Because we have scheduled in an extra day to accommodate weather or conditions, we may find ourselves in Zermatt one day early. If this is the case, or if you simply would like to stay for another day's skiing, there are a number of options to consider.

Schwarztor

Perhaps our favorite option is the Schwarztor ski descent. This glacier ski route is a bit like "Vallée Blanche on steroids". We begin by riding the Klein Matterhorn cablecar to its high 3880 meter summit. As we exit the lift we traverse the Breithorn Plateau, and round the peak on the south, Italian, side. Between the Breithorn and neighboring Pollux we pass through the narrow pass of the Schwarztor and find ourselves on the wonderful north-facing slopes of the upper Schwarze Glacier. We have always enjoyed good snow here, winding down through occasionally crevassed slopes. About 4000 feet lower we drop down onto the giant Gorner Glacier and finish with an unforgettable roller-coaster of a ride through its melt water carved canyon of ice and a unique descent of the glacier toe.

Zermatt to Saas Fee

This is the classic way to finish the Haute Route, extending the tour into Saas Fee. This is a long day, including about 6 to 8 hours of skiing. Well need an early start, good fitness and fine weather for this outing. In order to do the trip in a single day, we'll ride the combined Gornergrat railway and cable cars to the top of the Stockhorn at 3405 meters. From the Stockhorn we ski along the ridge crest east, finally dropping (on usually wonderful powder) onto the Findel Glacier crossing to the north at 3100 meters. From here we have a long climb up to the Adler Pass at 3789 meters, tucked between the two 4200 meter summits of the Rimpfischhorn and the Strahlhorn. This is the start of a wonderful 6500 foot descent into the town of Saas Fee. We'll warn you now about the brief but unfortunate skin-up of 80 meters to reach the Britannia Hut and then the ski pistes of Saas Fee!

Ski into Italy and Cervinia

From both the Zermatt valley to the north and the Italian town of Cervinia to the south, complex systems of lifts reach the crest of the Alps and the Swiss-Italian border, just east of the Matterhorn. Using these lift we can enjoy skiing in both countries in a single day. A fine day would include a morning ascent from the Swiss side, skiing the pistes on the south facing Italian side. At the appropriate time we would ski down into Cervinia for a fine lunch. Riding the lifts again to the crest we either ski the pistes back into Zermatt, or for a bit more adventure, ski the off-piste Unter Theodul Glacier to the Gorner Glacier and finish as per the Schwarztor. Bring your passport!

Lower on the Schwärzegletscher we have more open skiing.