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Bars
and Clubs
The
North Wall Bar is the legendary worker's hang-out, but some changes have happened so we'll wait to see if the fickle workers can accept change. But cheap pizzas, ski movies and beers galore will always be present at The Wall.
The Pipe is more of an eatery than a bar, serving up a crazy fusion of foods - but don’t be scared to venture in for some toffee vodkas.
Potter’s Bar - the best lazy day hang-out you could ask for. The food is great value and the full English with real builder’s tea is something you just need sometimes. All the big sports events are show here and the rugby always has a great atmosphere.
Nelly’s Bar - the latest addition to the season workers' regular watering holes. The food is awesome - a very varied selection of meat from kudu (a large antelope) to wild boar and a few snappers thrown in for flavour. The bar is always a laugh - Stu’s knowledge of fine shots and the piranhas eyeing you up for their dinner makes it a must booze at venue.
The Papperla Pub has fantastic apres ski, lethal shots and live music. Pocket and Stuee working the outsid ebar always create a party and walking past is not an option.
Schneewittchen is below Papperla and kicks off later in the evening. The fireman's pole has gone but the legendary Hughie and Gee make up for it.
Z' Alt Hischi gives the biggest measures of spirits you've ever seen! If you can't find it, just ask.
The Country Bar has pool tables and fussball.
Vernissage features in The Times top 10 of best European Apres Ski bars. It was designed by Heinz Julen (famed local architect) and is a cinema/lounge bar/nightclub - it has to be seen to be believed. And it's a completely different cinema experience, with meals served in the interval (yes, they have an interval!)
The Hotel Poste is made up of four bars and has undergone a massive re-furb.
The Brown Cow is popular with workers, has live music, sky TV and great burgers!
The Broken – Cheesy but popular nightclub - make sure you dance on the barrel.
The Village – Another cheesy but popular night-club.
The Pink – Jazz bar with great live music. Pricey but worth it once in a while.
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Off piste
Some complain the pistes of Z are bland, but nobody can even hint that the off piste doesn't boast truly awesome accessible pitches.
Zermatt has a lot of glacial skiing which should not be taken lightly. Crevasses are always a threat and, as with any off-piste riding, a guide is advisable. Play safe and get tooled up (which includes knowledge) and you will have day after day of untracked riding. The more well-off tourist ,which the resort attracts plenty of, prefers the groomed carving lands so after a dump you have plenty of time to shred, unlike some other resorts.
The skiing in Zermatt is split into three areas.
The Klein Matterhorn area centers around the Trokener Steg self service. Most of this area is glacial so take great care. Lower down towards Garten, start with itinerary runs and work over to the back bowls, days of fun to be had.
Gornergrat is now accessible by the new bubble from Furi, but don’t ignore the train on a sunny days its gives some views that have to be seen. Between the runs some great lines can be found,
a great bit is
from the top of the Gornergrat down the left hand side of 9a, and
also down in between the K1 T-bar and the 9i run and to the left
of that.
The Stockhorn area offers some advanced off
piste when conditions are favourable. I never found a huge amount
of good off piste up in the Sunnegga area - but as I said we had
a poor season and that area loses the snow the quickest as well.
Its worth remembering that you are in Switzerland
where heli-skiing is legal! There are several different set routes
that guides will take you on, alternatively you can design a route
and if a guide agrees that it is 'safe' they will take you down.
Its not cheap but worth it just for the trip in the helicopter.
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Moguls
Triftji is the place to go –
and that’s also where the famous mogul competition is –
The Triftji Bump Bash.
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Speed
You can descend 2190m from the
top of the Klein Matterhorn down to Zermatt, though due to people
congestion some bits are faster that others! One of my favourites
is from the top of the Rothorn down to Patrullarve – a descent
of 1103m and its pretty fast and good piste, you can extend this
to a 1483m descent by skiing back into town, however the last bit
can be a bit slow.
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Snowparks
Not great for snow parks in the
winter, there is an area up from Trockner Steg, but its nothing
special, there is a decent half pipe up the Gornergrat which is
where all the 'Radical Dudes' hang out (so I'm told), - there is
a good bar there too - The Igloo Bar! For the summer skiing there
is a brilliant park up the Klein Matterhorn, rails, jumps, pipes
its all there.
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Events
There are loads of events in
Zermatt during the winter. One of the most famous is the Luttman-Johnson
race, this is run by the Ski Club of GB - basically you are required
to check into as many mountain restaurants as possible and spend
as long as possible in each one - definitely my type of race!!
Another is the Chinese Downhill
- a downhill race down the Klein Matterhorn, boarders are at a bit
of a disadvantage with this one as you have to start the race out
of your bindings! There is also the Triftji Bump Bash which is a
big mogul competition during a week in April.
There is also the Boss de Bosses -
actually taking place in Chamonix - but teams are entered every
year from Zermatt, Courchevel and Meribel (& Chamonix), it involves
seasonal workers in a variety of events - a great day out!
There are many other events going
on throughout the season - boarder cross, big air etc which anybody
can enter. As for events off the piste there are too many to mention;
there are regular curling and ice hockey matches, a mountain film
festival, numerous parties at the pubs and bars, just to name a
few.
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Away
Days
That's the problem with Zermatt
you do tend to feel slightly trapped, almost like being in a col-de-sac.
The only way out is by train (as you can't drive up to resort unless
you've got a special permit) so it can get pricey.
Saas Fee is only an hour
and a half away, although its more of the same, (ie mountains and
snow) they do have some good shops and bars and it's a change. You
can also catch the train down to Brig, which is the main town in
this canton, for some bigger shops. Alternatively you can upgrade
your ski pass and ski over to Cervinia, in Italy, for lunch.
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Shopping
There are loads of shops in Zermatt – unfortunately most of
them sell dodgy European fashions! Julen sport (opposite the ice
rink) is probably the best all round for both clothes and equipment.
Matterhorn Sport (near the church square) comes a close second and
is a good place to get your board/skis serviced. There are so many
shops up the main street its impossible to mention them all.
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Internet
Cafés
The Brown Cow - Found
on the main street, it has two PCs, and costs 5chf for 15 minutes.
Stoked - by the ice rink, downstairs in Stoked is their Inet corner. They have 7 computers, and are really helpful.
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Eating
Out
Mountain Restaurants
Blauherd Restaurant, at Blauherd - it has a bar outside
on the sun terrace, which also serves hot dogs etc, its main attraction
is its handy location and that it usually has live music as well.
Chez Vrony, at Findeln
- Not the cheapest mountain restaurant in the world but must be
visited at least once during the season. It has possibly the best
sun terrace ever and the chocolate brownies are something else!
Zum See Restaurant,
at Zum See - Not far from Zermatt so you can stop on your way home,
the food is the main attraction there - especially the homemade
desserts!
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McDonalds
There's one in town but it's
expensive. It's down the main street near to the station. However your food is made to order an will normally be served to you at your table. Good for hangover days.
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Shopping
Day
The main places to do food shopping
are the Coop and the Migros which are both in the town centre.
The butcher on the high street is great, especially if you make friends with him! He'll give good quality meat, and it's usually better priced than the supermarkets.
I'd also suggest using one of the wholesalers for your fruit and veg. Tony Julen is a good bet.
The bakeries will deliver your bread to you each day. Use the one closest to your chalet.
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Transfer
Day
The majority of guests come
in via Geneva airport which is about 3 hours away. There are often
delays, but there are some decent shops and loads of other reps
to talk to if you get stuck there for a while.
Guests sometimes come in
to Sion airport which is about 1 hour 20 minutes away. They pay
more to fly to Sion for the benefit of a shorter transfer. Sometimes, due to bad weather, flights can be diverted, causing chaos. However if planes are delayed at Sion there is an amazing restaurant in the airport. Suggest to your guests that they start eating straight away, and after a few glasses of wine they will no longer be shouting at you.
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Après-ski
Options
The most popular après ski event
that our reps organised was tobogganing. You take the last lift
of the day up and toboggan down pisted tracks stopping at various
different mountain restaurants for vin chaud on the way down. Other
popular ones were curling and bowling, and for the more daring parapenting
and helicopter rides!
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Living
Finding Accommodation in Zermatt
during the winter is virtually impossible. If you are going out
independently to look for work yourself try and sort out the accommodation
before you go, and during the summer if possible (you can do this
via the tourist office) - once the winter season has started you
won't find anything. Every location has good and bad qualities,
Winklematten and Moos are the worst places to live for access to
town, however they are close to the Klein Matterhorn lifts. There
is no particularly dangerous place to live.
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MyNatives
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[Thanks to BG John for putting this Guide together.]
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