Glacier Express

The Glacier Express is Switzerland’s most famous train route, running from the foot of the Matterhorn in Zermatt to the playgrounds of European royalty in St. Moritz. Between, it passes through a dozen of Europe’s “little areas that rock.” We’ll use this deluxe train to work our way through the Alps’ finest terrain, refueling on board, and hopping off again to explore gems like Andermatt, Arosa, and eventually the famous endpoint, St. Moritz.

Begin in Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn for a heli lift up to a 7000’ ski descent off Monte Rosa, which ends at an opulent mountain restaurant. Then board the train for Andermatt, where we’ll ski the area’s unspoiled steeps. The journey east continues on the first-class dining car over the Oberalp pass. Over a candle-lit lunch take in the tunnels and the geographical bull’s-eye of the Swiss Alps. Pull into sunny Arosa, a chic design-hotel village with uncrowded powder skiing, a luxurious spa, and fantastic energy. There’s one last stop: St. Moritz. The definition of luxury in the Alps, St. Moritz is rich with culture and history, but despite its’ reputation, few know the secrets of its skiing potential. We’ll find the best snow with Heli Bernina, flying under the Piz Bernina and dropping into undiscovered lines with our guides.

A two-week Swiss powder odyssey that begins and ends in fabled mountain Meccas, discovering Switzerland’s true alpine idyll at all points between. All aboard the world’s greatest ski lift!

Fly into Zurich International Airport where you’ll meet your EpicQuest guide for the three-hour trip, by either private van or first class train, to Zermatt.

As diverse as the weather, the mountain ranges on this trip vary greatly. Zermatt’s iconic Matterhorn and Monte Rosa-dominated skyline gives it the high-alpine glacial topography. Andermatt has some small glacial areas, but is more suited to steep couloirs and rocky chutes up high, with long powder runs to the bottom of the valley. Arosa is a powder skiing paradise, with open bowls up high and some classic tree runs to remote villages. And St. Moritz has it all, from high alpine glaciers to steeps and tree runs at the lower elevations.

This trip covers the Swiss Alps from Zermatt to the Engadine, spending time in four very different weather zones; that almost ensures every kind of weather conditions on a two-week trip. From the high alpine of Zermatt to Andermatt’s Central Switzerland location, you can expect colder temps, and deeper snowpack the further east you go. In Arosa, the mountains of Graubunden have a mild climate, but always get decent snowfall. And St. Moritz lies within the Engadin region, prone to more Italian weather patterns out of the South.