The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise gondola (3,883 meters), in Zermatt, Switzerland, in July 2025. CAMILLE MOIRENC/HEMIS VIA AFP
"Take a good look, kids, at this incredible glacier with its blue crevasses! This might be the only one you'll ever see in your lifetime!" exclaimed a father from New York to his young children as the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car entered the highest station in Europe, at 3,883 meters. That sense of awe is exactly what the Zermatt resort is banking on.
The new luxury lift cabins, inaugurated two years ago for 55 million Swiss francs (€59 million), feature heated seats. Some also have glass floors, allowing passengers to admire the Théodule Glacier, which is slowly melting. In 2025, Switzerland's glaciers recorded an average loss of 3% of their volume, and 25% since 2015.
As climate change accelerates, visitors must go even higher to "enjoy" the view of what remains of the ice. At this dizzying altitude, the panorama of more than 30 peaks above 4,000 meters is breathtaking, but even that is no longer enough. Since last winter, another state-of-the-art cable car has enabled skiers to cross over to the Italian side of the mountain to Cervinia at the top of Valtournenche, in the Aosta Valley. Now linked, the two ski areas on the north and south sides of the Matterhorn offer 360 kilometers of slopes, most of which are above 3,000 meters. Daily lift passes cost 105 Swiss francs (€113).
