The Road Less Traveled: Zermatt, Switzerland

After spending two weeks with my parents I still had one week of Christmas vacation left (oh, darn... what a rough life!) One of my dreams has always been to ski in the Swiss Alps and it became a reality when I spent a week in Zermatt, a small resort town on the Italian border of the canton of Valais in the west of Switzerland. Zermatt is home to the Matterhorn, the most photographed mountain in the world. Almost one-third of the 4,000-meter mountains in the Alps are grouped around Zermatt, which has attracted mountaineers and thrill-seeking individuals for decades. Zermatt epitomises every image you'd have of Switzerland- high-alpine, awe-inspiring, clean and environmentally friendly (there are no cars in the town, amazing!)

My friend Dana and I flew into Milan, Italy, took a train into Switzerland and tranfered onto the famous Glacier Express. The train ride was incredible as we wound around canyons and past lakes and small villages. So beautiful! We stayed at a remarkably nice hostel the first night, from which we woke up with the Matterhorn basically crawling through our window. The following 4 nights we stayed at probably the nicest hotel in town (we somehow had the stars alligned when we booked and found an amazing deal!) We were served 5-course meals, had plush robes and slippers waiting for us each night, heated boot racks for our ski gear, a sauna and pool to relax by after a long day of skiing, and a facial to top it all off; it was heaven! The highlight of the trip was beginning our day skiing in Switzerland and ending the day skiing in Italy; the only run that crosses an international border. Amazing!

I think my perception of top-notch skiing is a bit jaded since I've skiied on some of the best mountains in the world. Although I wouldn't say the skiing was as good as Vail or Beaver Creek (because the runs weren't as long or wide), the infrastructure was second-to-none and the snow on day three was the most incredible powder I have ever experienced. You'll see in the pictures how amazing the scenery is. It's really too hard to explain the overall beauty of the town and the country. We are already planning a return trip next winter to do it again!