Skiers are returning to the Theodul Glacier above Zermatt from Wednesday 14 October, more than two months after the summer heatwave forced the resort to halt public skiing. Zermatt Bergbahnen said on its website that fresh snow and cooler temperatures had markedly improved conditions, and the Plateau Rosa 1 and 2 lifts are once again carrying winter sports fans up to the glacier on the Swiss-Italian border.
Not every slope is open yet. The mountain railway company is preparing the Plateau Rosa 3 lift, and once it is running it hopes to add a beginners’ area and a small snow park section, though only if conditions allow. Public operations on the glacier had been suspended in late July, with a few training runs kept open for Swiss-Ski teams through the hottest weeks. For now, only part of the glacier ski area is back in operation.
The closure sits uneasily with Zermatt’s promise of skiing 365 days a year. It was not the first time the resort has had to stop. In the very hot summer of 2022, melting ice, bare patches and crevasses made winter sports on the glacier impossible. Summer training windows across the Alps are getting shorter, and keeping slopes and lift infrastructure working on ice now demands far more labour.
Across the valley in Saas-Fee, summer operations ended early from mid-August, when Saastal Bergbahnen said the slopes and glacier installations could no longer be run safely. Some lifts on the Allalin Glacier have since restarted, according to an update posted on Saturday. Director Simon Bumann told Radio SRF that keeping them going takes considerable effort, with crews grooming the runs using snow saved from last year. He said officials see glacier skiing as having an “expiration date” and warned that the “end of life” will eventually arrive, but staff will keep operations going for as long as they can.
The backdrop is stark. According to the report, Swiss glaciers lost 5.5 per cent of their ice this summer, adding to years of retreat across the high Alps. For visitors planning an early-season trip to Valais, the reopening offers a chance to get on snow before the main winter season begins. Resorts are clear, however, that each additional lift and slope depends on fresh snowfall and cold temperatures holding.
