The S'no Joke Ski Club is running two consecutive ski trips to Zermatt, Switzerland, in 2025.  The first trip, Week-A, is filled,  However, there is still room on the Week-B trip, February 7 to 15.  The trip is open to members of other ski clubs, as well as S'no Joke members.  

As the guidebook Ski and Snowboard Worldwide says, "Our verdict is short and simple:  You must try Zermatt before you die.  There is nowhere else to match it." 

 At Zermatt, you are skiing a vast area, with incredible scenery, in the shadow of the iconic Matterhorn.  Zermatt has the "best mountain restaurants in the world" according to Where to Ski and Snowboard Worldwide.  In addition to the extensive terrain of Zermatt, for a few extra francs to get the interlinked ski pass, you can also ski over to the resort of Cervinia in Italy to add variety to your experience.  The town of Zermatt is charming, with traditional architecture, and the occasional horse-drawn carriage traveling down the car-free streets.  The trip leader has been on 13 ski trips to Europe, and found Zermatt to easily be the most picturesque and interesting ski town he has visited.

 We are staying at the excellent Resort Hotel Alex, with a 4-Star Superior rating.  The hotel is walking distance to two lift bases, and a free bus ride to the third.  All breakfasts and dinners are included.  "Let yourself be whisked away into the culinary world of our Chef Frédéric Fischer and enjoy incomparable dishes."  The spa includes a swimming pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, badminton, ping pong, squash court and  tennis court, and massage and beauty treatments.  For more information regarding this special hotel, see the hotel website at https://www.hotelalexzermatt.com/en.  

Hotel prices, which include ground transportation Zurich to Zermatt and return, and breakfasts and dinners at the hotel, are:  Standard Classic Double Room  $2921, Deluxe Double Room Shared  $3128, Classic Single Room. $3458.

There is an optional 3-day trip extension in Zurich.  With the extension, return flights are on February 18, rather than February 15.  The return flights on the Icelandair itinerary (see below) are the same times on both dates.  Hotel prices for the extension, including breakfast, are:  Shared room  $515, Single Room  $825.

 Air transportation is not included in the trip.  We have a flight itinerary on Icelandair to and from Seattle-Zurich that most trip participants are using.  Round-trip transportation between the airport and the hotel in Zermatt is by motor coach and electric van.  The ground transportation schedules will be designed to sync with the Icelandair flights.  The recommended flight itinerary is as follows:

 ICELANDAIR 

 07 Feb.  Fl. 680. Seattle-Keflavik.  2:30 pm - 6:15am   (Keflavik is the airport near Reykjavik, Iceland.)

08 Feb.  Fl. 568. Keflavik-Zurich.   7:20 am - 12:05 pm

 15 Feb.  Fl. 569. Zurich-Keflavik.   1:00pm - 4:00pm

15 Feb.  Fl. 681  Keflavik-Seattle.  5:05pm - 5:00pm 

 For those leaving Zurich on Feb.18, at the end of the Zurich extension, the itinerary flights are the same.     

 If you wish to book other flights,  Kevin Grossman from Alpine Adventures, who designed the trip for the club, will help you book flights to sync with the ground transportation schedules.  He will also help people book flights who are not flying from Seattle.  

 For further information, including how to access the S'no Joke website in order to register as a non-S'no Joke-member, contact Carl Swanstrom, trip leader at crs770@gmail.com.