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Saas Fee / Ski area
This is one place you’re seldom tempted to duck under the ropes, as these are very obviously glaciers on the move, at their steep, deeply fissured stage – more crevasse than ice - unlike much of the glacier skiing in other parts of the alps, which is often on the relatively flat main body of the ice flow. These frozen rivers are spectacular, though for skiers they can feel restrictive; you certainly can’t ignore them.The ski domain has 100km of runs, half red, the other half split evenly between blue and black, and three unpisted ‘itineraries’; there’s further skiing from Saas Grund and Saas Almagell, further down the valley. The main region is due south of Saas Fee and reached by a big gondola, the Alpin Express, followed by a funicular, the Metro Alpin, which reaches the 3,500m highpoint, crowned with the highest of Switzerland’s three revolving restaurants, at Mittelallalin (which is, slightly confusingly, simply referred to as Allalin on the piste map). The high altitude skiing is best in summer (when 20km of piste remain open) or on fine winter days; on cold windy days it’s bitter.
These slopes can also be reached from the base area on the Spielboden cable car followed by the Längfluh gondola; the longest route back down to Saas Fee is 9km long and all of the non-glacial pistes are covered by snow-making to ensure the descent can be made throughout the season. The main concentration of pistes – a mix of blue, red and black runs, is below Felskinn (3,000m) at the foot of the funicular.
Down at base are classic broad, gentle nursery slopes, set to one side so that the main ski traffic doesn’t conflict; in tandem with the large ski school assembly area against the backdrop of improbably craggy peaks, this looks like a stylised version of an alpine ski resort of 50 years ago.
Plattjen and Hannig
A subsidiary area, Plattjen, is much more limited. It rises to just 2,570m to the south-east of Saas Fee and is served by one gondola from the base station; there’s no other connection with the main area, either by piste or lift. The peaks to the south leave it in the shadow through January, but later in the season some sun reaches its black and red pistes; there are also glacier-free off-piste opportunities here, mainly through scrub and forest.
To the west of town, the Hannig mountain is now reserved for walking and toboganning, served by a a single gondola reaching 2,336m.
Saas Fee
| Base | 5,905 ft (1,800 m) |
| Summit | 11,811 ft (3,600 m) |
| Elevation | 5,906 ft (1,800 m) |
| Snowmaking | |
| Ski area | |
| Beginner | 37 % |
| Intermediate | 40 % |
| Advanced | 23 % |
| Number of trails | 35 |
| Longest trail | 6 mi (9 km) |
| Snowfall | 104 inch (265 cm) |
| Season start | mid Nov |
| Season end | mid Apr |
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