Zermatt-for-non-skiers Zermatt Swiss Bliss Travel

Five Fun Activities in Zermatt

Switzerland

Ever since the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 and the opening of the Gornergrat cogwheel train in 1898, Zermatt has been a favourite destination in the Swiss Alps. Zermatt sits at 1600m and is known for its fabulous skiing, climbing and hiking. This year again, The New York Times listed it as one of 52 destinations to go in 2017. If you are not a skier, don’t worry there is plenty to keep you busy in Zermatt in the winter, as I discovered on my last trip there this January. I actually ran out of time and wasn’t able to cover all the options on offer during my four-day visit. Here are some of the activities I discovered.

If you are a first-time visitor to Zermatt, I would recommend you start with a train-ride up to Gornergrat at 3100 meters. The Gornergratbahn is the world’s first electrified cogwheel. The 33-minute ride will take you up a steep climb, over bridges, through tunnels, past waterfalls, all this whilst taking in fantastic views of the Matterhorn.

At the top, you can enjoy a fabulous panorama of the Matterhorn, of course, but also of twenty-nine 4000-metre peaks. There is a hotel, the highest one in Europe, a self-service restaurant and a souvenir shop. It is well worth venturing up above the Kulmhotel to the viewing platform from where you can also get breath-taking views of the Monte Rosa massif, with Switzerland’s tallest mountain, the Dufour Spitze culminating at 4634 metres. From here you can also take in the beauty of the glaciers below. Don’t forget to take your camera and wrap up warm, the temperatures are below zero at this altitude in the winter and it can be windy too.

If you enjoyed the panorama from Gornergrat, but want to get a closer look at the alps, then a helicopter ride is what you need. I am not at all a keen flyer (I simply hate flying!) so I was quite nervous about going on a helicopter flight, but I knew that this would be the ultimate way to discover the true beauty of the mountains surrounding Zermatt.

A guide for non-skiers

Air Zermatt organizes sightseeing helicopter tours that last 20, 30 or 40 minutes long. We took off heading down the valley, then veered up left, climbing at such a low altitude that we could almost touch the seracs of the glacier we were flying over. We then headed up towards the Matterhorn, before circling it and flying over its peak. Breath-taking! Our pilot went to great lengths to point out the main summits, naming them all, and the glaciers. He also pointed out the different mountain huts and the Italian border. Before we knew it we were coming back in to land. A truly memorable experience, I can only recommend it, even for those who don't enjoy flying. The alpine landscape is so magical that you'll soon forget you're in a helicopter.

After my flight, I was quite keen to stay on firm ground and enjoy a low-key activity. I took the funicular up to Sunnegga and walked down to Chez Vrony, a beautiful rustic and charming restaurant, set in a farmhouse with a 100-year history. Perched up on the mountainside at 2100 metres in the hamlet of Findelbach above Zermatt, it has a wonderful terrace, with front-row views on the Matterhorn and a very cosy seating indoors. The tables on the terrace are beautifully arranged around wooden benches with faux fur blankets, pillows and extra wool blankets to keep you warm. Indoors the décor is all about alpine chic, with lots of distressed wood, cute accessories and soft music.

I had one of their signature dishes for lunch, a Lady Burger, just the perfect size for my small appetite. The burger was garnished with crispy bacon and creamy coleslaw and it came with a small bowl of homemade potato chips. The menu extends way beyond burgers offering a wide-variety of more refined dishes and also offers a very fine wine list. This is a very popular gastronomic hotspot, I would recommend booking a table. It is only open for breakfast and lunch and can be reached either by foot or on skis. If you are planning to walk there, count 20-minutes from Sunnegga station, on a scenic footpath, however, do wear proper walking shoes and even take hiking poles, it can be slippery in places. You’ll be glad for the walk back up hill to Sunnegga after lunch, it’s perfect for working off that burger!

On the day I was due up to go to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the cable car was closed due to high winds, so I decided to try out clay-pigeon shooting. This is a great alternative, "bad weather" activity. I met the gun-master, Kirk, who runs Clay Pigeon Shoot Zermatt, at Furi station and he accompanied me to the clay-pigeon shooting site he's set up in a pretty meadow facing the mountains. Kirk is a friendly, enthusiastic Brit who's been living in Zermatt for over 10 years and is passionate about the outdoors. Incidentally, in the summer he offers fly-fishing tours in the area.

This is a fun outdoor activity for those who are looking to discover a new challenge and who have a competitive spirit. You basically fire a beautiful, classic Italian shotgun that has been deactivated and adapted to shoot infrared clays. The clays are fitted with receptors and every time you hit one (yes, I did manage to hit a few!), you will hear the sound of an explosion, making it all very exciting. An electronic scoreboard keeps track of your progress and enables groups to compete against each other. It’s very safe and ecological too.

Kirk was an excellent instructor giving me plenty of tips on positioning, aiming (“aim for the waterfall!) and shooting. He is very passionate about what he does and gave me a full history of the gun I was using. This is a great activity to do alone if you want to refine your shooting skills, or in a group, if you want to have a bit of competitive fun with your friends.

The initial exhibit in the Matterhorn Museum focuses mainly on the first ascent of the Matterhorn and the controversy that ensued as to whom reached the summit first: the British mountaineer Edward Whymper or the Zermatt guide Taugwalder and his son. Tragically four men who were part of the original party fell to their deaths shortly after reaching the summit casting a dark shadow on this historic alpine event and resulting in plenty of intrigue as to whom was responsible for their fall.

A section of the museum is dedicated to Zermatt’s first hotels that were only built from the early 1840's onwards. Dr Lauber, the local surgeon, opened the first guesthouse in 1839: it had three beds. After that, local residents pooled together to develop one of the first grand hotels, the Zermatterhof, realising that this would be an excellent source of income and lift the village out of poverty, as more and more members of the British aristocracy descended on Zermatt keen to climb the surrounding peaks.

Downstairs the exhibits are organised around a replica of Zermatt’s village square in the 19th century. Original houses have been recreated, showing the very frugal and harsh living conditions of bygone years. There is also an exhibit celebrating the golden age of climbing: of the twenty-nine peaks surrounding Zermatt, nineteen were climbed between 1854 and 1865. And a replica of the first alpine museum with items collected after the tragic first ascent of the Matterhorn, including the famous rope that broke. The museum is definitely worth a visit.

9th February 2017