsattel bowl:

It snowed again yesterday, 10-20cm, which together with the last snowfall three days ago has made the piste conditions very enjoyable.
There were even some off-piste tracks to be had in the wonderful Furggsattel bowl and on the Italian side, as you can see below:

The last two weeks have been spring like, with delightfully warm temperatures and a lot of sun. It snowed yesterday, with the greatest depth on the slopes connecting with the Italian side. Piste conditions are immaculate, the sun is not yet high and strong enough to change the snow and for the coming week cooler temperatures are forecast, which will help keep the recent snowfall fresh.

Cruising run number 70 on the Matterhorn side of the Zermatt ski area

Since our last update, we have had sunny and very cold weather, which has preserved the good quality of the snow. The wind was strong on the ridge between us and Italy, which led to Cervinia being closed a lot of the time. It snowed 10cm on February 7th which has refreshed the pistes, especially on the Italian side. There is still no off-piste, but the runs are in great shape, the skies are blue, the sun is shining, the wind has dropped and temperatures will become milder next week. All in all, perfect al fresco lunching conditions.

It has been very cold since over the last week, with temperatures around -15°C at 3,000m and and -5°C in the village, which has helped keep the snow in good wintery condition. 15-20 cm of fresh snow fell on January 24th, mainly on the slopes adjoining Italy and on the Cervinia side. The general level of snow is still low compared to the annual average, which means that there is very little off-piste. However all the runs are in tip-top condition, especially if you like winter hard-pack. Some of the lower runs are becoming quite icy, so best to stay up high – which is easy in Zermatt. The cold January weather is set to continue this coming weekend, so the snow will remain good.

The last few days saw a number of weather fronts come through bringing 30cm of fresh snow. The skiing is even better than it has been, with more than 250km of open runs. There have been many reports in the media about lack of snow in the Alps, but this has never applied to Zermatt. With a base altitude of 1,620m and a top lift station at 3,883m, most of the runs here are between 3,500m and 2,200m altitude. This factor, combined with extensive snow making, means that we have had the usual abundant amount of skiing since the start of the season.

We had an unsettled period of weather, mild temperatures leading to rain in the village and 45cm of fresh snow on the ski slopes. Even more runs have opened, totaling 213km. All runs back to the resort are open, as are the runs down to the base of both Italian villages – Cervinia and Valtournenche.

We have had very cold temperatures last week, with some snowfall. This has enabled piste grooming to proceed in ideal circumstances, the mix of a man made snow base and natural snow on top resulting in great ski conditions. All three Zermatt ski areas and both the linked Italian areas of Cervinia and Valtournenche are open, as are the runs back to resort.

It has been snowing steadily over the last week and the temperatures have been cold enough to allow the snow canons to work continuously, laying down a long-lasting base for the natural snow to settle on. This is the secret of good snow preparation. As of December 3d the number of open runs will triple to 110km, including all three mountains on the Zermatt side of the ski area, and also both Cervinia and Valtournenche on the Italian side.

The summer has been so dry and so sunny that the glaciers are suffering. As a result the summer ski slopes have been temporarily closed. However the mountain lifts are running normally and you can still go up to the very top of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise lift (Klein Matterhorn), where you can walk, touch and play on the snow. Or keep cool while sunbathing…