Zermatt for the Sort-Of Beginner

Skiing down the blue run from the Gornergrat involves a tunnel at one
point. You want to be certain that you can snowplow this or keep your
speed down with tight turns.

In article ,
h23 wrote:
Yes, especially the stretch before this tunnel, against the wall I did
not like when I went there the first year I skied. Especially when its
icy. And suffering from vertigo.

Well the problem which occurs about this, especially with first timers
is that your eyes, on a clear day, can fix on the Matterhorn.
It's the Matterhorn, the visual symbol of all mountains.
And you are there. And it's somewhat hard to believe.
And you don't want to ski into the wall.

This is only the first of many ski tunnels in various parts of the Alps.
And this is nothing. The death cat tracks are on some of the others
(the ones with the nets to stop you if you miss a turn).

But then, that's where you can take the train at Hotel Riffelberg to
avoid it.

Naw. Nice cruising off piste left after exiting the tunnel.

--

On 7 Aug 2006 12:59:48 -0700, (Eugene Miya) wrote:

Skiing down the blue run from the Gornergrat involves a tunnel at one
point. You want to be certain that you can snowplow this or keep your
speed down with tight turns.

In article ,
h23 wrote:
Yes, especially the stretch before this tunnel, against the wall I did
not like when I went there the first year I skied. Especially when its
icy. And suffering from vertigo.

Well the problem which occurs about this, especially with first timers
is that your eyes, on a clear day, can fix on the Matterhorn.
It's the Matterhorn, the visual symbol of all mountains.
And you are there. And it's somewhat hard to believe.
And you don't want to ski into the wall.

This is only the first of many ski tunnels in various parts of the Alps.
And this is nothing. The death cat tracks are on some of the others
(the ones with the nets to stop you if you miss a turn).

But then, that's where you can take the train at Hotel Riffelberg to
avoid it.

Naw. Nice cruising off piste left after exiting the tunnel.

Well, I know that *now* ;D
Only thing I haven't found a solution is when skiing down completely
from Gornergrat is how to get up from the busstop to the Trockener
Steg cable cart. I hate walking

Naw. Nice cruising off piste left after exiting the tunnel.

In article ,
h23 wrote:
Well, I know that *now* ;D

One has to be reasonably skilled/trained in powder skiing or
general ungroomed snow. And be willing to scrape bases.

Only thing I haven't found a solution is when skiing down completely
from Gornergrat is how to get up from the busstop to the Trockener
Steg cable cart. I hate walking

You have to get used to walking in the Alps.

Part of the way down, the road into town makes a right turn. I believe
it's signed. Going left with a tiny bit of uphill takes one to the tram
station. A little skating works fine. One also has to watch out for
electric carts on the final bit, and they do sand/gravel the road and
it's not the most pleasant skiing. Doing it once is fine, and it stops
near the gondola. It's a bigger problem for boarders, but skiers who
know how to skate: no big deal.

It's all part of how much of a beginner one is.

--

I'm an American and a long time Zermatt skier. And a Zermatt lover.
Sadly, my advice is, you're not ready.

Richard

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

My wife and I will be skiing in Switzerland for a week in February of
2007 and have been considering staying in Zermatt. I have heard
comments on Zermatt ranging from "Experts find it boring" to "Ski
Zermatt only if you can ski a black diamond in the states"

My wife has been skiing for years but I am fairly new to the sport. I
spent a week in Monarch in Colorado last year and learned to ski. By
the end of my stay I was able to ski greens without any real
difficulty. Later that year I did some skiing in Utah and also had no
difficulties. I plan on going back there for a couple days this winter
sometime before our Swiss adventure.

On American standards, I feel like, with some work, I would be ready to
tackle intermediate runs in a place I was familiar with.

Given my level of experience (a beginner but not really a novice),
would I have difficulty handling the beginners runs? Also is it really
difficult to get around as a beginner? I have heard that most of the
beginners runs transition very quickly into intermediate.

Felly sgrifennodd :
The discussion, and the website that dh suggested (best ski travel
website I have seen by the way) leans me toward what was our other
possible Alpine itinerary - the Jungfrau region (probably staying in
lauterbrunnen and skiing wengen). It looks like It may be a situation
where I could have a fair amount of runs I feel comfortable with and
still have enough that would challenge me and not bore my wife.

Lauterbrunnen is a great choice. There is no apres-ski worth mentioning,
but that suits us. Don't just ski Wengen though; Muerren may be smaller
but has some great pistes, and IMHO a better range of pistes in terms of
difficulty. If you're in Lauterbrunnen, it's actually easier to get to the
Muerren slopes than the Wengen ones.

Adrian

--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais/weather/ uk

You have made my point. The run from Gornergrat to Riffelberg is rated
blue/easy on the map. It is not for beginners!! The instructors laughingly
refer to the wall as "the wall of death" because of the fear it creates in
beginners. On the other side of the wall is a steep drop. If a new skiier
cannot side slip (a skill not usually taught in the USA) he's in huge
trouble. The stretch is too steep for a snow plow.

The are after the tunnel has finally been rated red. Calling it blue was
totally crazy.





"Eugene Miya" wrote in message
news:44d79bb4$1@darkstar...
Skiing down the blue run from the Gornergrat involves a tunnel at one
point. You want to be certain that you can snowplow this or keep your
speed down with tight turns.

In article ,
h23 wrote:
Yes, especially the stretch before this tunnel, against the wall I did
not like when I went there the first year I skied. Especially when its
icy. And suffering from vertigo.

Well the problem which occurs about this, especially with first timers
is that your eyes, on a clear day, can fix on the Matterhorn.
It's the Matterhorn, the visual symbol of all mountains.
And you are there. And it's somewhat hard to believe.
And you don't want to ski into the wall.

This is only the first of many ski tunnels in various parts of the Alps.
And this is nothing. The death cat tracks are on some of the others
(the ones with the nets to stop you if you miss a turn).

But then, that's where you can take the train at Hotel Riffelberg to
avoid it.

Naw. Nice cruising off piste left after exiting the tunnel.

--

Wow, So my ISP goes down for one day and all this posting happens

Anyway, another possibility (just in case I havent thrown out too many
already is to go to Saas-Fee, which is supposedly a great beginners
resort, and then, If I feel like I am ready for a challenge take a day
trip to zermatt.

One saas-fee question and one general question - It looks like getting
from one of the other cities in the saas valley (Saas grund, etc) to
the more extensive slopes at saas fee is a bit of a pain, is that
true?.

And a general question, how would you rate the lift lines at the three
areas (zermatt, wengen/murren/grindelwald,Saas-fee)

Just to fill in the back story to this, I'm turning 40 on 4 February
(alas, the same birthday as Dan Quale but I get Rosa Parks too so I
guess it balances out!). We are flying into zurich on 02 Feb, spending
a week skiing and then taking a train down to rome, doing another week
there.

I think, given that we are looking at a week any trips to other resorts
would be day trips.

Thanks so much for all the feedback on this.

On 8 Aug 2006 08:34:15 -0700, wrote:

Anyway, another possibility (just in case I havent thrown out too many
already is to go to Saas-Fee, which is supposedly a great beginners
resort, and then, If I feel like I am ready for a challenge take a day
trip to zermatt.

I wouldn't really recommend Saas Fee for more than a couple of days,
especially for a novice. Then again you're not a nivice, are you? It's
nothing like as extensive as the others and the variety of slopes is
much more limited. Some great skiing, mind, but not so varied. Nice
charming village too though.

One saas-fee question and one general question - It looks like getting
from one of the other cities

Cities? Small villages would be more accurate.

in the saas valley (Saas grund, etc) to
the more extensive slopes at saas fee is a bit of a pain, is that
true?.

There's a bus service, runs about once an hour, takes 12 minutes
between Saas Fee and Saas Grund.

And a general question, how would you rate the lift lines at the three
areas (zermatt, wengen/murren/grindelwald,Saas-fee)

Lift lines? Oh, like queues, you mean? We don't normally get them. If
there's more than half a dozen people in front of you it's unusual. So
all three score equally. Having said that, there are one or two pinch
points in Grindelwald and Zermatt at busy times, but even so you're
rarely looking at more than a couple of minutes wait.

Be aware though, that accessing Grindelwald and Wengen from
Lauterbrunnen is by a short train ride. Runs frequently enough but is
worth making sure you take a timetable so's you don't miss the last
one home.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.

wrote:

Wow, So my ISP goes down for one day and all this posting happens


Just to fill in the back story to this, I'm turning 40 on 4 February
(alas, the same birthday as Dan Quale but I get Rosa Parks too so I
guess it balances out!). We are flying into zurich on 02 Feb, spending
a week skiing and then taking a train down to rome, doing another week
there.


Sounds like there's a different question lurking here... which is...
where's a good place for a late beginner and an intermediate to go
skiing in February that's between Zurich and Rome and easy to get to by
public transport from both...?

Does that sound right?

It's quite a wide brief, so have you other requirements? For example:
picturesque village, high altitude skiing, ski-from-door opportunities,
nightlife, or skischool?

I think this question would get some different answers, and they
probably wouldn't include Zermatt (although they might include the
Bernese Oberland).

-Sarah

How many times must I say this. A red run in Zermatt is suicide for a
beginner!!!!!


"Turan Fettahoglu" wrote in message
...
Zermatt offers anything except low prices. but in a skiing resort like
this the upmarket prices are allright.

I do not like black-diamond runs. Years ago I spent a week in Zermatt for
skiing, and I always found a red or blue run. So you won't have much of a
problem.

Look in here, they have all the maps, even in English.
http://bergbahnen.zermatt.ch/e/

HTH
Turan