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Zermatt for the Sort-Of Beginner



 
 
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  #31  
Old August 9th 06, 05:52 PM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Eugene Miya
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Posts: 166
Default Zermatt for the Sort-Of Beginner

In article 44d8b9da@kcnews03,
Sarah Eggleston wrote:
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).


The Berner Oberland is fine. It's more than 1 Swiss valley.
But I am not into night life. A slew of Swiss and slightly harder to
reach (via public transit) Italian resorts exist. They aren't world class,
but they are for the curious, and the locals take kids to learn there.

Wengen and Murren are fine.

But the first time I rode the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Chur and
further, after passing Brig you get to train stops like Bettmer or Ried
in the Goms part of the upper Rhone. Places like Riederalp, Bettmeralp,
and Fieschalp (I was there 1 snowy Sunday in Feb.) really aren't bad.
Andermatt is likely too much. You should have seen the expression on
the conductor's face when he asked me if I was going to Andermatt.
Ja, Andermatt, and beyond to Fiesch. Fiesch? Who goes to Fiesch?
I'm going to Fiesch. Fine for a day or 2. Then move over. No cars.
You can ski between these resorts.
There are small ski areas next to the small towns in the upper Rhone and
Rhine. The amount of grooming will vary. If you need grooming, consider
the Italian resorts. I spent 8 nice days skiing various parts of the
Dolomites earlier this year. Nothing especially hard (the one
intriguing place with the restaurant at the top of the couloir where
every one watches people fall down looked interesting, but the upper
part was briefly off limits for lift work. Did the Sella Rhonda a
couple days as well as side trips. There's sq KMs of easy terrain in
the Val Gardena. All kinds of nice scenery and good eating. But public
transport is more bus based and a little more of a problem. (We did, I
think, witness one fatality on a ski run and they landed a helo and
stopped all traffic).

If you further relax the public transport criteria, you get to wonderful
resorts like Leukerbad: well not quite a great beginner place (small)
and it has a cat track tunnel with makes Zermatt's look civilized (they
can stop you if you fall via nets). But a 60 SF pass gets you not only
a day of skiing for up to about 4 hours in die Burgerbad soaking in
their 10 pools. Other resorts are near thermal resorts. You just have
to match well (I am a bit sketchy about Bad Ragez, I only soaked there).
You can do Malbun in Liechtenstein. That's where Princes learn to ski.
Lots of places.

I would suggest avoid skiing big named resorts.
Most smaller resorts are pretty good with English.
Zermatt, you can get some Japanese and soon Chinese
(not if the Austrians have as much influence).

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  #34  
Old August 10th 06, 10:49 PM posted to rec.skiing.resorts.europe
Eugene Miya
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Posts: 166
Default Zermatt for the Sort-Of Beginner

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.


In article ,
h23 wrote:
I do a lot. In summer


A few years back I did wanderweg schweiz (swiss path) late one fall/winter.

In the case of the station, skate over. It was only in 10s of feet rise
in a hundred or so meters.
If you can't skate or board, the path is packed down enough (excepting
after storms) by the workers' electric cars.

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