My Dream Mountain, Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland
My childhood dream was to ski in Zermatt, below the Matterhorn mountain. A few years ago this dream got real as i invited my wife to join me for a skiing trip.
The only problem: she actually never learned how to ski.
So I decided to help her learn and she decided to give it a try. And what a try that was. On the positive side, there was New Year 2017, we started our journey a few days ago.
But on the more demanding side, at around 3000m it was -15 degrees Celsius and wind blowing hard, sometimes even more than 70km/h. Not at all the easiest conditions, especially for someone that practically never skied before.
Grächen is superfriendly, nice and beautiful Ski Resort, that can accomodate families, beginners, but also more demanding skiers alike.
First day was a great success. My wife stepped on the skis for the first time and she did it with grace and enthusiasm. We learned some basics, how to move, how to stop and how to control the speed.
At first, she was really really afraid of the speed, so she developed an innovative stopping system – falling down intentionally. This was rather difficult thing to make her stop doing – and not a very pleasant for her to practice in the first place. But, after a day’s worth of falling, standing up and mastering basic skills, she was able to move fairly good, although also rather hurt and a bit pissed – the falling (and me yelling at her) took the toll, of course.
Night view of the Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland
After the first day, we took a break and visited the famous, awesome, beautiful, really indescribable Ski Resort Zermatt right below the Matterhorn mountain.
The images, the setting, the stars, the night were enchanting, simply gorgeous and we enjoyed a romantic dinner in the restaurant at 3.100m above sea level. Oh, did we mention that you can also spend the night or whole vacation there?
Gornergrat Kulm Hotel and Restaurant (and also an Observatorium)
After the wonderful day at the mountain and romantic dinner at the top of it, the next day was going to be intermediate learning and more demanding excercises.
The falling-breaking system was no longer tolerated.
Happy face after learning how to stop and taking skilift together.
The motivation was: if she learns to ski properly, we are going to ski in the Zermat the very next day. So she did!
She did it – on the skis with Matterhorn in the background.
The challenge was real and very demanding, but the reward….unbelievable…happiness…sense of achievement…proud teacher…and sooo much fun to have.
Zermatt Ski Resort, right below the Matterhorn mountain
The day was perfect, the weather a bit cold and windy, but we are happy
We skied all around the Zermatt Resort, from the top to the bottom, in all weather conditions, from strong winds (70 km/h) and low temperatures (even -20 degrees C) to calm and sunny weather. The Matterhorn was kind to us.
The slopes were in top shape, prepared with fresh, natural snow on the mountain and in the lower regions with artificial snow.
We skied all the terrains, from blue slopes, suitable for beginners, through red, more demanding, intermediate slopes, all through to black ones, appropriate for experienced skiers. She did it all.
I was so proud. And happy. And so was she.
The longest slope we took was nearly 25km, from the top to the bottom of the valley. Amazing.
After super skiing, we decided to celebrate The Dream Come True for us both.
Violeta learned to ski (properly, i must say) and my dream to visit Zermatt in winter came true in such a rewarding and good way.
Nice smooth moves, easy skiing by my wife, great progress, especially for someone that just barely learned how to ski. So very proud of her 😍
And finally this year, after only one week practice three years ago, we see that skiing is like bicycle riding – once you know how it’s easy. Greeeeat success 😎😎😎😎
