For first-timers, this village of 4,500 residents can be confusing. There is no ski-in, ski-out, there is a great deal of schlepping and most disconcerting of all is the discovery that, even at 10am, little sunlight filters into this almost-mythical village.

It's really not surprising. Coddled and surrounded by soaring saw-toothed mountain ranges and serrated peaks, regulars don't learn about ski conditions by looking out of the window. Instead, they turn their TV dials to Alpenpanorama, a network broadcasting up-to-the-minute ski reports and live video feeds from atop all of Switzerland's alabaster-like peaks.

The Klein Matterhorn, altitude 3,885 metres and the end point of the highest cable car in Europe, seems like the best option. Following a five-minute crosstown ride aboard one of the many yellow mini electric taxis that litter the alleyways of Zermatt and its sister village, Saas Fee - both of which are car-free - I reach the base station, espresso in hand. The gondola comfortably transports me to a mid-station, where I change and wait for a cable car to take me farther up the mountain.

Because most skiing at the top is done on glaciers, only T-bar lifts are used and they are reconfigured with the movements of the ice. This is a landscape in flux and skiing on piste can be a matter of life or death, an issue the ski patrol rightly takes extremely seriously. Venture off-piste beyond the marked stakes and a pristine, 1,000-year-old glacial crevasse could swallow you. But most runs in the Swiss Alps are wide and long, tailor made for beginners and intermediates who love to cruise, carve and show off. I find myself taking in the views - 360-degree vistas of spectacular snow-capped mountains set against a cornflower blue sky with iridescent, turquoise glaciers in the foreground and the iconic Matterhorn centre stage.

One tires quickly in the thin air at high altitude, so, famished and exhausted after a morning of bumps and slaloms, I make my way to the Theodul pass for a bite at Theodul Hut. Located just beyond the border on the Italian side of the mountain (the only sign of nationality is the Italian flag fluttering in the wind), it has incomparable views, a modern interior and good, home-cooked meals. For starters I savour thinly sliced white prosciutto served with plump olives and the requisite extra-virgin olive oil, first pressing, and a hearty ciabatta. Pinot grigio and spaghetti vongole round out an exquisite meal.

Back at the hotel it is time to prepare for apres-ski. With sundown at about 5pm and the last gondola into the village at 4.10pm, most skiers ride down or take the long, windy and often icy run into town to spend the early evening, like I do, in a hotel Jacuzzi.

Afterwards, options abound: you can make for the modern library of the 30-room Omnia Hotel, anchored by a granite fireplace and where, with a drink and cigar in hand, you can browse while taking in the expansive village-top panoramas; or you can head for Heimberg, the chic eatery designed by architect Heinz Julen, atop and around which sits a 200-year-old farmhouse. Then there is the Post Hotel, whose rollicking public areas are more famous for their raucous provenance than the hotel is for its rooms.

Fatigued, I make use of the cosy ground-floor billiards room of the Hotel Monte Rosa, following that with dinner and copious amounts of regional wine at Chez Heini, a bustling, perennially popular restaurant noted for its lamb. Proprietor and chef Dan Daniell also moonlights as a singer and songwriter, serenading the clientele as they eat.

This canton, the southernmost in Switzerland, is known as Valais in French and Wallis in German, and has some of the most rugged landscape in Europe. It is also the country's largest producer of wines. The train journey I made from Geneva to Zermatt along the northwestern edge of Lake Geneva illustrated the passion for winemaking. Every inch of soil - from elevated plots shored up by meticulously assembled stone walls to roadside parcels of land protected by modest fencing and petite lakefront terraced tracts - is dedicated to winemaking.

The results are superior vintages (including an exceptional 2004 harvest) of the light, fruity and dry Fendant; the full, flowery and delicate Johannisberg; the full-bodied and well-balanced Dole; and the full and strong pinot noir. Surprisingly, of 116 million litres produced annually, only 1 per cent is exported. The rest (more than the entire production of New Zealand) is sold domestically, including on the national train system, where I enjoyed my fill on the way to Zermatt.

Travellers from Geneva must alight at Visp and board a cogwheel train for a slow, winding, gravity-defying ascent on mountain-faces and ridgelines to Zermatt.

There, countless lodgings offer endless molly-coddling. There are, of course, the five-star standouts: Hotel Mont Cervin in the centre of town is a majestic old establishment; the Grand Hotel Zermatterhof offers an impressive new spa; and the Hotel Monte Rosa, the oldest hotel in the village, features a Victorian-style ground-level bar and the Whymper Room, a tribute to Briton Edward Whymper, who in 1865 became the first man to climb the Matterhorn.

For those who prefer more removed surroundings, there is the incomparable Rifflealp Resort, altitude 2,222 metres. Located high above the hustle and bustle, this tastefully rendered chalet-style lodge enjoys unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains, a private bowling alley, a video room, a library, a spa and the priceless convenience of ski-in, ski-out.

Few grow tired of Zermatt, but if you do, don't fret. Visitors can jump aboard the Glacier Express for a slow but breathtaking seven-hour, 305km trip to St Moritz, punctuated by a heart-pounding descent into Brig and protracted climbs towards Oberwald and Andermatt en route to the 2,044-metre Oberalp pass, one of the highest railway crossings in Europe.

I take an overnight trip to the elusive Swiss settlement of Leukerbad, a spa town famous for its holistic alternatives to medical procedures. The town's Roman-Irish baths, saunas, thermal pools and icy plunge baths draw thousands of people from around Europe. Skiers can enjoy a hot soak after a day on or off piste, while hikers can explore the 55km of walking paths, which boast breathtaking panoramas of the Rhone Valley.

Back in Zermatt another day comes to an end. I look out across the endless vista of snow-capped peaks and I know I will have another series of excruciating decisions to make in the morning. I can hardly wait.