This off the radar ski resort came to our attention when it joined the EPIC pass in 2022 and we decided to head over with our daughter who was studying in Leeds, UK at the time for a pre-Xmas ski. December is a hit and miss time for many European ski areas and the Andermatt Sedrun area certainly didn’t have as much snow as in its peak time in January -Feb but there was definitely enough for us to never ski the same runs twice in our week there. The best part was it was quiet with no lift lines and often we had the runs all to ourselves! We caught the train from Zurich (3hours) which came through the Furkatunnel into the village of Realp then down past Hospental and into Andermatt. This train is part of the grand Swiss railway trip known as the Glacier Express train and is definitely the best way to get to and from Andermatt. A word of warning, Switzerland is extremely expensive when it comes to eating or drinking and there is no such thing as free tap water anywhere on or off mountain so if like us, you like to hydrate when skiing pack a camelback or be willing to fork out $15 Australian for a bottle of water!
Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis is the largest ski area in Central Switzerland with 180 kilometers of pistes, 33 lifts and peaks up to 3,000 meters. There’s four distinct ski areas and the Ikon pass gives you access to them all which is a bonus. We stayed in the village of Andermatt – the biggest most established village in the area (but still small and cosy) and we could look out our window at the north-facing 1,500m vertical face of the Gemstock mountain looming over Andermatt. It was a short walk to the Gemstock cable car from our apartment and we stopped off for coffee at the igloo at the top of the cable car before heading up the chairlift to the glacier at the top.
Gemnstock is considered one the best standalone lift-accessed freeride mountains in the world. We saw a lot of training camps on Gemstock – even the Australian freeski team were training. The only downside to this area is that it is North facing ,which in the Northern hemisphere, means it is in the shade almost all day! You only get about an hour of sunshine on the slopes – in December (more in late Feb-March) which helps preserve the snow but makes it chilly and dark. There’s only three lifts on gemstock – one of which is a black rated t-bar which if you manage to hang on the vertical bumpy ride up, rewards you with some great slack-country ungroomed skiing and one of the most iconic ski restaurants I’ve ever been to – a converted Yak barn which serves delicious meals and has a cosy fireplace. The other delightful place to dine is at Bergrestaurant Gurschen the restaurant at the first cable car stop where you can enjoy delicious Röesti with delicious toppings as you enjoy the woodsy, shared table Swiss chalet style vibe.
The other area we could access from the town of Andermatt was the sunnier, gentler Gütch-Nätschen area better suited to intermediates or mixed ability skiers. A short walk across town and we could hop on a gondola and ride to the top of Gütsch peak at 2344m. There’s lots of great blue and red runs here – only one black and we loved the huge open runs – which we had to ourselves and the insane views of the endless snowy peaks. Theres a high end restaurant serving sushi at insane prices otherwise best bet is to eat down in the village or bring your own.
In good ski conditions (Jan-March ) you can take a series of interlinking lifts and ski runs from the top of Gütsch peak in the Natshcen area across to to the Oberalpass ski area then keep going to Sedrun. These lifts and peaks were closed when we visited in December, so we took the Sport Train from Andermatt to Oberalpass wehre we enjoyed a peaceful ski on the slopes to ourselves then hopped back on the train and went a little further on to Dieni. Note that you need to buy tickets for this train which you can do online or at the station using a credit card . We were lucky enough to enjoy the last season of the Apres Ski Bar train which ran from Dieni back to Andermatt with free bar snacks, loud music and quite a vibe.
We loved the Dieni and Sedrun areas – unfortunately these two are not interlinked and you have to take a short train ride to get from Dieni to Sedrun. The two small towns are also not interlinked and I think it would be rather frustrating to stay here as they don’t have much character, they are just service towns for the ski area but the slopes were big wide and endless. There’s only a couple of small cafes up here, (feast on the skiing and the views!) some with full meals and an a couple of outdoor snack/coffee bars – we found one half way down a run which we loved as the owner played awesome music and had furskin covered deck chairs to sit on while sipping on coffee and gulping in the views. You can go one stop further on from Dieni -Sedrun ski areas to the most eastern resort of Disentis. We didn’t have the time to get to Disentis – it looks impressive on the map with lots of lifts, runs and vertical.
Andermatt is still a traditional Swiss mountain village, but its face has changed somewhat in the last decade. The massive expansion of lifts and intermediate terrain, inclusion in the Vail Resorts Epic Pass, addition of Dissentis to the lift pass, plus several huge hotel developments on the outskirts of town mean that Andermatt is being slowly consumed. The Chedi luxury hotel was new when we got there and indicated the direction the rather rustic town was heading in.
We loved Andermatt-Sedrun, especially staying at the lovely old village of Andermatt which was still low-key when we were there. Apparently it’s getting rather popular and on weekends and holidays can get really crowded but pre-Christmas we enjoyed the place to ourselves.
