Sunnegga/Blauherd/Rothorn is accessed by the high speed Sunnegga Express underground funicular which runs to Sunnegga (2,290m). Then there is a choice of a fast telecabin/chairlift combo from Sunnegga itself up to Blauherd or a high-speed chairlift from lower down at Patrullarve. From Blauherd a newish 150-person cable car runs up to Rothorn (3,103m). This area has lots of good red run skiing, including the long cruise from Rothorn round to Fluhalp and then on to Gant (this 7km run is now fully equipped with snow-making); the long Kumme run from Rothorn down to Tuftern; and the south-facing Paradies run from Blauherd down to Findeln, a beautiful piste often rendered unskiable because of its very sunny orientation.

The National is a long, steep, black run from Blauherd back almost to resort level. The lower part has had snow-making for years, but now the top half has also been equipped with magnificent state-of-the-art snow-making machinery. This, together with diligent grooming, means that the National is one of the longest, most exhilarating, steep cruising runs in the Alps.

The Blauherd-Sunnegga Standard and Tuftern blue runs are ideal for intermediates and offer some stunning views. This area now offers easy access to the neighbouring Gornergrat/Stockhorn area thanks to a 150-person cable car from Gant to Hohtalli. (From Hohtalli you can ski the marvellous long, wide red-rated White Hare run back to Gant.) Alternatively, an old-fashioned drag lift can take you across to the steep, challenging and often mogulled black runs around Triftji. (This T-bar is normally open only from February onwards.) Following the closure of the ancient Hohtalli-Stockhorn cable car in 2008, a new drag lift opened to serve the steep Stockhorn piste terrain and the many off-piste runs accessible from here. The Gornergrat-Hohtalli cable car has also been dismantled and replaced by a newly-sculpted red run leading to the top of the Gifthittli chairlift.

The winter of 2008 saw a crucial new lift development in the Sunnegga sector with the opening of a four-seater high-speed chairlift running from Sunnegga down to Findeln and on up to Breitenboden on the Gornergrat sector.

This lift, equipped with heated seats, naturally carries traffic in both directions and provides a very useful new link in Zermatt's infrastructure. It also eliminates the after-lunch queues for the old, slow two-seater from Findeln to Sunnegga. There is also an excellent new beginner's lift and ski area just below the Sunnegga lift station on the way down to Findeln.

Returning to the resort from the Sunnegga sector has been made much easier with the construction of a giant elevator from Riedweg on the final piste/path down directly into the Sunnegga Express entry tunnel. This in turn means that the bars immediately around the entrance to the tunnel such as the admirable Admiral beside the Gornergrat railway bridge have become more popular.

Alas, presently this new elevator closes when the piste is officially closed, meaning those who want to stay on for some late afternoon fun in the Olympia Stubli or elsewhere have to find other ways down. Let's hope the elevator is kept open longer!

The Riffelalp/Riffelberg/Gornergrat/Stockhorn area is initially accessed by the ancient Gornergrat rack railway, originally built for summer visitors and which celebrated its centenary in 1998. The journey time up to Gornergrat (3,100m) can be 45 minutes, but there are some modern, faster trains. (Study the timetable on your lift map carefully to be sure of catching them!) The slopes below Gornergrat are mostly gentle blues, interspersed with a few more challenging reds. However access to them has been much improved with the introduction of the high-speed six-seater (with hoods) Gifthittli chairlift, which runs up from Riffelberg.

The Furi/Furgg/Schwarzsee/Trockener Steg/Klein Matterhorn area includes a sequence of telecabins and cable cars that take you up to 3,820m. (The first part of the journey has been greatly improved with the opening of the Matterhorn Express eight-person gondola which runs from the resort up to Furi and on to Schwarzsee and has more or less eliminated queues at resort level.) There is easy access to this lift via a large elevator which runs up from the bus and taxi stops by the river on the valley floor.

From the Klein Matterhorn you can take the splendid long (11km) Ventina run - one of the best cruising pistes in Europe - to Cervinia in Italy. On the Swiss side you can play on the gentle slopes on the glacier, have a long blast on the red runs down from Trockener Steg to Furgg, served by the Theodul chairlift, and then perhaps continue on down the black run to Furi. Alternatively you can take the telecabin up from Furgg to Schwarzsee (2,583m) and try the beautifully long and scenic red Weisse Perle or Staffelalp runs past the foot of the Matterhorn and back round to Furi.

The Furgsattel Gletscherbahn opened is a high-speed four-seater chairlift (with hoods) and is the first chairlift to be built on a glacier in Switzerland and the longest on a glacier in the Alps. It runs up from Trockener Steg to a top station that is actually over the border on Italian ground. This lift is especially useful in keeping good terrain open in the early- and late-season periods easier. (In late spring the very best snow tends to be found on the upper slopes of the Klein Matterhorn.) The Furgsattel lift also helps to guarantee that snowsports can once again be enjoyed 365 days a year in Zermatt. Also in this region, the Gandegg drag lift has been extended to the base station of the Testa 1 drag lift.

Zermatt has masses of excellent off-piste terrain, some of it on glaciers, and this should always be explored in the company of a qualified local mountain guide. Such guides can also arrange some of the best one-day heli-skiing trips available in Europe on the mountains that surround Zermatt, including the Monte Rosa.