Zermatt Switzerland with Noah: Snowboarding in the Zermatt Swiss Alps

Morning view from balcony facing NE. You can see the sun
catching the top of the mountain as it rises from the right.

Waking the next morning, we found ourselves in the shadow of towering Swiss Alps mountain slopes with snow covering every rock, roof and street in sight. The picture above and the next few pictures are all from our hotel room balconies. These pictures were taken well into the morning, but the mountains kept us in their shadows for most of the morning hours.

This is from our rear balcony. You can't see it, but the train station is up the street on the right.

Snowboarding was a HUGE contributing factor to why we chose to visit Zermatt on this European vacation trip, mainly for Troy. I have snowboarded many times over the past ten years or so. So has my brother. I can take it or leave it. I can remember my first snowboarding adventure in Colorado when I took a wrong trail (I do not think it was even a trail); I got lost; and at one point, laid down in the snow and watched snowflakes falling while thinking "Is this how I am going to die?". I eventually got up and found my way to a more probable trail and made it to the ski lodge and stayed at the bar for the rest of the night. Troy, on the other hand, has an affinity for snowboarding which drove us all to Zermatt on this trip.

Staying at the Hotel National proved to be a fantastic choice in relation to snowboarding. I had picked this hotel because of the hotel website showing views of the Matterhorn (more of that coming later), but this hotel is directly across the street from the entrance to a major snowboarding (and skiing) base. The Zermatt ZBAG-zsb to Sunnegga ZBAG-zsb is an underground, inclined railway station that ferries skiers and snowboards to the top of the Zermatt mountain slopes in a matter of minutes (seemed like seconds). Everyone boards the inclined train, holds on to safety bars (or nearby passengers), and shoots 5,080 feet to Sunnegga ZBAG-zsb. It is an amazing ride by itself. This experience, by itself, is worth the trip to Zermatt.

Before Troy and I did this, we had to rent our snowboard equipment. A couple of blocks (very small blocks) from our hotel is Flexrent which helped us pick-out our snowboarding equipment (boots and boards) and also helped us suit up. We did not bring boots or snowboards with us as this just adds to the airline luggage fees and the hassle of going from one hotel to the next via cab or train. Renting is far easier for the snowboarding boots and boards. By all means though, bring the rest of the equipment with you in your luggage (snow pants or coveralls, goggles, hats, gloves, thermal undergarments, insulated socks - extremely important). Also, do not forget to wear sunscreen. The thin air with low humidity in the higher altitudes will cause you to burn far faster than any beaches - especially with the snow reflecting the sun back on you the entire day.

After suiting up, Troy and I walked across the street to the Sunnegga-Rothorn inclined train station. Momma was still in our hotel room and took the following few pictures of the front of the train station. I did not realize until just now as I added these pictures to this blog site that Momma had taken a picture of Troy and me before we went into the station. We were trying to make heads or tails out of the slope map on the billboard. We had absolutely no idea. Some slopes were for beginners (if only they had not intersected randomly, and often, with the other slopes). Some slopes were for advanced people. Some slopes were for professionals who obviously had no regard for their own safety. We took our best guess, walked into the station, bought our train tickets, boarded the inclined train and shot to the top.

Under the billboard map, I am in the red jacket. Troy is in the orange jacket.

Noah (red jacket), Troy (orange jacket). Both bewildered at map. No idea.

This top, however, was not the top of the entire mountain. It was only a portion of the way to the top. At this exit point, we had a restaurant and bar and shops but we had to get onto an enclosed gondola to another point up the mountain to the Blauherd ZBAG-Isu gondola lift station. This gondola ride really opened our eyes to the differences between snowboarding in the United States' Rocky Mountains and in the Swiss Alps. Below the gondola, we saw trails that had narrow pathways with steep (I mean really steep like I-am-going-to-die-steep) drop-offs. There were no guardrails. There were not even any guide\safety ropes. The Swiss Alps is really a you-got-to-know-what-you-are-doing-or-die skiing and snowboarding locale. I am glad I saw all of this going up the gondola but getting off of the gondola at ZBAG-Isu really confirmed my concerns.

Exiting the gondola lift station, we were immediately on-the-slopes. Once you started snowboarding down the hill outside of the gondola lift station, you were on your way down and there was no going back. Very much like falling down a flight of stairs. Once you miss that first step, you are all in.

Having not snowboarded for a few years, I would have preferred to have a little bit of play room to get my legs back under me. I did try at least three times to drift down the slope a little bit, but the length of the run before I would be full-in was not enough for me to gain enough confidence. Troy was very patient. It was probably half an hour before I finally decided that there was no way that I was going down the mountain on a snowboard. It was a difficult decision; but when it comes down to the bottom line, Troy did not want me to die either. We agreed that I would take the gondola and the train back down to the bottom while he snowboarded and met Momma and me later. It is an agreement that I am not ashamed of at all. I'm sure it saved me a humongous hospital bill and, quite possibly, my family a funeral bill.

Here are a few more photos I took that morning.