adventures in cheese continue, at 8500 feet

It was painful to wake up at 8am but gorgeous to look out into the snow-covered valley. The Matterhorn was hidden by clouds as we got ready to walk to the ski rental shop to get our equipment. I still wasn’t feeling great from the altitude, waking up with a headache as well as notifications from my apple watch that my heart rate and blood oxygen levels were both atypical last night. I wonder if that contributed to a lot of intense, fitful dreams.

We reached the gondola and ski rental area around 9:30am, and the crowds were huge as people jostled their way through the narrow streets and paths. It worked to our advantage to be running a little late, because we had missed the ski rental rush and got everything we needed relatively easily. Of course it all still took forever and we were on the gondola heading up the mountain at 11am.

We had read reviews saying that lots of advanced skiers aren’t interested in Zermatt, which was a good sign to us that the skiing wouldn’t be too challenging. Bill led the way to our first run at Riffelberg, the area with lots of easier slopes, and I pretty much had to “pizza” my skis the whole way down. Fortunately the end of that run led to an igloo hotel and restaurant with a picturesque outdoor area: wooden picnic tables, pots of fondue everywhere, and a towering view of the Matterhorn slowly emerging from the clouds.

Of course we had to have fondue at 8500 feet, and Ben was happy enough with a bag of chips (nearly bursting from the elevation) to dip into it too. From there we decided to try another “easier” ski run which required us to catch the Gornergrat train, a beautiful cogwheel train (made for steep grades) that goes all the way from Zermatt at 5200 feet to 10,100 feet at the summit of the Gornergrat mountain. For us it was just a quick one-stop ride as we went from Riffelberg to the top of the “slow slope.”

I knew immediately that I had found my one enjoyable run of the day and delighted in its wide curving slopes with unobstructed views of the Matterhorn. Plus it was nearly empty of people other than the occasional trail of small children behind an instructor. It was also at a good level for James and easy for Ben, with Bill sweetly tolerating all of us at far below his strong skiing skills. We did the run once all together, a second time with just me and the boys (as Bill snuck off for a more advanced run), and finally one time just me, solo, going at my own pace and skiing the best I had all day.

When I reunited with Bill and the boys, James was disappointed at having struggled with a more intermediate run and shared my desire to head back to our flat. Before doing that, we all decided to have a snack at the big lodge in Riffelberg, and enjoyed sitting in the warmth of the bright sun with the Matterhorn in front of us. The weather here is so absurdly perfect, I spent nearly the whole day skiing with my jacket unzipped. There hasn’t even been so much as a breeze.

Bill and Ben took off to do one more intermediate run while James and I caught the first of two gondolas back down. The first one was shockingly steep and I’ve done well so far without really thinking about the heights, but then the gondolas all stopped inexplicably for what felt like a long while and then started to go backward, which resulted in more swinging movement than I was comfortable with. Fortunately we continued on after a bit (maybe 5 minutes? felt like forever) and had an unremarkable transfer to the final gondola that took us back into town.

I returned all of my ski gear, having decided that I’m absolutely done with skiing for the week. I figured that I’d do one or two days, but really this is not a ski area for beginners at all. Intermediates love it here, and it is fantastically uncrowded on the slopes when you compare it to most areas in Tahoe, but it just isn’t for me. I’m really glad that I gave it a shot and found “my” run, but it is a bit disappointing that there are so few good options for beginners here.

By the time James and I had gone to our lockers and returned my equipment, Bill and Ben had already made it back down as well, and we all walked back to the flat together in the golden hour. There’s nothing quite like watching the sun set behind the Matterhorn, and I’m amazed that not only can we see it from our flat but, thanks to the clear weather, we’ve already caught two good ones and we’ve only been here just over a day.

Despite snacking our way through the slopes, we were game for again having a very early dinner to beat the crowds and give ourselves lots of chill time back at the flat. Bill found a place to give us a break from fondue, so we headed to Restaurant Schäferstube just after 6pm. They serve fondue but we resisted, although James did order a side of raclette so we’re still on a solid streak of cheese and bread at every meal.

The restaurant is on the basement level of a hotel, and an older woman in what looked like some kind of traditional Swiss dress welcomed us in. We overheard her saying that she’s worked here for 40 years, and the older man walking around greeting patrons must be her husband. It was really nice to be in a cozy, traditional-looking, unfussy place where the owners are so involved and invested. They have their own sheep farm so we all tried their lamb and it was exceptional.

We rushed home without getting dessert to get warm and relax. James is waffling about whether to try skiing again tomorrow or to have a lazy day with me. We’re about to start the last bit of SNL 50 and I can’t wait to sleep in and have a day with no plans tomorrow. If James does stay back with me he’ll definitely be roped in to some bakery hunting.