Before you say anything, we will admit that there are worse places in the world to get stuck but yes, some 13,000 tourists are stuck in the upscale Swiss ski resort of Zermatt which got cut off from the outside world after an avalanche dropped some heavy snowfall.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Large <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/avalanche?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#avalanche</a> between Täsch and Zermatt (Switzerland) this morning! Watch until 50 seconds! Our avalanche radar has detected all 45 avalanches correctly. The road has been closed for a while and nobody got hurt. <br>More about this system: <a href="https://t.co/Y6bmdAujZQ">https://t.co/Y6bmdAujZQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/XqA4t1ev5Z">pic.twitter.com/XqA4t1ev5Z</a></p>— GEOPRAEVENT AG (@geopraevent) <a href="https://twitter.com/geopraevent/status/948937744256000000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The snow blocked all roads and trains leading to the resort in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, which has at the same time been hit with power outages.
Given the great number of millionaires that thus are trapped, you can bet the lawsuits will be dropping soon and social media will be abuzz with the rich kids of Instagram who can’t get out of Switzerland anymore.
Zermatt is a small upscale resort, usually home to some 5,500 inhabitants but it has the capacity to accommodate 13,400 tourists spread across various luxurious hotels and rental apartments.
Local Mayor Mr Romy Biner-Hauser said the town did not have to be evacuated yet, but that emergency services were on standby: “The situation is being monitored every half hour and if things change we will take the necessary measures.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lawinengefahr?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lawinengefahr</a> Stufe 5 von 5 im <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/S%C3%BCdwallis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Südwallis</a> gemäss <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SLF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SLF</a>. Das letzte Mal gab es Stufe 5 vor 9 Jahren mit einer ähnlichen Wetterlage wie aktuell. Föhn aus Südost <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rofel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rofel</a> brachte viel Neuschnee nach <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Zermatt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Zermatt</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/WSL_research?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WSL_research</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Schnee?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Schnee</a> <br>^ds <a href="https://t.co/9S0E1ews0H">pic.twitter.com/9S0E1ews0H</a></p>— SRF Meteo (@srfmeteo) <a href="https://twitter.com/srfmeteo/status/950684783872479233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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In the past few days, winds have brought mild temperatures and rain to the Swiss lowlands but is still remains entirely different when you are at an altitude of 1,200 to 1,600 meters as they are in the southern canton of Valais. Up to a meter of snow has fallen and more is expected.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The day after.. over 1 m of fresh snow in 24 hours <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/riffelalpresort2222m?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#riffelalpresort2222m</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/magicmoments?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#magicmoments</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sandozhotels?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sandozhotels</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/swissdeluxehotels?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#swissdeluxehotels</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/leadinghotelsoftheworld?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#leadinghotelsoftheworld</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rofel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rofel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/meteoschweiz?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#meteoschweiz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lotsofsnow?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lotsofsnow</a> <a href="https://t.co/NiFQlFrYVg">pic.twitter.com/NiFQlFrYVg</a></p>— RiffelalpResort2222m (@RResort2222m) <a href="https://twitter.com/RResort2222m/status/950729664284319745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Source:
1 m of snow and no lifts.