Alpine Crossing Opening Spring 2023
The delayed completion of the incredible engineering feat that will see a fast and comfortable lift connection between Switzerland’s Zermatt and Italy’s Cervinia, via the Klein Matterhorn and one of the highest lift-accessed points in Europe, is due to open in spring 2023.
It is: “the realization of a dream born over 80 years ago,” a statement from the region’s lift company claims.
It’s unclear if this will still be within the ski season, although as both villages offer access to the glacier skiing on the Klein Matterhorn for much of the year anyway this may be a moot point.
Completion of the 105m Swiss Francs project has been delayed by the pandemic and related issues.
The Matterhorn Alpine Crossing comprises the Matterhorn Glacier Ride lift up from Zermatt which opened in autumn 2018 and the new Matterhorn Glacier Ride II which will link Klein Matterhorn with Testa Grigia in Italy. The two lifts take only 13 minutes to make the crossing with large cabins each cable of holding up to 28 people.
The Matterhorn Glacier Ride II covers a 1.6 km stretch over the Theodul glacier with no support towers and a distance of up to 363-metres from the ground. Another special feature of the mountain station is that the two independently operating facilities can be connected with rails that allow cabins to be swapped between the two cableway systems.
The valley station of the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing is being built directly on the Italian border, but still entirely on Swiss territory. This station at 3,458 metres ((11,345 feet) will finally close the gap between Italy and Switzerland.
As soon as the Klein Matterhorn to Testa Grigia section becomes operational, passengers arriving at Testa Grigia will be able to change directly onto the new 3S cableway to the Klein Matterhorn. The path connecting the stations is, “just a few steps” the lift company reports, noting it also has wheelchair access. The same applies to stations along the whole stretch between Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt as at Testa Grigia.
