Zermatt, Switzerland is one of those truly magical places where the outside world seems so very outside.
The small alpine village sits just below the world-famous Matterhorn and yet it still remains off the beaten path. Part of the reason is due to its isolation. When I visited shortly after graduating from college, I had to take a train deep into the heart of the Swiss Alps and past a large car park which signaled the end of the road. Cars, you see, are not allowed in Zermatt. Tourists must walk with their own two legs to get around.
As you might imagine with such restrictions against automobiles, Zermatt is a perfectly quaint, alpine village which has left the modern world far behind–until now, that is. According to an article in the Independent, Zermatt is modernizing. More specifically, Zermatt is modernizing its ski industry.
Zermatt has wonderful ski slopes. The locals, however, never invested in them. They had almost no ski lifts, only a single ski school, and no artificial snow whatsoever.
Apparently the locals have finally woke up and smelled the bacon; the underutilized cash cow on their back doorstep was not bringing in the euros like so many other wintertime retreats and so they decided to modernize.
Visitors to Zermatt can now enjoy the town’s “first ever fully integrated lift system.” In addition they can ski on man-made snow when conditions aren’t great and they can also choose between a variety of independent ski schools now operating.
So what does this mean for Zermatt? I don’t know. But, if this modernization begins to destroy the quaintness of the town as Zermatt embraces the lucrative ski industry, then I’m all against it.