Record-breaking start to the season Ski resorts get off to a great start to the season thanks to sun and snow
The ski resorts have made a good start to the winter sports season and are talking in superlatives about the number of visitors over the festive period. Timely fresh snow and plenty of sunshine have attracted winter sports enthusiasts in droves, as a survey by Keystone-SDA shows.
01.01.2025, 17:45
SDA
In the Hoch-Ybrig ski area in Schwyz, among others, there is even talk of new records. As a mountain railway operator, you couldn't imagine it any better, said its boss Wendelin Keller to Keystone-SDA on New Year's Day. The season got off to a "sensational" start.
In terms of visitor numbers and revenue, all records in the 55-year history of the ski area have been broken. Around 5500 people visited the ski area every day.
There was a lot of fresh snow, but the slopes were also technically well covered with snow, and a new load of snow arrived at just the right time before the festive season, the manager explained. What's more, there was always sunshine.
Many ski resorts echoed similar sentiments. In Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis, for example. In terms of admissions, this ski resort is also above the previous year's average. "We and the guests are very satisfied," said Marketing Manager Pascal Schär. The ski area and the hotel industry are well filled. Things are going very well.
Holidays "went very well"
The operators of the Jungfrau Ski Region with the Grindelwald-Wengen, Grindelwald-First and Mürren-Schilthorn ski areas were also pleased with the good start to the season.
The holidays went "very well", they said. The best days were December 28, 29 and 30. Many guests escaped the high fog in the lowlands to take tobogganing and hiking trails in the region.
In western Switzerland, too, people flocked to the ski resorts. "Exceptional", "fantastic", "out of the ordinary" was the word there. The Grimentz-Zinal mountain railroads in Valais, for example, had the "best December" they have ever had, as director Pascal Bourquin said.
Superlatives in western Switzerland too
In Verbier, over 20,000 skiers were on the slopes every day. And Anzère in Valais was also very busy: the number of visitors over the holidays was "the best ever", says Sébastien Travelletti, President of the cable cars.
The last visitor record, which was set in 2019 with 5,723 daily admissions, was beaten twice between Christmas and New Year, he says.
The snow in the Vaud Alps was also perfect and the sunshine constant. "Visitor numbers are higher than last year, which was already a record year for the Christmas period," said the director of the Villars-Gryon-Diableret ski lifts, Martin Deburaux.
