Le Collet d'Allevard, Lans en Vercors, Alpe d'Huez, Alpe du Grand Serre, Chamrousse, Villard de Lans-Correncon, Meaudre, Autrans, Les 7 Laux, Gresse en Vercors
Lélex-Crozet, Mijoux-La Faucille, Evolène, La Forclaz, Leysin, Les Mosses, Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets, La Dôle-Tuffes, La Serra, Vercorin, Unterbäch, Eischoll, Anzère, Grimentz-Zinal, St Luc-Chandolin, Moosalp, Lauchernalp, Visperterminen, Rosswald, La Berra
It's nearly time for "MagicPass - The Sequel". After a fortnight visiting ~20 areas on the season pass in January, I'm back again from this weekend for more of the same
For more info about what we did last time, and more info re. the MagicPass, see my January trip report, listed elsewhere in this post. Here is a link to the MagicPass website, and here's a reminder of the resorts covered:
We'll be staying near Sierre, a little higher up the Rhône valley than last time. New ski areas on our radar include Saas Fee, Glacier 3000, Leukerbad, Nax, Ovronnaz, Les Marecottes, Arolla and San Domenico (Italy), plus a few smaller locations. I'd also certainly like to revisit Grimentz-Zinal and St Luc-Chandolin, and perhaps some others depending on weather and snow conditions.
The weather in this part of the Alps / Jura has been largely dry since we left 5 weeks ago, so I'm expecting there to have been a deterioration in conditions, especially lower down. Fortunately we left a decent selection of higher areas unexplored in anticipation of this trip. Some snow is forecast for the beginning of next week, especially along the Italian border. But the rain-snow boundary may be relatively high.
As always, I'll add photos and a cost breakdown after the trip.
Red 18 (Metro), Saas Fee
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 24-05-25 18:02; edited 5 times in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@denfinella, excellent, will look forward to reading the further adventures!
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
You’ll see new snow and cooler conditions over the next week or so , perfectly timed I’d say .
Look forward to the reports interested in Nax if you go there
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Looking forward to living vicariously through you again, @denfinella!
After all it is free
After all it is free
@denfinella, ….in anticipation of more good reading.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Thanks everyone!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Sat 8 Mar - arrival & Rochers de Naye
After a very early start for our 6am flight, we negotiated a busy passport control at Geneva and picked up our hire car. £359 for 15 days through Budget / Auto Europe, but an 80CHF cross-border surcharge also applies, which according to the rental desk also doesn't include tax Our car is a Seat Ibiza, which seems... fine. We drove away from the airport around 10.45am, heading back up to the Col de la Faucille (40 mins) in the Jura with a supermarket stop en route. Picked up our hire skis but we didn't ski here this time: most runs are still open, but I think conditions are worse than when we were here in January, with little recent snowfall and high temperatures. I forgot to get our skis waxed or serviced - hopefully they'll be OK.
Unless we revisited somewhere in the Jura, we'd only have time to ski for a couple of hours wherever we ended up, so a small ski area wasn't an issue. Time to visit somewhere new! I was keen to try Rochers de Naye: a quirky area above Lake Geneva. 90 mins' drive around the lake, through Montreux (parts of which seems very pretty) and up a mountain road to a free car park at Caux, passing several international schools (and a "finishing school" - they still have those?) on the way up.
The ski area is only accessible via cog railway, starting in Montreux but calling at several villages including Caux (1,150m). There's technically supposed to be a beginner piste here along with a long itinerary from the summit, but the snowline is way above here and I'm not sure how often they'd open nowadays. The railway is included in the MagicPass; skis go in a trailer at one end. The train is only once an hour, so we were relieved that motorway traffic was light; we made it to the platform five minutes before the 1.58pm train.
Caux
There were great views of Lake Geneva from the carriages on the way up.
Unusually, pistes start from three different stations: first is a mostly intermediate run from Jaman (1,750m) down a pretty valley to 1,350m with a drag lift back up. It was graded black on the ground, but all except the top part is red on some piste maps. We lapped this a few times: quite a nice run, though a bit slushy / grabby in unseasonably warm sunshine.
Unloading at Jaman station
Black from Jaman
Drag lift back to above the station
Two more reds / blacks start from the next station (La Perche, 1,800m) at the head of the same valley, joining the other black further down. They looked lovely from Jaman... but were closed due to race training.. grr!
Pistes from La Perche in the background, seen from Jaman
Then, at the summit / train terminus (2,030m) at Rochers de Naye itself, a T-bar serves two reds and a mini snowpark. I'd been fooled into thinking there was a longer lift and piste here (still shown on some piste maps), but it's been mothballed.
Rochers de Naye
We had about an hour in each of the open sectors between trains, which was more than enough. I think it was about 10°C, and conditions were quite slushy in places despite the pistes generally facing NE. We were fine with just a t-shirt under our ski jacket. Last ski lift just after 4pm, then we relaxed a little while waiting for the busy last train back down at 4.27pm - which two other tourists very nearly missed. More than 50% of the clientele here seem to be speaking a language other than French, with lots of English being used.
An interesting first ski area! But it's very warm - 15°C as I type this, driving past Sion at 7.15pm.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Tue 3-06-25 10:20; edited 2 times in total
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I'm very much here for this definella - looking forwards to following how you get on as your reports are always interesting reading. Hope you enjoy the trip!
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@Derek Branflake, thank you!
Base village & accommodation
Revisited our favourite Valaisan pizza takeaway (Hi' Pizza in Bex) last night en route to our Airbnb. They're still doing their 13CHF collection deal, and it was warm enough to sit and eat it on the tables outside.
We're staying in Miège for this trip: a south-facing village at 700m, 5 minutes' drive above Sierre. I don't think there's much in Miège, but Sierre is a big town with all usual shops and services - see our January report for pics. We are well placed for most of the Valais ski resorts here, and not so far from the Simplon Pass towards the two Italian MagicPass resorts. The Jura / Vaud / Fribourg / French areas are further away, but snow conditions aren't so good there any more so we're unlikely to be visiting them much anyway.
Our Airbnb is small and cosy: bedroom with excellent heating control, proper double bed, WiFi, adjoining shower room and a simple, unheated mini-kitchenette. I'm perfectly happy with it considering the price we paid (£649 for 15 nights), but we have to be disciplined with how we use the space. There's a lovely view along the Valais and up towards Vercorin from the front door:
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 2-04-25 15:15; edited 1 time in total
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Sun 9 Mar - Saas Fee
A half-decent weather forecast today, but uncertainty about wind speeds as well as how long sunshine might last for. I pored over some wind forecast maps last night and the east end of the Valais looked like it would be less affected, while low pressure approached the Italian and French sides of the Alps. Saas Fee seemed to fit the bill, though was a bit of a risk as it has the highest slopes anywhere on the MagicPass. Our gamble paid off: the area was fully open all day and winds remained light until the last hour or so. Meanwhile, Glacier 3000 further west was completely shut due to high winds.
Saas Fee was an hours' fairly straightforward drive from Miège; along the Rhône valley to Visp, then south up a side valley leading towards both the Saastal and Zermatt. The road bifurcates at Stalden - the driest place in all of Switzerland. The dry theme continued as we approached Saas Fee, where there was brown ground and patchy snow cover even though the resort is at 1,800m. The piste map is crap - it's not detailed enough, and fails to show all the run variants or exactly how they join up.
The place is set in a bowl surrounded by imposing 4,000m+ peaks, but the town itself is fairly drab. Cars are prohibited, with the vast parking area on the edge of town costing an unwelcome 15CHF for 8-12 hours. We looked at public transport alternatives, but they were neither a time or cost saving. From the car park it's a 10 min walk to the nearest lift base; there's a shuttle bus, but I think you have to pay for it. We walked there in good time for 8.30am opening.
Saas Fee & lower slopes
Saas Fee's main area of slopes reaches 3,500m, overlooked by the majestic Allalinhorn. Lifts stretch to the top in two chains; there are no lifts or pistes in between due to unfriendly glaciated terrain. On skier's right, two big though dated gondolas (the Alpin Express) are followed by an underground funicular (~45 mins from bottom to top); there are cable car and fast chair alternatives for the middle section, and a T-bar (Egginerjoch) extending up a side valley with views towards the Italian border from the top.
Alpin Express
Alpin Express mid station
Metro Alpin funicular
Red 18 (Metro) from Mittelallalin
Top glacier area
Lower red 18 (Metro)
Red 17a (Gletscherpromenade)
Red 10b (Gletscherband)
Blue 4 (Egginer) from the Morenia chair
Red 9 (Egginerjoch) from the Egginerjoch draglift
Morenia chair
Red 6 (Moräne)
Morenia lift base
Blue 8 (Mittaghorn) on far skier's right - underused
Red 4a (Ritzi) below Morenia
Blue 4b (Gletschergrotte) to the valley
On skier's left, the alternative lift chain (~1 hr) consists of a modern two-stage gondola (Spielboden), then an annoying short cable car (Längfluh), slow chair (also Längfluh) and long T-bar (Panoramalift); the upper three lifts are very inefficiently laid out but are due to be replaced.
Spielboden gondola
Längfluh slow chair
Panoramalift
Glacier right next to Panoramalift
Blue 10a (Feechatz) alongside Panoramalift
Red 11 (Längfluh) & glacier beyond
Itinerary 13 (Weisse Perle) below the Längfluh cable car
Red 11a (Spielboden) towards the valley
Black variant on red 11a
Middle section of the slopes from the end of red 11a
Whichever route you take, there are two further T-bars at the very top overlying the glacier. Runs on the top third of the mountain are wide and gentle, with some awesome views of crevasses / seracs - but surely some of the former should be filled in at this time of year? There's a bigger cluster of intermediate pistes over at Morenia, with some underused blues on skier's right.
The middle third features surprisingly steep pistes (including the entertaining Weisse Perle mogulled itinerary) dropping off the ends of the glaciers; the lower third is more gentle with some lightly wooded slopes, along with extensive nursery slopes (some of which are worthy of interest in their own right, with some fun, very low-angled tree skiing).
Another gondola from town serves the separate Plattjen sector (2,570m), with runs back down of all gradients. Yet another gondola (Hannig) leads to a toboggan run.
Red 2 (Galen) from Plattjen
Blue 2a (Wang), Plattjen
So, what was the skiing like? I was struck by how varied it was: there aren't many ski areas with such large glacier sectors which also incorporate a lot of other stuff. The lift system is a bit tiresome - skis on, skis off, some long T-bars and waits for cable cars or funiculars - but there were no queues (unexpected, given it was a Sunday) except the top T-bar mid morning and pistes were quiet away from the most obvious thoroughfares. Snow quality was excellent, though it's obviously "low tide": there are a small number of areas (notably Plattjen) where stones are coming through or small brown patches are appearing. There is minimal artificial snowmaking, and a handful of runs were closed: a few on Plattjen, a black and red at Morenia and all the yellow itineraries except Weisse Perle.
We were very lucky indeed with the weather! The Alpine ridge did a stellar job in holding back the cloud and wind on the Italian side for most of the day. Clouds started pouring over, rather spectacularly, around 3pm, gradually encroaching on the ski area from the top down. It began to and snow lightly (and blow moderately) in town as we reached the car. It was warm - maybe 5-8°C at the lift bases during the afternoon before the cloud came in.
We finished off with the Leeboden drag lift next to town, with an enjoyable blue on skier's right here.
Leeboden sector across the valley
Blue 20 (Stafelwald), Leeboden
Last lift at 16.45, then an amble through town back to the car, trying not to be run over by speeding electric taxis.
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Sat 24-05-25 0:03; edited 3 times in total
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Of course a trip to Saas Fee wouldn’t be complete without a pic outside the Last Christmas Chalet ?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Le Grand Renard, oh, I did know about that but forgot yesterday
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Mon 10 Mar - Evolène & Arolla
The 2025/6 MagicPass resorts were announced today, with a tonne of new additions including Gstaad, Belalp, Meiringen, Melchsee-Frutt, Sorenberg and even Le Grand Bornand in France. I know the pass gets bigger every year, but I wish these areas had been included this season! Back to 2024/25, and overnight snow was due to clear the Valais through the course of the morning. The southwest end would dry up first, so we headed to the Val d'Herens south of Sion. Rain turned to snow at 1,350m.
We spent the first part of the day skiing at Evolène, which we'd also spent a morning at in January; see the January TR here for a more detailed description of the area. We were the first people on the chairlift up from the car park at 9.15am, and ended up sharing the 3-5cm of (admittedly quite dense) fresh snow with perhaps 5 other skiers. The sun broke through as we neared the top of the area, with cloud below gradually burning back.
The red-then-black along the ridge on skier's left from the top drag was just above the inversion early on:
Skier's left from the top drag
Artsinol (black)
I wanted to explore the Arpilles sector more after the lift broke down when we were there in January, but it was closed again; I think it mostly only opens at weekends, but there's no info online about this. Also, some of the runs weren't pisted, including all the blacks and the blue home run; this made them less pleasant to ski, since the fresh snow disguised but didn't fill in the ruts left from the previous day. This sort of lackadaisical attitude seems to be a recurring feature of TéléEvolène (and let's not go into the toilets situation here again). The reds off the top drag were generally better:
Mont Rouge (red)
Journalistes (red)
The blue back to the car was extremely sticky going (wet snowfall and then hot sunshine), requiring poling, and there were two parts where we had to remove our skis as the snow had melted down to the tarmac. We skipped the last bit by using the direct red variant which had surprisingly OK cover.
Blue car park run - officially open!
So, a mixed morning - but I was excited to continue up the valley to lofty Arolla (2,000m) arriving in a quiet (again, free) car park around noon. A new ski area for us.
This ski area consists only of drag lifts. There are three to choose from at the base, of which the only significant one climbs over 2km up a broad, east facing valley. Blues back down, initially alongside spectacular lateral glacial moraine, then steepening along a ridge and finally into trees; I really liked these pistes.
Fontanesses 1 (blue)
Fontanesses 1 (blue)
Combe (blue)
A shorter drag at mid mountain serves a blue, red and itinerary (which in Arolla is just a line of poles). These face due south and we were uncomfortably hot in the sun, with any powder having become quite heavy long before we arrived.
Remointze drag
Remointze (blue)
Further up, another near-2km long drag lift gains the area high point at 2,880m. This accessed a long, gentle and sunny blue, short and slushy red, excellent black on the other side of a shoulder, and four more itineraries.
Fontanesses 3
Fontanesses 3 (blue)
Col (black)
Although the snow wasn't the best (Arolla is a bit too sunny for these warm temperatures, even at this high altitude), the itineraries were quite exciting, with some venturing far from the nearest lifts or pistes. We never saw another person skiing any of them. With just a single line of poles down the centre of the run, it felt like backcountry / off piste skiing, but without the risks of getting avalanched.
Cassorte (itinerary)
Theoretically the poles should make it difficult to get lost too, but the most exciting itinerary of all (Pragra) would have been quite hard to follow without a topographical map loaded on my phone. It forms the bulk of a 900m vertical, top-to-bottom run. Start on the summit black, fork left into a steep valley, then traverse sharp left as the itinerary splits, keeping left of a ridge into a lonely valley. The itinerary steepens before a traverse back right to join a little-used (and poorly-marked) blue road piste. This piste eventually descends to Arolla village with no lift back up, so we had to look out for a single yellow pole marking a dodgy, mogulled descent through bushes, across a road and then (now completely unmarked, and only the width of a single skier) through trees to another, entertainly narrow / bumpy / stony blue road back to the lift base! Think Les Arcs' Malgovert but with more danger of damage to skis / getting lost / death.
Pragra (itinerary)
Pragra (itinerary) - traversing back to the main area
Link "piste" through the bushes!
Snow quality improved a little through the afternoon as the sun dried the snow pack. Last lift to the top at 4pm, a final descent via another great itinerary (Guitza), then back home for dinner in our Airbnb.
Guitza (itinerary)
Guitza (itinerary) just before it joins Chemin des Marmottes (blue)
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 30-04-25 16:26; edited 3 times in total
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Hardly a powder morning but we had nice cold fresh snow..... nearly 10cm.
Glacier 3000 today.
@Rogerdodger, that sounds nice! Were either of the valley runs open? Interactive map suggests not but hoping you can tell me it's wrong...
We considered going to Glacier 3000 today too, but instead ended up at...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@denfinella, combe d'audon open but poor. Light wasn't great and piste mixed.
Black wall closed, didn't look inviting at all. With better, more consistent Viz the top was the place to be.
A 45-min drive west to Ovronnaz this morning, where we had a few more centimetres of fresh overnight snow and fairly sunny skies. When approaching from the west, you can ascend / descend via Leytron or Chamoson with negligible time difference, so we tried both: numerous hairpins bends are inescapable. The car park is free and pleasingly close to the lift; there's also a network of free ski buses serving the nearby village.
We arrived 15 minutes before 9am lift opening and it was already surprisingly busy for a Tuesday: around 50 skiers in front of us in the queue for the chair to start spinning. Ovronnaz is an east-facing "morning sun" ski area, and people seemed to take full advantage of this before departing at lunchtime to leave the slopes almost empty for the afternoon. It still couldn't be called busy by any stretch, even in the morning.
The ski area isn't as big as the famous MagicPass destinations (Villars, Grimentz, Saas Fee etc.) but still offers ample skiing for a fun day; I haven't seen it talked about much and think it flies under the radar a bit. From the car park (1,400m) the Jorasse Airlines fast quad chair zips up to mid mountain at around 1,900m. Two excellent wooded runs back down - benign red and straightforward black - plus a short, mogulled itinerary.
Jorasse chair
Grande Creuse (red)
Petite Creuse (black)
Petite Creuse (black)
Above mid mountain, lifts ascend in two directions with a blocky peak in the middle. On the left as you look up, the fast Col chair leads to the top of a pass (fast reds and blacks back down).
Col (red) from the Col chair
Approaching the top of the pass
Col (red)
Châtillon (black) from Col, joining onto the home runs
From the top of Col, you can ski down to the sunnier, gentle Petit Pré sector with its own detachable quad. There's oodles of potential to expand here: lots of space where a couple of new pistes wouldn't go amiss, and an obvious bowl further to the west which looks perfect for a domain expansion. One red was unpisted and closed for no apparent reason.
Petit Pré sector
Petit Pré chair
Petit Pré (blue)
Top of the Petit Pré chair
Further right / north from mid mountain, the slowish Bougnonne chair serves a steep, twisty red and a road which connects all the sectors back together.
Bougnonne chair
Bougnonne (red)
From the top of Bougnonne you can also drop down to Tsantonnaire: a long drag lift up the centre of an impressive combe to the area high point at ~2,450m. There are two reds back down (we loved the motorway on skier's left in particular), and a third traversing below steep and rocky ground to the Petit Pré valley which was closed - I suspect due to rockfall risk as the ground thaws.
Link to the Tsantonnaire bowl
Tsantonnaire drag
Tsantonnaire drag
Dent Favre (red)
Snow conditions were pretty good, only really becoming slushy on the two or three home runs; I think patchy cloud cover helped a bit. Most of the hillsides look nice and white, except where directly south facing, and on-piste coverage is immaculate: there are no brown or stony patches anywhere except occasionally on the home black run. Clouds were forecast to thicken and multiply after midday but the deterioration didn't start to happen until we left at 3pm, having skied everything at least twice.
We used the extra free time to explore Sion, which is a lovely place, with more to see than in Martigny or Sierre. Old town centre, an array of castles including two on a pair of hillocks, several cantonal museums, basilica, cathedral and some other big churches. First hour free in the covered car park, which we extended to two by renewing the ticket when we passed it later on
The oldest organ in the world
Back out this evening for a very filling kebab meal each (total 35 CHF) in Sierre.
Weather is looking iffy tomorrow so probably a shorter day.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 30-04-25 15:19; edited 2 times in total
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Rogerdodger, Combe d'Audon poor in what way? Thin snow cover?
Is the itinerary to Reusch also shut?
After all it is free
After all it is free
I enjoyed a couple of best mornings ever at Arolla a few years ago, 20cms of fresh snow overnight and no one in sight at first lift each morning. Beautiful weather too!
This video is my second run on day 2.
Great to see the new resorts, Praz de Lys was our last stop two weeks ago and we also spent a week in LGB. Fond memories of a few days at Saanenmoser and have also been to Meiringen so it looks like the MagicPass for us again next year (4th time) and I can't believe the price is still so low.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
denfinella wrote:
The 2025/6 MagicPass resorts were announced today, with ah a tonne of new additions including Gstaad, Belalp, Meiringen, Melchsee-Frutt, Sorenberg and even Le Grand Bornand in France.
I'm a big fan of Le Grand-Bornand. Interesting that they've signed up but La Clusaz hasn't. Wonder if that might change in a year or two.
Gstaad coming on board is huge though. Another expensive, expansive area that offers a lot.
No surprise then that the starting price has gone up from 399 CHF to 419 CHF, but still appears to offer excellent value for the early bird buyers.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@denfinella, mixture of issues with combe d' the light was poor. Top section of piste was very stoney? I overheard an instructor saying that stonefall was common in the early season and works into the piste.
Piste felt very narrow, probably no different to normal. Ultimately, I suspect it was a case of being underwhelmed due to the fact that the top was cold and fresh, only frustrated by the cloud blowing across.
Regards Reusch, fairly sure the itinerary was closed. Certainly the bottom cable car didn't appear to be working.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@BoardieK, that does look very nice indeed and yes, the season pass price is pretty amazing!
@GuyrillaMonsoon, yes, Gstaad is big news.
@Rogerdodger, thanks for the useful info
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Today we visited the smallest ski area we've ever been to. Jeizinen (1,540m) is a 30-min drive mostly on narrow mountain roads from Susten / Leuk. We had a lie-in and didn't arrive until 10am, being greeted with fog and sleety snow flurries. There was a single other car in the skier's car park. ~4 CHF for ~3 hours' parking, payable via an annoying app which charges an admin fee. The access lift - a slow 2-seater chair - wasn't moving but the liftie turned it on for us specially.
Then onto the long T-bar (also only on demand) above it (1,750-2,200m) for the proper skiing.
Chair / T-bar interchange
View uphill from the top of the T-bar
There are only two run alongside the T-bar: a nicely rolling red or a slightly less direct blue with a cat-track section in the middle; the two pistes intersect again halfway down.
Blue 2
Blue 4
Red 1
Despite thinning cover on the uptrack, snow conditions on the actual pistes were gorgeous, with a few cm of powder on top of immaculate grooming... except for the lower half of the red, which hadn't been pisted. There's a blue road and toboggan run back to Jeizinen village, but they were shut. The entire hill faces south, and clearly 1,500m is too low for snow retention on this aspect in mid March this year The ski area closes for the season this weekend. Visibility was mostly good - we were often between cloud layers - and precipitation never amounted to more than flurries while we were there. We were content to lap both runs several times, enjoying what was nearly - but not quite - a private ski area: there was one other skier.
There are two mountain restaurants which were clearly not doing a roaring trade It would've been nice to support them but the first place was only serving a single dish (beef tartare) and the second had a reduced menu of chicken nuggets, soup or salad. Instead, we finished at 1pm, downloaded and ate lunch in a restaurant in Jeizinen village. Only pizzas were being served, but there was a midweek deal reducing everything to 20 CHF, they were very tasty, and service was friendly.
In the afternoon, with continuing nondescript weather, we did some sightseeing. Our first stop was Turtmann waterfall in the valley directly below Jeizinen: quite impressive, and a short and easy walk from the free car park at the Ems cable car:
Then a 30-min circular walk incorporating the Bhutanese suspension bridge near Susten / Leuk. This crosses the outflow from (but well below) a frequent rockslide area, and excitingly there was a small rockslide when we were there; we stayed for a while to watch and listen to the clatter of falling stone / mud from a perfect vantage point on the west side of the bridge.
Finally, a bit of window shopping around Sierre, then back to the Airbnb for dinner. The weather was less bad than I was expecting today, and perhaps we should've taken advantage by going somewhere more exciting to ski, but it was interesting visiting somewhere new.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Thu 8-05-25 22:03; edited 2 times in total
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Thu 13 Mar - Saas Fee & Saas Almagell
The Swiss Alps are stuck in a bit of uninspiring weather pattern at the moment: lots of cloud but not a lot of fresh snow (though the west end of the Valais picked up 15cm or so overnight). The Saastal looked to be in the sweet spot this morning for sunshine, so we headed to Saas Fee first, with a plan to de-camp to Saas Almagell when things deteriorated later. Good news re. temperatures, which have finally fallen to a little below average for the time of year.
Light snow from ~1,200m on the drive up, which stopped as we arrived in Saas Fee with some blue sky appearing. We've now worked out the best place to park, next to a lift which comes out at a skibus stop; I'd done some research and discovered the bus is free after all. The bus dropped us off at the Alpin Express 5 minutes before opening time... only for us to find that the lift had a mechanical issue, so hundreds of us had to traipse along a snowy path to the Spielboden gondola instead
We skied at Saas Fee until 1.30pm, mostly doing long, near-top-to-bottom runs and pretty much covering the whole area. New snow has filled in most of the few stony / brown areas, and piste conditions felt soft and fast with a few cm of fresh snow for the 4th day in a row It stayed fairly bright, though with some fog banks drifting about towards the Längfluh sector. It was noticeably busier than our previous, Sunday visit, with lifts generally approaching capacity despite no significant queues.
Red 18 (Metro) from Mittelallalin
Red 11 (Längfluh)
Black 11b (Oberer Spielboden)
Red 17a (Gletscherpromenade)
Red 10b (Gletscherband)
Blue 4 (Egginer)
Blue 4 (Egginer) from Egginerjoch
Egginerjoch sector
Top of Egginerjoch
Red 5a (Eiskristall) under the Morenia chair
Morenia chair
Slalom under the Alpin Express upper section
End of red 11a (Spielboden), cloud coming & going
Felskinn cable car
Deteriorating weather on red 2 (Galen), Plattjen, again!
Paid 11 CHF for our 6 hours' parking, then drove 10 minutes around the corner to Saas Almagell, where the car park was empty. 1 CHF / hr up to 5 CHF / day here.
Saas Almagell's slopes are steep, northwest facing and don't get much sunshine due to high surrounding mountains. Along with little recent snowfall and a fair amount of artificial base, this meant snow conditions were completely different to Saas Fee: very hard packed higher up, suddenly turning to slush near the bottom.
Two successive two-seat chairs (1,700-2,350m) serve most of the runs, which are mostly of steep red gradient. The pistes have a lot of narrow sections, drop-offs and sudden bends (often immediately below very steep sections), which was a little unnerving when combined with the rock-hard snow!
Furggstalden bottom chair
Red home run under the Furggstalden chair
Saas Almagell from the home red
Heidbodme top chair
Heidbodme chair
Heidbodme chair & red piste from the top
Red top run
Red top run
The Furggu drag lift to skier's right served an even steeper, even firmer black piste.
Furggu drag & adjacent black run
Furggu drag & black
Return from the Furggu sector to the rest of the area
There were also a few beginner drag lifts, and an easily-missed wildlife-themed run through the trees near the Mittelwald drag
Somehow it was all quite fun; the constant risk of falling off the steep edges of icy pistes was a bit of an adrenalin rush I'd imagine it would be a great location in powder, and lots of trees in case of poor visibility. We finished up by skiing down a blue home run: marked on the interactive piste map as open, but (I am now informed by my partner) featuring a small "closed" sign at the start. It turned out to have 4 or 5 bare sections where we had to take our skis off (fortunately with tarmac underneath - it's a summer road), but eventually it brought us out at a hotel next to our car.
A good day, but of two very different halves!
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Sat 24-05-25 0:02; edited 4 times in total
I'd reserved Nax for a mixed weather day, and today seemed to be an ideal candidate: a little morning sunshine, then cloudy and dull for the rest of the day. The lift base (1,500m) was a 40 min drive through Sierre and then on mountain roads, and lies a few hairpins above Nax village. -1.5°C when we arrived at 8.45am which was the first time we've seen our hire car report a temperature below zero; parking is free.
The mountain mostly faces north and snow conditions were mostly superb, despite next to no artificial snowmaking. From the car park, two successive, slow chair lifts climb a steep, wooded hillside to 2,300m...
Base station
Dzorniva (red) under the bottom chair
Vachette second chair
Vachette chair
Pastorale (red)
Mont Noble above the Vachette chair
Chiesso (red), skier's left from the Vachette chair
...followed by a button lift through thinning trees onto a shoulder.
Planards drag
Several pistes down, mostly in the trees, with a network of traverses connecting everything together well. Every single piste is red, which is bonkers and must put cautious skiers off; multiple runs could be graded blue. The piste map also makes the mountain look pretty uninspiring, which couldn't be further from the truth.
The superb Grands Esserts - Roland Colombin (red), top to bottom on skier's left
Grands Esserts - Roland Colombin
Traverse between Grands Esserts & Chiesso
Traversing around to the left from the top of the drag takes you into a separate, southwest facing valley where a third slow chair (Combe) takes you to a top height of 2,630m. Great views south across an expansive, high, undeveloped bowl from here; Grimentz and Vercorin aren't far away on the other side of the bowl and it's fun to study topographic maps and imagine how the three could connect to form a mega-ski area. The Combe chair primarily serves a single, excellent red back down, but the return piste along a ridge back to the rest of the ski area is perhaps even better, with an airy feel.
Traverse to the Combe bowl
Combe chair
Combe (red)
Combe (red)
Combe (red)
I loved the pistes at Nax: they are delightfully rolling, with lots of places to get air, some sharp bends and mostly of easy red gradient. In particular, the ridge run from the top, then keeping to skier's left directly down the fall-line all the way to the car park is perhaps my favourite run on this trip so far. >1,100m+ vertical, from high Alpine to forest, perfect snow and perfect gradient. Vercorin around the corner has a similar home run, but this one is longer and I think better.
Along the ridge from the top from the top of Combe
At the start of the day there was sunshine at the top of the mountain but patchy cloud below. This irregularly moved up the hill through the day, so we ended up with improved visibility further down while things deteriorated at the top. High cloud also became increasingly extensive, so we finished with overcast skies and light snow for the second half of the afternoon. This didn't affect enjoyment at all - I can't think of a better place to experience today's weather, and we skied until last lift at 4.30pm. A very enjoyable day!
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 12-05-25 18:44; edited 1 time in total
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Reading this and thinking that I really must get around to riding at Nax next year.
On a different note I was surprised to learn today that the average MagicPass only gets used 8 days per year!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
And I found out yesterday that the MagicPass does not cover travel on the post buses; who knew?
Just back from Saas-Fee and one or two thoughts on your reports so far. (Not going to hijack your thread - will do a full trip report later!). Glad you discovered the bus from the Parkplatz to the Alpin Express is covered on your lift pass and/or your parking fee.
I don't find the village to be drab at all. The walk from the car park to the Alpin Express is probably the least inspiring, apart from the spectacular gorge. There's an awful lot of construction work going on which is taking the village more upmarket. The lengthy main drag has plenty of life and charm.
There is one connecting piste (10b) that joins the Langfluh sector (right as you look up) with Morenia (left/centre). It used to have a steep, narrow bottleneck but the course of the piste was changed a couple of years ago - much more user friendly these days. The slow drags on the glacier, I was told, have to be re-sited most summers because of the shifting ice.
The piste map is crap; been there so often that this doesn't bother me!
As for snowmaking, there is a large Techno Alpin snow factory at the top of the nursery slope close to the Felskinn (Last Christmas lift). And the key bottlenecks, particularly on the Spielboden/Langfluh sector, are covered. And the manager of the town lifts sector is acknowledged as something of a genius in keeping the Kalbermatten and Leeboden slopes open to the very last day of the season (27 April this year).
Good call to cut and run to Saas-Almagell on Thursday. It got very murky during the afternoon. Overnight snow was welcome, though and Friday morning clear and very quiet.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 17-03-25 10:52; edited 1 time in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@BoardieK, would certainly fully recommend Nax. 8 days as an average is very low! That works out at 50 CHF / day even if purchased at the earliest advance price.
@LOTA, maybe "drab" was a bit harsh. We did look around the town centre after skiing last Sunday though, so it wasn't just the route to the gondola that we saw. Looking forward to reading your TR
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Back to a ski area we visited in January today, so see here for a summary of what the domain is like. The piste from the village to the gondola is closed due to insufficient snow, so our parking strategy from last time didn't work; instead, we parked for free at the bottom of the village and hopped on the free skibus to the lift, which worked well.
Gondola base
Weather conditions were much better than forecast the previous evening: there was a patchy valley inversion at 1,500m, more serious cloud shrouding the peaks above 2,500m, and pockets of sunshine over the Rhône valley. Anzère's slopes are all in between these two heights, so we had good visibility all day and quite a bit of sunshine too. Given it was a weekend, it wasn't busy; we were the only car in our car park at 8.20am, and there were no lift queues anywhere.
Pas de Maimbré gondola midstation
Masques (black)
Pas de Maimbré
Turin (red)
I think the southeasterly slope aspect is a bit too sunny for mid March. Despite below average temperatures for the time of year, the steeper south-facing runs were already slushy by 10am and practically everything was by mid afternoon, with some very soft and mogully approaches to lift bases.
Les Luys chair
Pâtres (blue) / Goulet des Pâtres (red) from the Luys chair
The east-facing red down the Combe drag lift and the run to Les Rousses stayed firm for longest.
Combe (red)
Start of Les Grillesses (red)
Grillesses-Conches chair
Col de la Chaux (red)
Chardons (black) from Chaux (red)
Combe de Duez (blue)
Duez-Le Bâté chair over Luché (red)
Combe d'Hérémence was closed due to avalanche risk. Some lower runs without snowmaking are looking brown, and a couple of traversing pistes have shut. There was a short new black to try from Pas de Maimbré, though.
Les Rousses chair
Les Rousses (red) from the same chair
Les Rousses (red)
Les Rousses (red)
I wasn't quite feeling it today - perhaps it was the slush, or perhaps I'm craving new terrain - and we ended up finishing a little early at 3.30pm.
Masques (black) to the car park still mostly has good cover
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 2-05-25 17:31; edited 1 time in total
We awoke to a minor ant invasion in our Airbnb. The insects were entering through a hole in our roof and seemed to be enjoying exploring the bedroom and bathroom. We don't have any food lying around and there wasn't much we could do about them, so largely left them be.
Another revisit to somewhere we visited in January today, so see the previous report here for more about the ski area in general.
Vercorin is the closest MagicPass area to our Airbnb this time, at 25 mins away. Fresh snow lying to below 1,000m on the drive up, though the roads were clear. The car park was already fairly full when we arrived just before 9am, but once on the hill it turned out that the vast majority of visitors were ski club kids who were confined to one side of a red slope and the summit picnic room. Cold temperatures meant that snow conditions (away from the final approach to the gondola) were glorious. I really do love the top-to-bottom woodland runs here!
Sigeroulaz black
Sigeroulaz red
Sigeroulaz blue
Sigeroulaz blue
Sigeroulaz blue
Unpleasant run-out to the gondola
Unfortunately the weather was fairly grotty: mostly foggy with fine "snizzle" when enveloped in cloud, though winds were fortunately light and occasionally there were pockets of better visibility between cloud layers. All this meant that the less enclosed slopes (i.e. anything not served by the gondola) were almost deserted, with the drag lifts running in slow mode whenever no-one was on them.
Tracui chair
Tracui chair
Often the visibility was like this
Mont Major drag
Top of Mont Major
We visited the Gîte des Arolles near the bottom of the Tracui chair for lunch. This has a small but genuinely interesting menu and I think it's well priced for Switzerland: 25 CHF for a pulled pork burger with generous salad and crisps; 24 CHF for beef tataki with coconut dahl and mango rice. Both were garnished with edible flowers and were very good. Friendly staff and a warm stove next our table. I'm glad we got round to eating here because it was closed on our January visit.
There was a piste groomer event taking place at the top of the Chardons drag. An miniature model ski resort had been constructed on a mound of snow, with a seriously impressive level of detail. There was also a winch cable danger demonstration, and two (full size) pistenbullies we could sit in; an approx. 8 year-old boy was permitted to turn the ignition and move the front and rear ploughs around A fun event.
I was surprised to enjoy today more than the previous day; I think I've underestimated how much I value decent snow quality when skiing, and overestimated how essential good visibility is to my enjoyment. We skied until ~4pm then headed home, with a trip out this evening for a kebab dinner (again...).
The ants seem to have lost interest and have retreated.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 14-05-25 14:17; edited 1 time in total
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@denfinella, enjoying your 2 threads on MagicPass, it's on my list of things to try out! Do you reckon some/all/none of the resorts could be accessed by a 6.4m campervan at all? Assuming it had winter tyres and chains!
@kitenski, glad you're enjoying it! Re. campervans: most of the roads seem fine and I've seen campervans parked in some of the car parks. Bear in mind that most car parks have a charge, some including overnight.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@kitenski, we've stayed at: Charmey, Jaun, Le Moleson, Les Mosses, Leysin, Les Diablerets, Gryon, Ovronnaz, Arolla (the most difficult), Grimentz, Chandolin and Saas Fee. This in a 7.4m or 8.0m motorhome.
Have also been up to Leukerbad and Metabief but didn't ski.
Nax and Lauchenalp on next year's to do list.
Next year MP includes Saanenmoser, Thollon Les Memises, Le Grand Bornand (France) and Praz de Lys (France) where we have also stayed.
There is a list of servicing points on another thread.
ps. Prob missed a few.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 17-03-25 21:15; edited 1 time in total
After all it is free
After all it is free
Mon 17 Mar - San Domenico
Ant invasion! We woke up to them all over the walls, floor and countertops; further investigation of the main trail led to a small morsel of food left in a corner by a previous occupant. Once this was removed, the ants mostly left again. Pest control complete, we drove over the Simplon Pass (2,000m) to Italy. The peaks and trees surrounding the pass looked suitably snowy following the recent unsettled weather. Weather conditions be a-changing: this was the first sunny day for a week on the Italian side.
San Domenico is the biggest of two Italian resorts on the MagicPass; 1hr50 driving time, so I wouldn't want to do it too often. Once over the pass, the road up to San Domenico is pretty tortuous: narrow, steep and full of hairpins. We arrived at 8.50am at the brand new lift base (a gondola replacing an old two seater chairlift) but it was pretty chaotic: rapidly filling, free but only half-built parking garage, unfinished lift shafts, a leaky roof, problems with the gondola turnstiles and inadequate toilets. It turned out that San Domenico had a lift pass offer on (€30 instead of €45), which may have meant it was busier than normal.
Once up the mountain, normality resumed and it wasn't too busy. The access gondola rises 500m in two stages to a hub at 1,900m, with a closed red back down. The return piste hasn't opened this season; it seems to have been affected by gondola works, which have dragged on for a couple of years now. The ski didn't open at all during the 2023/4 season while the lift was being built.
From the hub, there's a slow chair serving easy runs, and a fast quad (with weather protection covers and a mid station) to the top at 2,500m. Easy west facing blacks and reds from here, mellowing to southwest facing reds and blues further down.
Fast quad
Fast quad from the slow chair
Black 7 or 5 (Diei)
Black 7 or 5 at the chairlift midstation
Red 6 (La Rossa)
Red 6
Red 5 (La Sella) & red 6
Blue 3 (Campo Scuola)
Blue 16 (Snowpark)
Return to the midmountain hub
A further chair - a posh six-seater with racing-style leather seats and a bubble - comes up from the north side of the hill, with extremely easy blacks and reds - nice runs with good snow, but a bit short.
Black 12 (Bondolero 2) & the six-seat chair
Red 14 (Bondolero 3 bis)
Red 14 (Bondolero 3 bis)
Black 11 (Bondolero 1)
There were really only two main lifts to play on, but with several decent pistes off each one, we didn't really get bored. Atypically for Italian ski areas, many pistes were reasonably narrow with tight turns (which we enjoyed) rather than the dominance of motorway-style runs which we've come to expect on the south side of the Alps. There aren't any trees except on the home run. Big peaks draped in fresh snow made for nice background views. The ski area has had a lean snow season but things have improved with the recent snowfall, and most runs are now open with decent cover. Off-piste powder had a bit of a crust, and the steepest of the sunnier runs were a bit juddery. Piste grooming wasn't the best. Surprisingly no slush, even at the end of the day; temperatures are still a bit below average for the time of year.
There's only one place to eat hot food on the hill: an unmemorable self-service place. €13.50 for a sad lasagne and €18.50 for a better, large mixed meat platter. €3.50 bombardino. Certainly cheaper than Switzerland but I know Italy can do better than this, quality-wise.
After lifts closed, we drove back down and diverted to Domodossola, 10 minutes further down the Simplon Pass. This had a lovely central square and some very attractive buildings. Then a food shop, followed by dinner at Origano in the centre. Generously-sized pizzas starting from ~€6, and an excellent tiramisu (€6.90).
Now back to Switzerland...
Last edited by After all it is free on Sat 24-05-25 17:57; edited 2 times in total
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
@denfinella, well done for getting rid of the ants! As always enjoying the read - your day back in Vercorin sounds fun! Kids and piste bashers, what could possibly go wrong.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@ElzP, thank you
Tue 18 Mar - Glacier 3000
It was a cold start - this was the first morning that the car windscreen needed defrosting. And only few ants to wake up to; maybe the rest have gone into hibernation? With a bluebird weather forecast today away from the Italian border, we drove to Glacier 3000, part of the Villars / Les Diablerets / Alpes Vaudoises lift conglomerate. 80 minutes' drive, down the A9 to Aigle and then up a wide but busy mountain road to the Col du Pillon (1,550m) for 9am, where there's free parking.
Glacier 3000's name relates (loosely...) to its top height, and its slogan is "A High Level Experience". The lifts are sponsored by high-end brands including Prada, Tissot and Guess. I thought an alternative slogan could have been "We Look Down Upon You"
The skiing feels quite unusual: almost everything is either an extremely gentle glacier run, or unusually long and fairly-to-very steep below the glacier sector. A cable car zips up to Cabane at 2,500m, followed by a second to Scex Rouge at 2,900m.
Col du Pillon to Cabane cable car
Cabane to Scex Rouge cable car
Scex Rouge is a bit of a tourist trap: watch and souvenir shop, multiple restaurants across different floors of the same building, summer Alpine Coaster... but also a spectacular (free) metal bridge strung between two summits ("Peak Walk") with spectacular views and several glamorous non-skiers posing for social media.
Les Diablerets from the Peak Walk
After doing some posing ourselves, we explored the high glacier area slopes, which consist of a tiny slow chair and red run, and three T-bars serving longish, very gentle blues from 2,950m. The most interesting run in this bit is the curvier blue off Quille de Diable; there's also an unpisted, easy itinerary run from here. Some of the traversing pistes were virtually flat: avoid if possible. Snow conditions were perfect.
Oldenhorn beyond the Ice Express chair & red 110 (Scex Rouge)
Blue 103 (Scex Rouge-Dôme)
Blue 108 (Dôme)
Blue 105 (Tsanfleuron)
Itinerary 107 (Yeti) from Quille du Diable
There are three much longer pistes which hold far more interest for non-beginners. "Red Run" (an inspired name choice) drops northeast from Scex Rouge to Oldenegg (1,900m), with a fast bubble quad back to Cabane. Snow was wonderful here too.
Red 112 (Red Run) from Cabane
Red 101 (Red Run) middle section
Red 101 (Red Run) at Oldenegg
Combe d'Audon (black) starts near the base of the glacier sector and follows a separate, steeper valley to Oldenalp (1,850m), with a short fast chair back to Oldenegg. The run bifurcates for the middle section; both are worthwhile. Some parts get very little sun and were a little juddery with ice pebbles, but overall still a great run.
Black 102 (Combe d'Audon)
Black 102 (Combe d'Audon)
Black 102 (Combe d'Audon)
Olden chair back to Oldenegg
The third long piste is newish, and descends to the valley from Cabane. Called "Black Wall", it begins with an entertainingly-sloped, narrow tunnel with matting that moderates your speed. The tunnel spits you out on a crest above an intimidatingly steep section (advertised at 46°).The piste is pretty unrelentingly steep; I reckon it's the steepest pisted run I've skied amongst the MagicPass areas this season, and I was glad there was a bit of fluff overlying the hard pack. The piste is all north facing so gets little sun, and didn't open until 1pm.
Tunnel to the Black Wall
Black 114a (Black Wall)
Black 114a (Black Wall)
Black 114a (Black Wall)
Black 114a (Black Wall)
Two itineraries to the valley were shut due to lack of snow, but overall there was plenty to keep us occupied for the day. The cable cars didn't seem like too much of a faff either. We skied all the main pistes multiple times but I'd happily have lapped each of the blacks a couple of times more
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Sun 27-04-25 22:00; edited 1 time in total
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Our car is a Seat Ibiza, which seems... fine. We drove away from the airport around 10.45am, heading back up to the Col de la Faucille (40 mins) in the Jura with a supermarket stop en route. Picked up our hire skis but we didn't ski here this time: most runs are still open, but I think conditions are worse than when we were here in January, with little recent snowfall and high temperatures. I forgot to get our skis waxed or serviced - hopefully they'll be OK.
Back to 2024/25, and overnight snow was due to clear the Valais through the course of the morning. The southwest end would dry up first, so we headed to the Val d'Herens south of Sion. Rain turned to snow at 1,350m.
A fun event.
