IKON Adds Zermatt

[Zermatt]

Obviously you are joking. Was in Zermatt last year between ski and summer seasons (most lifts not running), to hike & see the Matterhorn. Unless you have a helicopter, there is only one way in or out- the train from Tasch, since Zermatt is an auto free town. Parking at Tasch is approximately 16 Swiss Francs per day. RT train to Zermatt is then 18 francs per person. Lodging varies- I think our hotel was about 150 per night- not high end and not low end, but remember this was off-season & no food was included. Food cost is outrageous. Since 75% of the village was closed for repairs in the off season, the few open restaurants pretty much all served the same thing. One option was McDonalds, and as an example, the cost of 2 value meals was approximately $35 (yes, US dollars after the conversion).

You need to go more. Obviously it's more expensive than your home town, but compared to any western ski resort it is no different. Once the place becomes familiar you know where to eat, how to use the grocery store, how to use public transport, not to eat at McDonalds, etc....

Every additional year I went back I was able to spend less, do more and stay at better hotels.

 

[Zermatt]

Switzerland in general is pretty expensive.

Less so if you're going solo or as a couple, much easier to skimp on some things to save a bit.

Not the case for a family of 5 like mine. Good luck finding a decent travel package to Zermatt for less than 5 figures for a family of 5.

IF you need a travel package or a travel agent to go to Switzerland you are doing it wrong...it's not north Korea.

Get a flight
Get train tickets
Get a hotel
Skiing is included with your Ikon Pass
Get the kids in Ski School (half the price as the US)
Ski, eat, drink, enjoy

 

[ScottySkis]

We need snow to fall in the east
Everyone has different amount of $ in life to spend. So what expensive to 1 person food ski trip or any thing is great ski value to some 1 elseeeeee�� Scottylanguage

 

[abc]

Scotty, you rock!

 

[Zermatt]

Here are the actual costs from our President’s week trip to Zermatt in 2019 for 2 adults and 2 kids age 7 and 9. I would never go this week again, btw. Too crowded on the slopes with British tourists on half-term break. We stayed in Zermatt for 9 nights and skied 7 days. I am not including lift tickets assuming you have an Ikon Pass. Kids under 9 ski free btw. Assume Swiss Franc is close to par with USD.

$2,134 - Flight, Delta JFK-ZRH including Delta Comfort on the way there and Main Cabin on the way back (at the time there were no baggage fees)

$3,132 - 9 nights in two bedroom condo less than 5 minute walk to Matterhorn Express

$275 - Two adult round trip train tickets (includes $30 for an annual pass that allows the
kids to ride for free). We buy the Super Saver Day passes as far in advance as possible.

$2,025 - Food, dining, etc. This is basically 225CHF per day. We buy breakfast supplies from Migros or Coop at very little cost. 80-100 CHF for lunch on the mountain in a restaurant with many beers (not in a cafeteria). 80-120 for Dinner in a mid range restaurant in town with many beers. Also eat in some nights to save money. Kids in ski school for 5 days and they get free lunch.

$1,178 - 5 days ski school for 2 kids

In 2018 we went in late January (after they get 10+ feet of snow in a few days) and paid $2,550 for 7 nights at a nicer condo (Haus Orgon). The mountain was totally empty.

 

[Domeskier]

I don't think you get the point.

The "dubious claim" was Switzerland is not as expensive as people thought. So let's examine what are people's "thought"? Right, "significantly more expensive"! So how significant is significant?

That's why the number got put on the page.

Is $10k for 5 "significantly more expensive"? That's 2k per person. Compare to where in the west? Salt Lake City? Reno? Breckenridge? Big Sky? Whistler?

The issue is not whether $10K is significantly more than what a family of a five would expect to pay to ski out west (I suspect it is, but never having paid for a family of five to ski out west, I do not know).

The question is whether a family of five can ski Switzerland for less than $10,000, which is the only figure that anyone in this thread has offered as to what they think it costs to ski Switzerland. Someone else suggested that a family of five can ski Switzerland for $8,875 if you have an Epic Pass, book a trip through a ski club and fill your pockets with breakfast meats and rolls for lunch. An 11.25% discount doesn't seem significant to me (even ignoring the fact that it is economically incorrect to ignore the cost of the EPIC Pass in determining the cost of the trip). So, no - this thread has not shown that it is cheaper to ski Switzerland than you might think.

 

[Zermatt]

I take it all back. Don't go to Zermatt. The scenery is horrible and the people are jerks. The whole ski scene there is really a joke and don't even bother with the apres. It's pretty much like Vermont as you can see in my video from 2018.

https://vimeo.com/263669907

 

[BenedictGomez]

So, no - this thread has not shown that it is cheaper to ski Switzerland than you might think.

Agreed. I'm completely agnostic here, but I was interested in the topic, and if ~9k is cutting some corners & assuming you must ski on EPIC, the sub $10k thing seems pretty doomed. I mean, I could suggest Ramen noodles to get even lower, but.....

 

[machski]

What's interesting is that this is the first European Resort to align with either IKON or Epic. I suspect this is the first domino to fall and we'll be seeing a lot of alignment shortly. As an existing IKON pass holder, and for someone that would like to ski Zermatt some day, this is a positive development.

Any predictions which resort will be next? Val d'ISÈRE, Kitzbühel?

Umm, nope, you missed the boat. Epic was aligned last year in Europe and has increased it this year.

Les 3 Vallees, Skirama Dolomiti Adamello Brenta in Italy, and 4 Vallees in Switzerland are all a part of Epic Pass access.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using AlpineZone mobile app

 

[abc]

The issue is not whether $10K is significantly more than what a family of a five would expect to pay to ski out west (I suspect it is, but never having paid for a family of five to ski out west, I do not know).

So, no - this thread has not shown that it is cheaper to ski Switzerland than you might think.

First, you're confusing Zermatt with Switzerland. I can tell you I DID ski 2 separate trips in Switzerland (one to Jungfrau, another to St Moritz) and BOTH cost less than $2000 including lift tickets and food. So on that figure, a family of 5 CAN ski Switzerland for under $10k.

Back to Zermatt, which is considered one of the more expensive resort even by the standard of Switzerland. I haven't been there so I will accept it may take over $10k for a family of 5. But, the more expensive resorts out west (Whistler, Big Sky etc.) will cost that similar amount. So Switzerland isn't significantly more expensive than skiing out west. Only if you compare the more expensive part of Switzerland the cheaper part of the west that you can conclude Switzerland is "significantly more expensive".

Or you could compare Aspen to Wildcat or Suicide 6 and conclude skiing out west is "significantly more expensive"

 

[Domeskier]

First, you're confusing Zermatt with Switzerland. I can tell you I DID ski 2 separate trips in Switzerland (one to Jungfrau, another to St Moritz) and BOTH cost less than $2000 including lift tickets and food. So on that figure, a family of 5 CAN ski Switzerland for under $10k.

I am confusing nothing. Another poster made a claim that a family of five cannot ski Switzerland (not Zermatt) for less than $10,000. No one in this thread has provided any evidence that a family of five can ski Switzerland for meaningfully less than this. I don't recall seeing a report of your trip to Switzerland on the forum. If your trip happened more than a few years ago, the cost is completely irrelevant to whether a family of five can ski Switzerland for under $10,000 TODAY. So, to reiterate - this thread has not shown that skiing Switzerland is less expensive the people think. The fact that I thought an east coast family of five can ski out west for significantly less than $10,000 (which you are fixating on) is also completely irrelevant to this conversation. At most, it shows that skiing out West is significantly more expensive than I thought (which I am happy to concede). It has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue of whether skiing in Switzerland is less expensive than people think (i.e., significantly less than $10,000 for a family of five, which is the only amount that has been offered in this thread as evidence of what people think it costs to ski Switzerland).

In fact, I would have thought a family of five could also ski Switzerland for meaningfully less than $10,000. Thus, all this thread has done is show me that skiing Switzerland (and the western US, apparently) is more expensive than I would have thought.

 

[Smellytele]

I have never skied in the US west with my family of 5 where it has even cost me 6k let alone 10k. (Tahoe, Colorado, SLC)

 

[BenedictGomez]

You can definitely do a ski week (say 9 days bookend'ed) with a family of 5 out west (Utah, Colorado), with say 6 days of skiing, for less than $10k practicing basic S.O.T.C. techniques.

Though never mentioned (and it probably would be mocked if mentioned), shopping is a skill, and the average person doesn't excel at it. When you take shopping seriously, when you actually consider shopping a form of work, huge savings can be had.

 

[JimG.]

Problem is that proving you can ski out west for much less than $10,000 for a family of 5 (which I would assume) has nothing to do with the costs for going to Switzerland.

I'm spoiled and traveled extensively all through Europe on my parent's dime through college. So perhaps for me it's just not worth it to spend that much going back. And I'm not wealthy enough to put 3 kids through college and travel to Europe (or out west for that matter).

But those are my priorities and as such irrelevant to this discussion.

 

[heiusa]

You can fly from NY to Geneva for approximately $550 per person in February, you can rent a midsize suv for $500 for the week, figure $4,000 for lodging, right now the exchange rate is approximately one to one, yes you can compare the costs of Europe to out west but the experience is not the same.

 

[Tonyr]

You can fly from NY to Geneva for approximately $550 per person in February, you can rent a midsize suv for $500 for the week, figure $4,000 for lodging, right now the exchange rate is approximately one to one, yes you can compare the costs of Europe to out west but the experience is not the same.

Not sure what you mean by the experience but I was considering a trip over to Switzerland this season before the Ikon announcement. When I was pricing things out I noticed that the costs were similar to a ski trip out west but thought that the accommodations here at the US resorts are nicer.

Tony

 

[abc]

I was considering a trip over to Switzerland this season before the Ikon announcement. When I was pricing things out I noticed that the costs were similar to a ski trip out west but thought that the accommodations here at the US resorts are nicer.

Accommodation is better in the US (bigger rooms, many have pool). Food is better in Europe.

That's really the root of the "perceived" more expensive for skiing in Europe. Most ski club trips to Europe typically try to get the same accommodation style (hotel with big rooms and pool) as in the US. Since those are uncommon over there, and is typically only available on high end properties, it really drive up the cost of most club trips.

I never failed to beat the club trip price, even without having to share room with others! Yes, the room are typically smaller. Instead of having a room meant for 2 (or 4!) people for myself, I have a room fit for... ONE! I even managed to have pool and hot tub at less cost as most ski club trips!

 

[abc]

Not sure what you mean by the experience

The skiing IS different.

One thing, you quite often get to ski from one valley to another, to another, have lunch, and come back via another route. Completely different scenery and perspective. That's rare in the US.

For another, you can't go willy-nilly off the groomer without taking a serious look at the avalanche potential. Even cutting between runs can have consequence.

So, for the powder hounds, better bone up on avalanche knowledge. Or, bring your American Express to hire guides. But for groomer zoomers, It's fantastic. You can crank in gazillion miles in a day, do it day after day for a week without repeating the same trail!