Saas - Fee Skiing Guide

Saas Fee Skiing Guide 

Saas Fee is one of Europe’s highest ski villages and the ski slopes above are among Europe’s highest. Open almost year-round for snow sports (it closes for a few weeks in late spring), it is an early stop on the world cup competition circuit each season, staging competitions on the glacier at the start of November.

The altitude range between the top and bottom of the lifts means it can maintain one of the world’s biggest lift-served verticals, top to bottom, for a very long time each season, while the snow arrives later or melts earlier on lower slopes in many other resorts.

Cross-Country Skiing

Saas Fee offers 32 kilometres (20 miles) of snow sure cross-country trails by the frozen river Vispa and through local larch forests, all surrounded by the area's multiple four-thousand-metre high peaks. There is a 6km long track around Saas Fee that rises 154 vertical metres and is free to use. Longer tracks pass by local villages in the area where you can stop for a drink or snack if you wish, including Saas-Balen (1471 m) via Saas-Bidermatten (1540 m), Saas-Grund (1560 m), Unter den Bodmen (1593 m), Saas-Almagell (1673 m) and Zermeiggern (1705 m) and Eyenalp (1871 m). A bus service along most of the cross-country route means you can ski sections, taking the bus to and/or from points along it. Most (26km) of the tracks is machine tracked for classic style skiing but there’s usually a 4 - 8km long skating section too.

Beginner

Saas Fee has excellent beginner terrain right next to the resort, (but a little way from the main runs so you won’t be bothered by much through-traffic from experienced skiers and boarders) and thanks to the high altitude of the village this is normally snowsure right through the winter. The ski school has a good reputation and there’s a special beginner’s lift pass which is valid on the lower lifts you’ll need for the first few days. Later on you can take one of the high-capacity gondola or funicular lifts up the mountain and enjoy wonderful long runs through spectacular scenery back down to the village, all at a manageable gentle gradient.

Intermediate

Saas Fee’s ski area is largely above the treeline with plenty of long runs, up to 9km, great for clocking up the piste miles. The area is divided in to three sectors, Felskinn, the Plattjen and the Längfluh, accessed by either the high speed Metro Alpin underground funicular or a high capacity gondola and all have long top to bottom blues and reds to whizz down. The regional Saas pass also covers the skiing at neighbouring Saas-Grund which has another seven lifts, 25km of runs and a 1540 metres vertical.

Advanced

Opportunities for advanced skiers are slightly more limited than you might expect for a resort of Saas Fee’s status. There are five black runs with some long ones among them, but there’s not much else as the off piste opportunities are limited by cliffs and glacial terrain. None-the-less a mountain guide will certainly be able to take you to terrain that will keep you entertained if off piste is what you live for.

Snowboard / Freestyle Skiing

Saas Fee has built a strong reputation among freestylers with terrain parks maintained year round – an achievement hardly any other resort can equal. The winter Freestyle Park is at Morenia with a beginner park on Stafelwald. Outside the winter season a park and pipe is built on the glacier at Allallin The resort hosts the first outdoor World Cup events of the season here in the northern hemisphere when the world’s best boarders turn up to compete in the glacier half pipe in early November. Twin half pipes are normally created so regular riders can descend a parallel pipe alongside the competition pipe where their heroes are training.