A digger at work where an avalanche has blocked the road between Taesch and Zermatt, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2018. Swiss authorities have closed ski slopes, hiking trails, cable cars, roads into the town of Zermatt amid a heightened risk of avalanches, stranding some 13,000 tourists in the town. A train packed with tourists has begun the descent from a snowbound town near Switzerland's Matterhorn as railway service resumed following a nearly two-day suspension due to avalanche risks.(Dominic Steinmann/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
ZERMATT, Switzerland (AP) - Access to a Swiss village near the famed Matterhorn peak has reopened after unusually heavy snowfall blanketed roads and railways, stranding thousands of tourists.
Work crews with shovels, plows and helicopters located and bored through the cumbersome snow mass to end a near two-day suspension of train and vehicle traffic to the Alpine resort of Zermatt.
Train service resumed late Wednesday, and road access restarted Thursday.
Some 13,000 tourists had gotten stuck, with sporadic helicopter flights the only way out.
Texan Mike Donovan expressed relief he could make his flight back home: "It wasn't bad to stay here, and the ski conditions were really good."
Switzerland's avalanche research institute said the region has gotten three to four meters (10-13 feet) of snowfall this year.
The first passenger train is leaving the train station towards Taesch, in Zermatt, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Due to heavy snowfall and rain showers, Zermatt was only reachable by air. In the meantime the train track reopened this evening. (Dominic Steinmann/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
A snow cloud of an artificial avalanche disperses near the town of Zermatt, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Town officials near Switzerland's famed Matterhorn were resuming helicopter flights to ferry out stranded tourists amid efforts to open roads and rail service that were closed due to heavy snowfall and an elevated avalanche risk. (Dominic Steinmann/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press
A snow blower on a train clears snow from the rail track in Zermatt, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Due to heavy snowfall and rain showers, Zermatt can only be reached by air. Swiss authorities have closed roads and train service into the town of Zermatt amid a heightened risk of avalanches, stranding some 13,000 tourists in the town. (Dominic Steinmann/Keystone via AP)
The Associated Press