It’s nearly twenty degrees below zero and dark – utterly, breathtakingly dark. I’m standing at 3,100 metres, under hundreds of thousands of stars, with the biggest one of them all glowing faintly on the horizon: the Matterhorn. At 4,478 metres it’s not Switzerland’s highest peak, but certainly its most iconic – steeped in history, glory, tragedy, and tears of both joy and sorrow.

I feel privileged to be here, now that all the day-trippers have descended to Zermatt. The mountains have fallen silent. From my hotel I could admire dozens of three- and four-thousanders, yet I prefer to be outside. Out here I’ve watched the setting sun paint the sky in a full 360 degrees, and now, as night settles, the heavens sparkle wherever I look.

Who doesn’t love places like this? And how spoiled we are in this special winter edition, dedicated to Switzerland’s Valais region. We travel by train up to the Gornergrat in exclusive Zermatt, and ski and hike through the Aletsch Arena – a winter fairytale at 2,000 metres, gazing out at some of Switzerland’s most beautiful peaks. For contrast, we strap on touring skis in tiny Les Marécottes for an exhilarating trek through untouched alpine wilderness on the border with France.

The word magical appears about thirty times in my notebook. I know – it’s a word that’s been stretched thin. Everything these days is called magical: a pudding flavour, a musical, a theme park. But here, in the mountains of Valais, every single letter rings true.
M.A.G.I.C.A.L.

Have a wonderful winter!