Stuck in Visp, Switzerland: My Unexpected Matterhorn Adventure

Intro

This is it! The last entry in my Easter/Passover 2025 trip to Europe. You can read all of my adventures in the Old Continent here:

Now I was on my way to Visp in Switzerland, from Milan, Italy, to cross something else from my bucket list: The Matterhorn. I was so excited to finally see this mountain located in the Alps, but the weather had other plans for me…

From Milan to Visp

Picking up from my last blog entry, I was on the TrenItalia tren from Milan, Italy, to Visp, Switzerland, an almost mandatory stop to go see The Matterhorn. It was very early in the morning, and soon the train started going into tunnels, and after a little bit I started seeing snow capped mountains. With a very sunny day I was not expecting at all that the snow was going to change my next 48 hours I had planned…

The Swiss border control was pretty quick. They just came in the train and checked the passports. After a few minutes, we got to Visp, Switzerland. My connection was in a few minutes, and went to take the train up the mountain, although upon arriving to Visp, agents kept saying that Zermatt was closed.

I started panicking, and checked the screens and the schedules on the SBB Mobile App. Yes, Zermatt was temporarily closed in April 2025 due to a significant avalanche risk triggered by heavy snowfall on the last couple of nights. The resort was cut off due to the closure of road and rail access, and avalanche danger was at maximum levels. I was stuck in Visp.

Stuck in Visp?

I had to figure out a plan, what to do. The snowstorm was very heavy, even for a late winter in April, and shut down everything. Zermatt was isolated, with no power, and the only way to go up there was via helicopters, which I saw a lot coming down the hill. With suitcase in hand, I had no idea what to do. I kept checking the app, and asking the train agents, and the answer was the same: they do not know when the service will be restored.

I had a reservation for the next couple of nights in a hotel in Zermatt, so my first action taken was to cancel it. after a few hours in Visp, I realized that the train were not going to continue for the rest of the day, and I was going to be stuck in this little town. Fortunately, despite being the same check in date, the hotel understood the reasoning and refunded my reservation for free. It seemed that Visp had also been affected by the heavy snowstorms from the last couple of nights, and many trees were down.

While part of me was hopeful I somehow got a ride up the mountain to Zermatt, I did not hesitate to get a coffee in Visp…

…and explore it a little bit, especially with all that snow everywhere. It had been a minute since I did not see snow on the floor, last time being obviously in winter in New York City.

Exploring Visp, Switzerland

Walking around the snow was kind of fun, but fortunately it was not super cold. I was hungry, so decided to try some dumplings at Vispa Asia, not too far from the town center.

The dumplings were great, but now it was time to get back into the town center, and figure out where I would spend the night while stuck in this town. Will I be able to see The Matterhorn on this trip???

Booked myself a room in Hotel Elite, just steps from the main station, and this was basically to sleep for the night. Probably the smallest and most uncomfortable bed I had ever had in a hotel, but I just needed to rest, especially after waking up so early these last few days.

The rest of the day I was just keeping a eye on the app, to see when the service would be restored, and decide what to do. I had my suitcase made just in case I had to run either tonight or in the morning. As expected, there was not much to do in this town. Just went to McDonald’s for a quick bite later and that was it.

A glimpse of hope

Woke up the next morning and kept checking the train app to see upcoming trains from Visp to Zermatt. If no option would be available, I would just leave Visp for Geneva. Fortunately, those trains to that city were already re-instated. The city was working hard in cutting the trees that had partially fallen during the snow storm. Seeing all the destruction I was completely unaware of beforehand was appalling. Just a few days after this trip, a whole town, Blatten, neighbor to Visp, was completely destroyed in an avalanche. The news of the destruction of the neighbor town, and seeing in the map how close it was to Visp, where I was stuck not too long ago, really shocked me.

The glacier landslide was pretty impressive.

I was minutes away from taking the train to Geneva. I did not want to continue wasting my time, and I did not want to play with my luck since I had to take a flight the next day from Geneva to Paris…

…but around 11 AM, I saw that a bus service to Täsch, a town midway to Zermatt, was opening. I saw people moving and things happening. Many other stuck local and tourists ran and got into the bus with the hope that eventually the train from Täsch to Zermatt would open. There was a lot of uncertainty, and getting back down the mountain was not a sure thing either. I risked it anyways. I had come all the way here, so I got on the bus with suitcase in hand, and after some time waiting for the green light, we were moving uphill.

We passed very beautiful little villages, and snowy landscapes. We saw many different peaks, all looking like The Matterhorn, but it was not showing its face yet.

Tasch, Switzerland

Täsch is a small alpine village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, nestled in the Mattertal Valley just 5 kilometers from the world-famous resort town of Zermatt. Surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery, Täsch serves primarily as a gateway to Zermatt, with a large car park and shuttle trains for visitors, since Zermatt is car-free. Though often overlooked, Täsch offers peaceful accommodations, traditional Swiss charm, and access to beautiful hiking trails and nature.

The bus dropped off us on the Matterhorn Terminal Tasch, and after getting my suitcase, I tried to figure out what the next plan was. I kept asking train agents and they kept saying it was possible that the train was reopening soon. So while that happened, and since hundreds of other visitors were also stuck, not only down here, but in Zermatt, I planned for just being around the terminal for the next couple of hours.

I went to the supermarket, got coffee, food and basically camped around waiting for answers. The tracks had to be clear of snow, vegetation and debris from the snowstorm.

Finally, at 1:35 PM at glimpse of hope presented itself. There was an actual next shuttle going to Zermatt in 60 min. OMG, I was finally going to up to see The Matterhorn! I lined up and a Colombian lady (coincidence?) was right behind me. We interacted and since she was local, she was telling me everything that had happened in the last few days. She was going to see her husband, also trapped in Zermatt during all this time.

Zermatt, Switzerland: First Steps

After 30 hours of waiting for answers and slowly moving up the hill, I was in Zermatt. As we arrived in the first train in 3 days in this town, the chaos was noticeable. People were lined up to take the trains going down, trapped down here, probably hundreds with flights or trains missed. Hotel reservations lost. Everything was a mess. But I only had a few hours of sun, and I only had one goal today: see THE MATTERHORN!

I would figure out the rest of my adventure after the fact.

I started going up the hill, since the famous peak is not visible from all angles, but mostly from some famous roads. The architecture of this resort was so beautiful. I felt like I was inside of a postcard.

It had been some time since I had been walking from the main station here in Zermatt, and I had not seen The Matterhorn yet. The weather was sunny, but there were a lot of clouds over the hills. I was afraid I would not be able to see it.

The Matterhorn

But after continuing going up, here it was: The Matterhorn. Finally, in front of me. Covered by some clouds, but visible nonetheless. It was beautiful, and this bucket list item was now crossed off.

The Matterhorn is one of the most iconic mountains in the world, known for its sharp, pyramid shape. Standing at 4,478 meters (14,692 feet), it straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy near Zermatt. Its dramatic silhouette has made it a symbol of the Alps and a popular destination for climbers and photographers alike. I just kept staring at it, and looking for the best angles all over.

One thing I had to solve now, and it was a full day pass I had purchased for today for the Matterhorn Paradise Cable Car. I was not expecting any good news, since I supposed it was going to be closed due to the snowstorm, and that was the case. I got there, and asked for a refund, and they declined, saying the ticket was good to go for a few days. I told them I could not go on it because it was closed, so they were very emphatic that no refunds were to be made, even if themselves would close the cable car. I was in shock, because this nonsense would not happen in the US, or anywhere to be honest.

They gave me a card with an e-mail to try to contact Customer Service, and after the trip I did, and after many interactions going back and forth, I gave up and they provided me with a ticket I could use once in the next 365 days. I am hoping now I am able to do so. Mind you, this was like $150 that I did not want them to steal from me. Horrible company.

But I was in Zermatt, and I was going to try to look for the best. The last 48 hours had been stressful, but I saw the Matterhorn, and even if I could not see it closer on the cable car, I was in this beautiful town enjoying these views.

The heavy snowstorm really gave it a nice look. I was just mad that so many clouds were right in front of the peak, like it was not allowing me to see it fully.

I started my descend back into the main part of the town, crossing the glacial river, and being amazed by literally everything.

Looking back would give me this amazing look of at least the peak of this pyramid shaped mountain.

The Chaos for the Return

That line that I saw when I had just arrived in Zermatt was now in my close future. What it was supposed to be a full 3 day-2 night adventure to see this mountain, now it had been just a few hours in some random afternoon. I had the cable car, the museum, a trek, and other activities planned. But could not do any of them due to the weather.

At least I was ok, although now, I needed to figure out how to get to Visp and then to Geneva, to take a flight the next day to Paris. While I was thinking this, I heard explosions up in the mountains. Helicopters were now throwing explosives to the slopes to get controlled avalanches for all the new snow that had accumulated in the last few days. I had never seen anything like this.

After buying hot coffee and some Swiss chocolates (so expensive!), I finally got in line. It was so long, the end was blocks away from the start at the train station. You could not literally see where it started. I made some friends in line…

…and after one hour waiting, some volunteers started providing hot drinks to the people in line. Fortunately, it was not super cold, but this was a nice gesture.

Zermatt, and The Matterhorn, were short lived. But at least I got to see them with my eyes. I will definitely be back, and hopefully I have more luck the next time. For now, and after almost 3 hours waiting in line, I was coming down on the train to Visp. I was lucky enough to find a train to Geneva not too long after, and I booked a hotel for that night before my flight to Paris. You can continue reading what happened next on this Europe trip here, but this is the last post for this voyage. I had a lot of fun, and saw a lot of beautiful places. But now, it was time to go back to reality, AND, soon I would be back to my Theme Park life!