Zermatt plans to become the largest ski resort in the world

Gosh, I would have to be on holiday for weeks and weeks to take advantage of that....... what a good idea!!

steverandomno wrote: Will the lift ever be open?

I think there's a good chance that it will be built, but it might take a while, things move very slowly in Italy. The plan is to build a lift from St Jacques at the head of the Ayas valley to the existing lifts around Cime Bianche above Valtournenche. The link will be less exposed than some of the others, so it shouldn't be as prone to closure due to high winds. They aren't planning any new pistes so there shouldn't be too much trouble getting it past the environmentalists. There is an off piste route from the Colle Cime Bianche down to St Jacques .

Linking Cervinia / Valtournenche to the Monterosa area makes a lot of sense as it will make the combined area more attractive, lots of people complain that the skiing in Cervinia is a bit tame. I don't know how much Zermatt and Alagna will benefit as they are at the ends of the area, being part of the largest linked skiing area will be good for marketing and Zermatt will get some extra cash from the international ski pass pot.

The feasibility study is going to cost 400,000 euro, of which Zermatt is contributing 32,000, the total cost of the project is estimated at 30-35 million. This is much less than it would cost to link Zermatt to Saas Fee or Zinal.

Pricing will probably be one of the issues examined in the study. The Italians should be able to come up with a competitive price for their side. The international pass might not be so easy to price, there must be a limit to what even Zermatt can charge.

Thanks for the detailed info SwingBeep. I found Zermatt to be a bit frustrating when we skied it in Dec '10. Wasn't the best conditions to be fair. We made the mistake of getting the international pass, when the link to Cervinia was open all of about 20 mins through the week. I could see that it would be amazing with a bit of powder but quite frustrating with ice everywhere and lots of wind. Hopefully i will get to try it again when i have won the lottery and can control the weather.

December is much too early to go to Zermatt. The region around Zermatt is one of the driest in the alps, so its best to wait until the snow builds up. IMO March is the best month to go. In the early part of the season the link is often closed because of high winds.

VIVA!!
I do not care about the skipass price.
Anyway those who "opose" to the Superdomain are already giving the answer; the price would act as a deterrent to the masses.
Although I oppose to those Elitists who think on behalf of other people denying access either to progress or pleasure.
I do not like the "keeping typism" just for us to enjoy attitude.
If the mayors are interested is because something good may be achieved for the mountain people.

Seems a bit pointless to me. Does a country advertize to tourists that it has biggest motorway network in world? Bit like comparing M25 to Hahntennjoch or Furka pass.

Still a lot of people seems to believe a resort with <100KM of piste is not enough for a weeks skiing. I would suggest might be missing 1/2 the point of skiing and exploring what is beyond those invisible lines.

I blame people with apps looking at how far and how fast they skied in a day. Would progress be putting a lift instead of doing the Haute Route?

farostegui wrote:VIVA!!
I do not care about the skipass price.
Anyway those who "opose" to the Superdomain are already giving the answer; the price would act as a deterrent to the masses.
Although I oppose to those Elitists who think on behalf of other people denying access either to progress or pleasure.
I do not like the "keeping typism" just for us to enjoy attitude.
If the mayors are interested is because something good may be achieved for the mountain people.

Or they have the oppertunity to make mega bucks

Ian Wickham wrote:

Or they have the oppertunity to make mega bucks

Right now, Swiss mountain resorts have just had one source of income seriously restricted under Lex Weber which takes effect in January 2013. There have already been redundancies. Projects will probably take longer and need more loans.

Making ends meet, might be more appropriate.