Warning: This blog post reveals the answers to our Zermatt Quiz. If you’d like to test your knowledge, you should take this link now, then come back and see how your score compares
Since we launched our Zermatt quiz in 2022, our multiple choice test has attracted over 1000 entries from skiers and snowboarders around the world, keen to test their knowledge of the home of iconic Matterhorn mountain.
The questions fell into three broad categories:
- The town and ski area of Zermatt
- The Matterhorn
- Mountaineering in Zermatt
The town and ski area of Zermatt
- Perhaps it’s no surprise to learn that the question that more people answered correctly (97%) than any other was that it is the ski resort of Cervinia in Italy that links with Zermatt. With the opening of the Alpine Crossing in spring 2023, travelling from Cervinia to Zermatt and vice-versa will be even easier. It will also make the journey possible for pedestrians for the first time.
- With plenty of skiing above 3000m, it’s very rare that Zermatt is short of snow. However, quizzers underestimated the amount of coverage from man-made snow that the resort offers. Only 37% realised that Zermatt has over 1200 snow cannons.
- Three-quarters of people (77%) knew that the famous Haute Route ski touring and hiking trail runs to Zermatt from Chamonix.
- When it came to questions about getting around resort, almost nine out of ten people (88%) knew that all of Zermatt’s taxis are electric. One optimistic holidaymaker guessed that the taxis are all made by Ferrari!
- A similar number (85%) knew that it is the famous Gornergrat rack and pinion railway that leaves from just opposite the main station, taking you up to amazing views from the top station at 3135m.
- Although a hard number to guess, just under half of people (43%) were correct to say that there are around 13,000 tourist beds in Zermatt, but a much higher proportion (87%) knew that Zermatt is in the Valais canton of Switzerland.
The Matterhorn
- The iconic Matterhorn mountain is known the world over, perhaps thanks in part to the Toblerone bar. The chocolate’s distinctive triangular shape mimics the mountain, which is incorporated into its packaging design – a fact correctly identified by 92% of respondents.
- The Matterhorn’s ‘high’ profile isn’t actually matched by its position in the league table of Switzerland’s highest mountains. In fact, it is only the 10th highest mountain in the country, something that only one in five (20%) of our quizzers identified correctly.
Mountaineering
Zermatt was one of the resorts at the centre of the mountaineering boom in the Victorian era and has continued to be a popular destination for climbers ever since.
- Two-thirds (64%) of respondents recalled correctly that the famous first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper was in 1865, but only one in five (19%) realised that Lucy Walker – the first women to climb the mountain – did so only six years later in 1871.
- Today around 3000 people summit the Matterhorn every year (50% of you got this right), mostly starting from the Hornlihutte (82% correct).
- Finally, and remarkably, almost half of people (46%) believed correctly that Ulrich Inderbinen was 90 years old when he became the oldest person to reach the summit.
Accommodation in Zermatt
If you’ve read this page, then you should score 100% in our ‘How much do you know about Zermatt’ quiz, so the next step is to come and join us in this wonderful town.
Matterhorn Chalets are Zermatt specialists and can organise self-catering apartments and serviced chalets for your group.
Simply contact us via our website or call +41 79 247 15 88 and we will be delighted to help you put together your own trip to this iconic ski and summer resort.
