insight

Zermatt Insight

Over 22 years of visiting Zermatt one could be forgiven for feeling just a bit jaded about the whole thing.

I mean how many times can one look up and marvel at the Matterhorn? After all, you see one big rock you have seen ’em all right? Well, maybe. But if you think Zermatt is just about one big, unique hunk of rock, you might spend the next few minutes of your precious time reading this article. You see the big draw, which is undoubtedly the Matterhorn, goes a long way in explaining why people visit Zermatt in the first place, but it does not really clarify why folks keep coming back. Nor does it illustrate why so many come to live and work there as ski bums of some form or another and then decide to stay on and make the place their life, their home.

Think about it. These folks, as well as the ones that were born and raised there, could even get to resent the “in your face” attitude of the rock. Wait a minute, resent a rock, a rock with attitude? Surely that’s another story. If it is, it will be told at another time. This one will concentrate on the draw of Zermatt, its “pulling power” if you will. It will try to get to the bottom of why it remains a magnet for visitors, ski bums, and yes, even jaded, aging “hacks” long after the honeymoon period is long over.