Zermatt Avalanche: Skiers Stranded in Swiss Resort

The Swiss ski resort of Zermatt has seen so much snow in the last few days that it caused an avalanche, trapping vacationers. The avalanche covered train tracks and roads into and out of the resort, something some skiers found out the hard way.

'I had no idea until I went to the train station and was told there was no way I was getting out. There are worse places to be trapped, but it is a bit worrying that we are properly stuck. Belinda Hadden told the Daily Mail. Vacationing from London, she and her friends missed their flight home yesterday, and said many others did too.

A spokeswoman from the resort said that rail workers have been unable to dig out the tracks, due to the immense amount of snow. She said that there hasn't been a snowfall like this since 1999, but they are reevaluating the situation, and hopes to have people out by the end of the day.

The avalanche, which occurred at 1:30 p.m. local time, caused so much snow that even the heliport had to be closed.

Zermatt, at an altitude of 5,310 feet, became famous when mountaineer Edward Whymper used the village as a base for his ascent of the Matterhorn. Visitors to the resort mostly use the railroad, as the village banned combustion engine cars to prevent air pollution.