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Zermatt Bergbahnen AG has confirmed the closure of its summer ski facilities at Plateau Rosa, the ski area located between Switzerland and Italy that until now was the only one in Europe where skiing was possible all year round, including August. The resort did not even open for the weekend of August 1-2.
The notice first reached the teams and ski clubs that had reserved slopes for training. On Thursday, July 30, coaches from various national teams were notified that Friday, July 31, would be the last day of skiing on the glacier. The resort’s message was clear: operations were suspended immediately and until further notice due to the extreme temperatures recorded in the Alps.
The closure of Zermatt comes just a few days after Hintertux Gletscher in Austria also announced the end of its summer season. Together, these two glaciers accounted for virtually all uninterrupted skiing in the Alps—a common draw for elite athletes who use the summer to stay in shape on snow before the start of the winter season.
The cause, in both cases, is the same: the heat accumulated over the summer has degraded the quality and surface of the snow to the point where it is no longer feasible to keep the slopes open under safe conditions.
With Zermatt out of service, outdoor options in the Alps are very limited. In Saas-Fee, also in Switzerland, the Mittelallalin Glacier reopened on July 25 with several runs, although most of its capacity is reserved for team training. In Italy, meanwhile, the Stelvio resort remains open; it typically extends its spring season well into the summer.
Neither of these, however, offers the year-round continuity that Zermatt had previously guaranteed, leaving the Alps without a permanently open summer ski resort for the first time in a long time.
Zermatt Bergbahnen AG has not yet set a reopening date. Typically, with this type of heat-related closure, the slopes of the Klein Matterhorn—with lifts reaching an altitude of 3,800 metres— will resume operations with the arrival of the first autumn snowfalls, ushering in the winter season across the region’s largest ski area, with 360 km of slopes spanning Switzerland and Italy.
Until then, the Zermatt page on Esquiades.com allows you to check the trail conditions and snow report as soon as operations resume.
