Police Calls for Witnesses After Collision Leaves 2 Skiers Seriously Injured in Zermatt, Switzerland A serious skiing accident occurred shortly after midday on Wednesday on Zermatt’s black-rated slope 85a, located on the Plateau Rosa, resulting in severe injuries to two skiers. The incident took place around 12:00 p.m. when a 37-year-old Swedish man and a 57-year-old Italian man collided near the right-hand edge of the piste. The cause of the crash remains unknown, and […] Industry News SnowBrains | May 3, 2025 0 Comments
French Backcountry Skier Dies in Fall Near Summit of Switzerland’s Highest Peak A 53-year-old French backcountry skier died on April 28 after falling near the summit of the Dufourspitze, Switzerland’s highest mountain, authorities confirmed. The climber was part of a two-person team that departed the Monte Rosa Hut early Monday morning, aiming to reach the 4,634-meter (15,203-foot) summit of the Dufourspitze, located in the Monte Rosa massif near Zermatt, Switzerland. Approximately 80 […] Industry News SnowBrains | April 30, 2025 0 Comments
Massive 6-Foot-Deep Avalanche Near Chairlift at Zermatt, Switzerland, Triggers Swift Rescue Operation—No Injuries Reported A massive avalanche broke loose Tuesday afternoon near the Furgghorn, just outside the famed resort town of Zermatt, prompting an intensive rescue response. Despite initial fears that skiers or snowboarders may have been caught in the slide, Air Zermatt reports that no victims were found. The avalanche measured several hundred meters wide, with an outlet zone stretching roughly 1,000 feet […] Avalanche AvyBrains | April 22, 2025 0 Comments
Russian Troubles, or Swiss Crevasse? The Peculiar Case of the Missing German-American Billionaire Seven years ago Karl-Erivan Haub, a German-American billionaire, was reported missing after failing to return from a backcountry skiing expedition in the Swiss Alps. The 58-year-old was the owner and CEO of German retail group Tengelmann, which runs supermarkets, discounters, and DIY centers across the globe. He was reportedly in Zermatt to train for the Patrouille des Glaciers ski race, […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | April 4, 2025 0 Comments
Top 9 Must Ski Destinations Around the World Who doesn’t love a good destination ski trip? Anticipation levels are sky-high while planning your travel, from finding accommodation to checking out local dining options. The immediate thrill when arriving in a unique winter paradise accompanied by friends, family, or your own good fortune. There are not many feelings quite like it. Each year, TripAdvisor puts together a list of the […] Industry News John Cunningham | March 16, 2025 1 Comment
Top 10 Tips for Skiing With Kids Skiing with kids can be the most rewarding yet also the most frustrating thing you have ever done. Here are our top tips to maximize the fun: 1) Choosing a Resort: Choose your resort very carefully. Avoid long walks with gear or long car trips fully dressed to the lift. Maybe pick a smaller resort with good lift access over […] Brains Julia Schneemann | February 16, 2025 1 Comment
Severe Summer Storms and Snow Melt Cause Massive Landslides in Europe’s Southern Alps, Killing At Least 7 Parts of the Southern Alps in Switzerland, France, and Italy were battered by severe storms on Saturday and Sunday night, June 29-30, with the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Valais/Wallis and the Italian Valle d’Aosta bearing the brunt of the destruction. Images and videos from local news channels, as well as tourists stuck in the regions, show devastating destruction caused […] Julia Schneemann | July 1, 2024 1 Comment
Landslide and Flooding Cuts Off Zermatt, Switzerland, From Rest of the World The famous Swiss ski resort Zermatt has been cut off from the rest of the world after a landslide and flooded rivers made roads impassable today, June 21. Train services to the remote mountain village have been halted due to the floods, and access roads closed, isolating the quaint village completely. The river Vispa as well as the Triftbach Creek […] Julia Schneemann | June 21, 2024 1 Comment
Zermatt, Switzerland, Opens New “Rooftop Ride” on Furi Tramway for Summer On May 2, Zermatt, Switzerland, opened the ‘Rooftop Ride’ on top of the new Furi tramway, which started operations in November 2023. The open-air platform on top of the tramway will offer guests spectacular views of the Matterhorn. The Furi tramway takes guests from Zermatt at 1,646 meters (5,400 feet) across the village to the Furi top station at 1,871 […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | May 3, 2024 0 Comments
Late Season Skiing in Europe: Top 15 Resorts for Spring Skiing As winter fades into spring, some skiers and snowboarders may be moth-balling their equipment for the season, but then there are those die-hard winter enthusiasts refusing to call it quits. If you count yourself into the latter group, you may wonder where you can still get turns in as late as the end of April or even early May in […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | April 12, 2024 2 Comments
[VIDEOS] Skier Thrown From Chair After 62 MPH Winds Batter Chairlift at Matterhorn Ski Paradise View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vinello e domiciliari (@vinello_e_domiciliari) Check out these videos to see if you’ve ever complained about a chairlift stopping due to wind hold. Related: The 5 Steepest Chairlifts in the United States The lift is the Cretaz chair at Matterhorn Ski Paradise, Cervinia, Italy. Videos were taken by lucky people […] SnowBrains | March 29, 2024 0 Comments
[VIDEO] The Deceased 6 Backcountry Skiers’ Desperate Fight for Survival at Tête Blanche near Zermatt, Switzerland A video released by the Cantonal Police of Wallis/Valais shows how the deceased backcountry skiers, who had gone missing on a tour from Zermatt to Arolla in Switzerland, fought for their survival in the extreme elements. On Saturday, March 9, six backcountry skiers set out on a tour to train for the Patrouille des Glaciers challenge, which leads from Zermatt […] Julia Schneemann | March 16, 2024 0 Comments
5 Backcountry Skiers Killed and 1 Missing Near Zermatt, Switzerland A shocking drama is unfolding near the famous Matterhorn at Zermatt, Switzerland. A group of six backcountry skiers went missing on Saturday, March 9, and thus far five have been confirmed dead while one remains missing. Five of the six backcountry skiers belong to one family, hailing from the canton Wallis/Valais, while the sixth member is from Freiburg. The group […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | March 11, 2024 0 Comments
New Study Reveals Ski Price Increases in Europe are Outpacing Inflation A new study by luggage and ski equipment storage company, Radical Storage, reveals the increasing cost of skiing in Europe. Skiing and the winter sports industry is a huge business, especially in Europe. Around 400 million people visit ski resorts yearly, with the Alps accounting for more than half of this. With skiing accounting for 7% of Europe’s tourism industry, […] Industry News SnowBrains | February 12, 2024 0 Comments
Women’s FIS Alpine World Cup Downhill Race at Matterhorn at Swiss/Italian Border Resort Canceled Organizers at Matterhorn Ski Paradise at the border of Zermatt, Switzerland, and Cervinia, Italy, knew that the odds were stacked against them. The weather forecast had been mixed at best, but hopes were still high that the first ever World Cup race could take place on the new Gran Becca course. Hopes quickly eroded on both Friday and Saturday for […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | November 19, 2023 0 Comments
Successful Training Run at Cervino, Italy, Raises Hope That the Women’s FIS Alpine World Cup Downhill Race Will Go Ahead After the men’s downhill race as well as two of three men’s training runs at Matterhorn Ski Paradise at the Swiss/Italian border were canceled, everyone was starting to worry about the women’s races scheduled for this week. The International Ski & Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) has been trying to get the first-ever cross-border race off the ground unsuccessfully for the last […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | November 16, 2023 0 Comments
Matterhorn Speed Opening Remains Plagued with Issues As Today’s Women’s Training is Canceled on Swiss/Italian Border The Local Organization Committee (‘LOC’) at the Matterhorn Speed Opening on the Swiss/Italian border announced this morning that the Women’s Downhill training run was canceled. Strong winds and heavy snowfalls made training impossible. Last week, the Men’s FIS Alpine World Cup Speed Opening was canceled. Both of the men’s downhill races had to be called off due to wind and […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | November 15, 2023 0 Comments
First Ever Cross-Border FIS Alpine Race from Switzerland to Italy Sees Both Events Canceled After the cancellation of yesterday’s Downhill race due to snow and wind, today’s Downhill race was canceled as well. The Local Organization Committee (‘LOC’) together with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) announced at 7 a.m. that today’s race would be canceled as well. Yesterday morning the LOC and FIS called off the race at the same time after […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | November 12, 2023 0 Comments
Green Light for the First FIS Alpine Cross-Border World Cup Race at Zermatt, Switzerland, & Cervino, Italy The first-ever FIS Alpine cross-border World Cup race has been in the making for a while now. Last year the event had to be canceled due to a lack of snow. This year, the local organization committee used almost double the snowfarming to ensure the race would go ahead. Helped by some early season snowfalls across the European Alps, the […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | November 8, 2023 0 Comments
FIS Responds to POW Petition Protect Our Winters (‘POW’) started a petition last week to put pressure on the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (‘FIS’) to better align wintersport with environmental sustainability. The initiative was prompted by the emergence of pictures from both preparations for the World Cup at Sölden, Austria, as well as the cross-border event at Zermatt, Switzerland & Cervino, Italy, that saw […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | October 24, 2023 0 Comments