Surely there is no more dramatic sight in the Alps than the distinctive shape of the Matterhorn! At 4,478m it may not be the highest mountain in the Alps but it is easily the most recognized.

Zermatt itself is a charming alpine village. It is car free and reached only by a 15 minute cog-wheel train from the valley station of Tasch. As you would expect given its location it is one of Europe's main centres of Alpinism and is a bustling town in both winter and summer.

The town is at 1,650m and all three of Zermatt's main ski areas soar to at least 3100m. Good snow conditions are almost guaranteed and there are some superb long runs back down to the village. At 3820m the Klein Matterhorn lift is the highest cable car in the world. The ski down from here is almost 13 kilometres with 2200 vertical metres of varied descent.

Zermatt has extensive off-piste terrain and thanks to the extremely high altitude and abundance of north facing slopes, powder snow can still be found many days after it falls. In spring especially, huge areas of both powder and spring snow can be found off piste.

Zermatt is the Alps biggest heliskiing center and the helicopter pad in the village is very busy during the winter months. Many of the runs do not require excellent skiing ability. And the scenery as you'd expect is spectacular.

Matt's Insiders Guide!
For an in depth review of the Zermatt Ski Area, click on Matt Dickinson's Off-Piste Guide to Zermatt

Getting There 
The most convenient airport for Zermatt is Geneva. The transfer time by rail is about 4 hours.

From the UK www.easyJet.com tend to have the most comprehensive and affordable flights with connections from Belfast, Bristol, Doncaster/Sheffield, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Liverpool, Luton, Newcastle, Nottingham/East Midlands and Stansted.

For the rail journey from the airport to Zermatt check the train times by logging on to: www.sbb.ch/

The Zermatt Tourist Office has a good ‘How to get there' page on their website: www.zermatt.ch/e/access/

More about the Matterhorn
The Matterhorn is known as Monte Cervino in Italian and Mont Cervin in French.
It is located in the Pennine Alps (at 45°58′N, 7°39′E) on the border between Switzerland and Italy.
It was first climbed in 1865 by a climbing party that included Edward Whymper. It was the last major mountain of the Alps to be climbed.
The North Face of the Matterhorn is one of the six great north faces of the Alps. The others are: the Cima Grande di Lavaredo, the Piz Badile, the Petit Dru, the Eiger, and the Grandes Jorasses.
A miniature imitation of the Matterhorn featuring a bobsled ride is one of the attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California!

For the best independent review of the area, go to www.ultimate.ski.com