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Zermatt, Switzerland and
Milan, Italy
Date:
Jan 29-Feb 9, 2016
Trip Leaders: Steven Krapes and Dennis McCann
Trip Assistants: Alex
Karger and Eric Oberer
(Most pictures are clickable for high-res images)
 This
trip was the most popular airline trip ever offered by the Holmdel Ski
Club. On opening day of registration the Club received over 70 requests
for our 42-seat trip. A 10-day trip to Zermatt/Milan for $2125 proved to
be very appealing. Our tour operator was able to expand the size of our
reservation to 88 people but with the downside of having two airlines with different schedules and two hotels in each destination -
not ideal but better than disappointing the 46 people who otherwise
would not have been able to attend the trip. The transportation
logistics worked out well. All flights and transportation were on time,
no luggage was lost or delayed and no one sustained any serious
injuries.
 Our
"planes, trains, and automobiles"
trip began with two Friday evening flights out of JFK
with the usual available bus pickup from Piscataway NJ. We had direct
flights to Milan's Malpensa airport, which is a very nice and well-laid
out airport. We were through immigration, luggage pickup, and
customs within 30 minutes. Our two bus pickups in Milan from
iCareLimo.it awaited us and we began
the 3.5 hour trip to Tasch. We drove by one of the Northern Italian
large lakes (Lago Maggiore) with spectacular views of vacation homes
dotting the countryside. We didn't see much snow, even as we
passed the Rothwald ski area near the Simplon Pass, with its amazingly
tall bridge poking up from the valley.
 The Zermatt area had
not seen any new snowfall in several weeks before our arrival, but we
were confident that our snow dances would prove effective. We reached
the Tasch train station for our train shuttle to Zermatt. Gas-powered
vehicles are not permitted in Zermatt, thus the train. A quick 15
minute ride and we were in the colorful town of Zermatt. The 49 people
staying at the Hotel Perren walked downhill with their luggage - no
problem. The 39 people at the Hotel Astoria had a longer walk so the hotel
provided a luggage pickup. Most people then set out to pick-up
their discount reserved rental skis at the nearby Slalom Sport shop.
Dinner at our hotels followed and then jet lag hit most of us as we
barely could finish dinner with open eyes.
Saturday night proved to be full of Zermatt's legendary inebriated
partygoers who were heard by many of the people
staying at the Hotel Astoria. An adjacent nightclub, the Papperla Pub,
was active until the wee hours of the morning with steady thumping
drumbeats and wailing guitars, plus the frequent howling by drunken
patrons who streamed out onto the surrounding streets.
  Our
first ski day began Sunday morning with low clouds and poor visibility,
but with fairly warm weather. We were advised to stay on groomed runs
since off-piste was crusty and crunchy. Staying lower on the mountains
avoided the cloudy visibility issues. Given the jet lag, we were all
tired so it was good to explore the bars and restaurants on the mountain
and sample the local beers. Since we all had a large breakfast, it
seemed appropriate to limit our lunch to various liquids. There
were even champagne bars scattered about the trails. Monday
morning greeted us with a picture perfect bluebird ski day. Temps in the
upper 20's and bright sunshine. We had a few inches of snow the night
before that settled peacefully on the manicured groomed trails.
  Cameras
and phones were heavily used to snap hundreds of photos of the
Matterhorn. There is a tradition of taking a beer selfie against
the Matterhorn, so we had to oblige. Tuesday was yet another bluebird
day so many people made the trek to the Italian ski village of Cervinia.
The journey first included a tram ride up to the Klein Matterhorn, the
area's tallest lift at 12,746'. You felt like you were on top of
the world as you saw the Alps around you. Carved into the glacier inside
the top of the tram is an ice museum, called "Glacier Paradise".
The walls and floors are all ice, with various carvings scattered about.
 Cervinia
is a glorious ski area, if the conditions are right. It faces the warm
south sun and it is meticulously groomed from top to bottom. The wide
slopes made for exciting high speed cruising. The snow was soft; There
was no ice; The ski was clear; The sun was warm; Everyone screamed with
excitement. Restaurants and pubs dotted the ski area. I heard exclaimed,
"This is the best lasagna I've ever had!" Of course, we were in Italy.
In addition to wine, a local favorite drink was gluhwein - a warm red
spiced wine. Sitting outside one of the pubs, we were all mesmerized by
the tranquility and beauty of the pub we had chosen. This was not a
typical USA slopeside eatery with hundreds of people pushing each other
for a $12 burger and fries. We were at peace, drinking the local brew,
and extolling how fortunate we all were for being able to experience
this area.
  Wednesday
was one of those ski days that challenges even the most hardy skier.
Some folks opted for snowshoeing. Clouds dropped down and skiing became very opportunistic as
the skies cleared, then got socked in, cleared, again and again. Some incredible
skiing was mixed with moments of fear as the visibility dropped to less
than 20 feet. Ah - the perfect time to hit the pubs high atop the
mountains and experience local fare and brews. After lunch (well, a
midday excuse for soup and beer) we saw it started snowing again - yeah,
but we noticed the snow was falling sideways. Our waitress leaned over
to us and said, "Take the tram down. It's not safe." Who are we to
question advice from a local. One fun event we had that day was taking
the Sunnegga funicular. It is like any standard funicular (an inclined
railway) but this one rides inside a tunnel carved out from the bedrock,
and the incline is quite steep. On the downward journey we rode in the
uppermost car so we could see the top station disappear as we fell
gracefully into the hole below us. The speed was impressive - it was
like a ride at an amusement park.
  Thursday
was another bluebird ski day - boy were we lucky this week. Hardly
anyone complained about the lack of powder even though tomorrow would be
our last day skiing in Zermatt. But wait - a new weather forecast
emerged. Thursday afternoon saw the clouds move in and during the night
it dumped. Groups of us took to the streets to see Zermatt's main
shopping/nightlife street (Bahnhofstrasse) in all its wintery splendor.
By Friday morning, the town received 10" but the mountains got more, in
some areas a lot more. Knee-deep to crotch-deep light fluffy off-piste
powder was not uncommon. It's a good thing that the Slalom Sport rental
shop provided us with mid-fat skis to handle all that powder. The lifts
did not open until around 9:45am (see picture of some members anxiously
waiting for the lift to open at the top of the Sunnegga funicular) but
all that anxiety was quickly erased as we saw our skis disappear in the
fluff. Screams of "Again, Again" abounded even as our quads ached.
Saturday morning began with our standard buffet breakfast. The
breakfasts and dinners at both the Astoria and Perren were good quality
meals; hearty and tasty. Everyone gorged on the wonderful fresh baked
breads. The hotels transported our luggage to the train station and we
began our 4 hour trip to Milan. 61 of us stayed at the Milan Garibaldi
and 27 stayed at the Sempione. Both hotels were close to tram stops to
the major city attractions, or within walking distance for active
people. The Sempione was in a quieter part of the city than the
Garibaldi but other than the occasional ambulance siren or tram brake
squeal, the Garibaldi proved to be satisfactory for the group.
  Milan
is a very large city with lots of history and a keen sense of fashion.
Many locals were dressed exquisitely in designer clothing - anyone
wearing white sneakers was clearly a tourist. The main tourist area is
around the Duomo, with many shops and restaurants. There are also
several museums, including the impressive "Museo della Scienza e della
Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci", a science museum that rivals the
Smithsonian in Washington. Another don't miss site was the Sforza
Castle - a huge fortress that now houses art, historical items, and
music antiquities. Many members got tickets to see the Leonardo da
Vinci's "Last Supper" mural at the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie.
There was tight security to get into the Duomo. Many solders with
automatic weapons guarded the doors and each visitor was checked for
metal. The lines for entry were long so we wandered around.
 We
found that most restaurants outside the tourist areas did not serve
meals until after 7:30pm, however those restaurants around the Duomo
served all day long. It was interesting to see the barkers outside the
restaurants who tried to get you interested in their menu - clearly lots
of competition for diners.
 By chance we stumbled upon "Il
Kaimano" in the Brera area just north of the Duomo. A classic local
bistro serving authentic Italian fare. Reasonably priced, great
food/wine, and a friendly/gregarious staff. So nice that we went
back for dinner the next day. Pizza, seafood, veal cutlet and many
liters of house wine. This bistro helped make Milan a memorable visit,
even with the all-day rain on Sunday. A large group of members attended
the Rigoletto Opera performance at the La Scala theater. It was
the quintessential high-end opera experience. How those members managed
to pack formal suits and gowns amongst their ski gear will remain a
mystery to the rest of us.
  Monday
in Milan was a clear day and with most of the museums closed, our
members scattered to explore other attractions. A large group took the
train to Venice and St Marks Square. Another group went to Modena/Maranello
to visit the Ferrari museum and to take a tour of the the Ferrari
factory and its on premise race track. Unfortunately, the "look but
don't touch" security guards were everywhere. While we did not expect
prices on the various car models, we were surprised that even in the
obligatory gift shop stroll at the end of the tour, most items were not
labeled with a price. As goes the adage, "If you have to ask...."
The trip home on Tuesday was uneventful. A few weather delays but
everyone got home safe and tired from 11 days of exercise and adventure.
During our JFK immigration and customs process, it became obvious that
those people who were members of the U.S Customs
Global Entry program whisked by in just a few minutes, while other
people stood in a 20 minute line.
Steve, Dennis, Alex, and Eric
would like to thank everyone for being such a great
group and making it a memorable trip for all. The abundance of
smiling and laughter by everyone on the trip was reassuring that the
Club had yet another spectacular adventure
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