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Saas-Fee in the Swiss Alps
Skiing, Snowboarding and Mountain Activities
High peaks and a lovely village are Saas-Fee's attractions.
High in the Swiss Alps, where the air is thin and Shaun White has been, is the ski resort and village of Saas-Fee.
A scroll of activities that includes year-round skiing and snowboarding on a glacier means the sky's the limit in Saas-Fee. And with the world's largest revolving restaurant sitting on the top of the lift at 3,550 meters, visitors get pretty far up in that sky.
The Swiss Alps make for dramatic views. Photopress / photographer
Known as the 'Pearl of the Alps' because the mountains "wrap" themselves around it and the surrounding areas of Sass-Grund, Saas-Almagell and Saas-Balen like a shell, Saas-Fee is also a diamond in the rough. The jagged peaks of the Alps, reaching up like a ballerina on her tip-toes, is the rough and the lovely and lively village is the diamond.
Saas-Fee, The Village
Day and night, the village of Saas-Fee shows off its beauty.
There are ski areas in Europe and certainly in Switzerland that get more attention than Saas-Fee, but this place is as attractive as they come.
At about two kilometers long, it's easily walkable (though not necessarily in ski boots) and is lined with shops, hotels, restaurants and bars. There's even a church in the middle of town (with a convenient modern touch in the same area, an ATM machine). A small beer garden is a great hangout spot in the summer months.
The largely youthful boarders and party desires of the two-plankers make Saas-Fee a fun village with lively apres action and busy bars at night. PubClub.com has a separate article on this post-slopes activity; click for information and photos on apres and nightlife in Saas-Fee.
Thank goodness Inspector Clouseau is not driving these vehicles.
Saas-Fee is known as a traffic-free resort but there is a free tram service that goes through town to the lifts. And while no cars are allowed, hotels and other local businesses utilize small van-like vehicles that look like something Inspector Clouseau drove in one of the original Pink Panther movies.
Saas-Fee, The Mountain
The Saas-Fee pist (trail) map.
A vertical drop of 1800m and a top-to-bottom run of an incredible 9km make Saas-Fee – pronounced Sauce (without the "u") Fee (free with out "r") – the skiing equivalent of parachuting out of an airplane.
– Saas-Fee Mountain Facts –
Total Lifts: 22 (10 in summer)
Cable cars: 4
Gondolas: 3
Chair lifts: 2
T-bars: 12
Others: Metro to the top
Total trails: 40, with 140m of groomed pistes
Total ride area: 100km
Longest run: 9km
Top : 3600m
Vertical drop: 1800m
Lift ticket Prices (in Swiss francs): One-day, 55; two-day 133, 3-day 195; 4-day 260; 5-day 318.
Saas-Fee/Saastal Tourism Website: www.Saas-Fee.ch
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The mountain is much like a large European person – tall and thin but without the girth of an American. So while Saas-Fee has the heights, it is not particularly wide.
There are 13 blue runs, 14 reds, five blacks and three three yellow (ungroomed). The blacks do not require double-black diamond skill level.
The best runs for experts are Plattjen, Spielboden, Egginerjoch, Allalin, Morenia and Allalin for intermediate skiers and the village ski lifts called Stafelwald and Kalbermatten for beginners.
The Alpin Express runs to the middle of the mountain, presenting several runs. From there, skiers and boarders can branch out to other lifts. (Skiers from North America would be most interested in the runs down to the chairlift, one of only two on the mountain.)
Saas-Feehas long and entertaining runs.
Even from this level, the height of the mountain becomes readily apparent. The runs are long (and somewhat narrow), even "just" down to the chairlift. Keep going all the way to the bottom and it's like being on the autobahn – it never seems to end.
The thin mountain air at this altitude can result in many stops along the way. During busy times - particularly Easter – the line at the gondola provides plenty of rest time. In an effort get as many people going back to the slopes as possible, the operators fill the gondola to its limits in Saas-Fee's version of the VW squish contest
For expert skiers, who are attracted to the tops of mountains the way moths are to a light, Saas-Fee nearly takes them into the clouds. Certainly well beyond the tree line.
Somewhat surprisingly, the steeper runs are from the Alpine Express to the bottom; the top is a bit flatter. The area between Felskinn (3,000 m) and Morenia (2,550 m) is good for intermediate and even beginner skiers. Still, the top does provide access to the glacier, expanding Saas-Fee's ski area.
The mountains of Saas-Fee shine in the sun.
Access to the top requires taking the Alpine Express to the Metro Alpine, a cable car that actually goes under the mountain. This means there's a bit of walking involved. The Metro is the world's highest underground cable car. Once there, one might be tempted to forget the skiing for a while and enjoy the views, food and drink at the Drehrestaurant Allalin, the world's highest revolving restaurant. Many Swiss skiers will spend two hours here having rösti, ghoulish soup, pasta or pizza.
Because of the glacier, there is year-round skiing and snowboarding in Saas-Fee. The exception is May when the village pretty much takes a month's rest from all its activity. The temperature never gets bitter cold in winter and In the spring it's t-shirt weather. The high seasons are Christmas and Easter and hotels have a one-week minimum during these busy times.
The FIS Snowboard half-pipe World Cup in October. Photopress / photographer
SNOWBOARDING – While many of the Swiss prefer to ski, Saas-Fee is one of the country's biggest havens for snowboarders.
The area hosts several snowboarding events throughout the year, the biggest of which is the Popcorn Wallride of the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, won in 2008 by White. Unfortunately, the tour does not stop in Saas-Fee in '09. Fortunately, there are other snowboard competitions and each January and February, the car park is turned into the home of the North Face Ice Climbing World Cup.
For snowboarders, the best time to go – the only time, some of them say – is the summer. That's when the snowboard park on the glacier is open and it features three half pipes and a boardercross course. It's also when snowboard manufacturers come to Saas-Fee to test new equipment.
Saas-Fee Location and Accommodations
Saas-Fee is in the southern part of Switzerland near the Italian border. Thanks to the reliable (and always on time) Swiss Travel System getting to Saas-Fee is easier than even getting from the hotel to the lift. It is approximately three hours from Zurich, a two-hour train to the tiny town of Visp, then an easy transfer to a bus. Travel System tickets are good on all types of transportion in the country, making for "walk on" convenience.
There are several hotels in Saas-Fee – PubClub stayed at the nice and conveniently located Hotel Metropol – as well as apartments for longer stays, say of a week or more.
Saas-Fee Activities: Toboggan Runs, Snowshoes, Ice Pavilion, Wellness
An experience unique to Saas-Fee is the Ice Pavilion at a cool 5 CHF.
There's so much to do here beyond skiing and snowboarding that Saas-Fee is both a winter and a summer wonderland. In addition to what is described below there is cross-country skiing, climbing, ice skating and even curling and tennis.
 • Snowshoes – The Swiss love to walk. And while one may associate hiking the mountains with the summertime, the Swiss don't let snow slow them down in the winter.
For that, they simply put on snow shoes – snow racquets as they call them here – and head up the hills. There are 16 trails (24 for hiking in the summer) and many are not exactly a walk in the park. In fact, it could well include a potentially punishing 2-plus kilometer walk up (and up) to the Alpenblick Hut that might make one wonder why they perhaps passed up ski apres for this adventure. Have Marco at Intersport Glacier be your guide for this or any other hike or snow racquet adventure. Intersport is also a good place to rent ski or snowboard equipment.
• The Ice Pavilion. Not only can people in Saas-Fee ski and board on top of the glacier, they can actually walk through it. The Ice Pavilion is one of the "coolest" non-ski things to do in Saas-Fee. A narrow path goes through the glacier which is accented by blue lighting and displays along the way; the feeling is like being in a glass cave. There's even a small wedding chapel inside. It takes about 45 minutes and costs CHF 5.
The beautiful (and relaxing) wellness at Fertien is an inviting activity.
• Wellness. All that hard work on the slopes does not go unrewarded and the Swiss like to soak it all in at the many wellness (spa) locations in Saas-Fee. Nearly every hotel has some type of wellness center but it is the one at the Fertien Art Resort and Spa that stands out above all others. It has a large pool, jacuzzi and adult-only areas of various steam baths and saunas. Massages are also available.
• Toboggan Run – The "Feeblizt" is a 900-meter course that includes steep turns and a 360-degree corkscrew and it's open in winter and summer months. And that's not all. Sledges and scooters got down an 11-kilomoter sledding run, one of the longest in Europe. Night sledging followed by fondue is one of the options in total Swiss style.
 Related Article: An American in Switzerland
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