Zinal Ski Resort Guide
Zinal, Switzerland
Rated: 3/5 (from 7 ratings)
Recommended For | Freeriders, Expert Skiers, Intermediates, Snowboarders and Snowfall! |
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Total Piste Length | 70km43 miles |
Highest Lift | 2,910m9,547ft |
Resort Height | 1,670m5,479ft |
Nearest Airports | Sion and Geneva |
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Zinal
A small, pretty, typically Swiss village, standing on a high sunny plateau in the Val d'Anniviers with some spectacular off-piste possibilities.
Summary
The Swiss ski resort of Zinal is in the Swiss Alps at an altitude of 1,670m5,479ft, with 70km43 miles of marked runs.
Zinal is part of the Sierre-Anniviers ski area with access to 159km99 miles of downhill skiing, with 80 marked pistes, served by a total of 51 ski lifts. In addition to the skiing in Zinal itself (70km43 miles of pisted ski runs), the appropriate ski Lift Pass will allow you to ski or snowboard in the other Sierre-Anniviers ski resorts of Chandolin, Grimentz, St-Luc and Vercorin.
The ski resort itself is at 1,670m5,479ft, so skiing or boarding back to the resort is usually possible. With ski lifts as high as 2,910m9,547ft, skiing and snowboarding is assured throughout the season.
Snow and Weather
When will it snow in Zinal?
The next notable snow forecast is 4cm2in, expected on 9 March.
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Snow this week
Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed |
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Ski Area Stats
Zinal Ski Area
Black Pistes Expert Trails | 2 | 15km9 miles |
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Red Pistes Intermediate Runs | 6 | 40km25 miles |
Blue Pistes Easy Trails | 4 | 15km9 miles |
Downhill Total Length | 70km43 miles | |
Cross Country Total Length | 19km12 miles | |
Ski Lifts Number of Lifts | 9 |
Sierre-Anniviers Ski Area
Black Pistes Expert Trails | 14 | |
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Red Pistes Intermediate Runs | 36 | |
Blue Pistes Easy Trails | 28 | |
Green Pistes Beginner Runs | 2 | |
Downhill Total Length | 159km99 miles | |
Ski Lifts Number of Lifts | 51 |
Altitudes
Zinal Ski Area Heights
Highest Lift | 2,910m9,547ft |
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Lowest Piste | 1,670m5,479ft |
Resort Altitude (Zinal) | 1,670m5,479ft |
Max Vertical | 1,240m4,068ft |
Ratings & Suitability
Freeriders | |
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Expert Skiers | |
Intermediate Skiers | |
Beginners | |
Snowboarding | |
Snow | |
Apres-Ski |
Zinal Overview
The Swiss ski resort of Zinal is a small ski area typical of many in Switzerland, situated in the Val d'Anniviers. A ski bus links Grimentz and Zinal on a frequent schedule, St-Luc and Chandolin are also accessible via bus but a change is required in nearby Vissoie.
Zinal is home to the first Avalanche Training Centre, later repeated in other stations. Sponsored by Mammut this area has 16 hidden transmitters which can be activated randomly from a control station allowing users to practice locating one or more simulated victims using their own transceivers. Entrance is free and requires no reservation.
Zinal is accessible via a public transport with a main-line train station in Sierre and a bus connection to Zinal via Vissoie.
This information kindly provided by the local swissmountainleader.com.
Notable Ski Runs
The longest possible descent in Zinal is 7km4 miles long and the most difficult run is the 'Descente de l'aigle', which is 7km4 miles in length.
Skiing
Zinal offers good skiing, particularly for Expert skiers who will enjoy the extensive off-piste possibilities and the exhilarating "Piste du Chamois" descent from the Corne de Sorebois at nearly 3000m finishing in the nearby village of Mottec or in Grimentz returning to Zinal using the regular free ski buses. The steep black run, "Piste de l'Aigle", returns to the village and provides a challenge at the end of the day for strong skiers.
For beginners the nursery slopes are located at nearly 2500m, accessed via a cable car and equipped with snow cannons assuring good conditions all through the season.
Intermediate skiers will enjoy the excellent carving pistes but may find the limited prepared terrain and the two drag lifts restricting.
Zinal offers good sking, particularly, for Expert and Intermediate skiers.
Snowboarding
Zinal is the annual venue for the ExtremeCarving snowboarding group who relish the the steep black runs particularly the "Barthélémy".
Location and Map
Where is Zinal?
This ski resort is in the Swiss Alps in Sierre-Anniviers, Sierre.
Map
Tap for Full-Screen, or see J2Ski's Resort map, showing Hotels and Ski Shops.
How to get there
By Air
The nearest airport to Zinal is Sion, 60 minutes drive away.
Geneva, Berne, Annecy and Basel airports are all within three hours drive.
Sion is just one hours drive away, in good driving conditions, so you can be on the piste quickly.
Infrastructure
Ski Lift Capacity
The nine ski lifts are able to uplift 9,980 skiers and snowboarders every hour.
Snow Making
Snow-making is available, on 30km19 miles of ski runs, with 77 snow cannons.
Season Dates
When is Zinal open?
Closes : April 17, 2021.
Usual opening is early December, and usual closing is Mid April.
NOTE:- Ski area, lift and piste opening is subject to Current Snow Conditions.
COVID-19 / Coronavirus
We don't yet have specific details of the COVID-19 precautions being taken in Zinal, but they are likely to include most of the following :-
- Face masks required on lifts, and in shops.
- Social distancing in public areas.
- Reduced lift capacity.
- Extensive disinfection / sanitization.
French Ski Resort COVID-19 Measures describes further measures that may also be applied.
Visit the Zinal Tourist Office for the latest.
Talking about Zinal
Mentions in recent J2Ski News Items and Snow Reports from our users...