The International Herald Tribune, March 20, 2008
A Famed Resort's Modern Era
It wasn’t even midafternoon, but the beer and glüwein were flowing freely in Zermatt, the picturesque, pedestrian-friendly Swiss ski resort that is the gateway to the Matterhorn. The mulled red wine is a signature beverage at the Igloo Bar, a snow-sculptured outdoor hangout right on the ski slope. Here, the Matterhorn’s shark’s tooth peak — an icon for the Alps themselves — stood sentinel overhead as skiers and snowboarders shed their rainbow layers of Gortex and soaked up the sun. The music was blaring, the fondue was cooking, and for this crowd the resort’s top-rate terrain and happening après-ski scene were coming together quite nicely. I don’t normally imbibe wine as part of my on-mountain plan of attack before the end of the ski day, but when in Switzerland, why not do as the Swiss do?