 Poster: A snowHead
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Sorry for the delay but we just got back from holiday last night.
Saas Fee:
Car free. Very pretty. Major hassle if you are day tripping (as we were): the car park is a good 15min walk (quite steep) from the lift station and there are no hire shops en-route so you have to detour through town. Hire shops don't open until 08.30, although lifts open at 07.30. We had everything except kids boots so were pretty knackered with all the carrying after skiing at high altitude.
Skiing is very high, and lifts are not very fast to get up there. If you plan to ski more than a day then take shoes up top and leave your boots and skis up there, big 4 person lockers are 5chf/day.
We were very lucky with the snow...true powder. Very wintery conditions, in no way the summer-slush I had expected.
We hooked up with Warren Smith and his boys n' girls for a bit so if any snowheads were in his class (or Rob's or Tom's) and you wondered who that family were who kept stopping for a chat...it was us!
Skiing not extensive, enough for 4 hours of fun though....but anyway what the heck...this is August!!!
Lots of SERIOUS race training going on, various national teams....Oh My God They Are FAST!
Lifts shut at 13.00, went to the ice-grotto under the glacier...quite fun.
In the afternoon we went on the fixed-rail luge a couple of times. Warren had told me that they run with under-hooks so they cannot come off the track....so no brakes at all was the order! Very fun.
From there to the High-Ropes course in the trees...great stuff, some of it quite challenging.
The climax was the zip wire accross the gorge: I don't have any official data but I'd estimate it at 250 metres long and 200 metres high at mid point, probably zipping at 30mph at fastest point. Serious adrenaline! My wife declined this finale but the kids followed me over. We were the only people we saw on the zip that afternoon....the rest were just chicken!
Went out for a meal (possibly the worst I've ever paid proper money for!) and drove back to our shack in Le Chable (below Verbier) 1.5 hours away.
A good day, I'd recommend it, in spite of the hassle of schlepping the ski stuff to/from car park)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We were in Saas Fee a few days later. Made it to the top for 8.00 - the snow was very crisp, but by 11.00 was becoming very soft so we called it a day. Three hours of high (for me) speed turns was quite enough for my old legs.
We identified skiers from over 10 countries, from USA through Europe to China. They seemed to be second string or junior national teams and indeed some were very good.
It was a good session - much better than a snow dome, although the slopes were very busy. We will go again some time.
Where was it that you found that was so bad for food?
We would not advise that anyone tries the Rodelbahn (actually it's probably shut at the present time). There are reports on the website of the local radio station RRO that an 11 year old British boy died last week from injuries in an accident on it.
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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?
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Derek, forgive my non-language skills but what is the "Rodelbahn"? Not the fixed-rail luge thing I was just being so blasee about I hope?!
I don't recall the name of the restaurant, I had absolutely no reason to try to remember!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rungsp, yes the Rodelbahn is indeed the little fixed-rail thing close to the Alpin Express lift station. We have never been on it and now certainly will not try it!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Rungsp, I was one of the guys in Rob's group when your family stopped by. Not a bad day was it? I've been up to Saas Fee a few times before in the summer, and this was the best conditions experienced. The village is very prety, and a great place to chill.
A couple of years ago we all did the summer luge thing blindfolded; don't think I'll be doing that again!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Rather than the Rodelbahn/Luge you can hire mega-scooters at the bottom of the Hannig lift across the other side of the village, strap them to the outside of the cabin and then ride them down the track (500m or so height difference) back to the lift station. We haven't tried this either, but have seen them whizzing past when out for a walk.
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brian
brian
Guest
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rungsp, thanks. Maybe worth an overnight stay then, are there hotels close to the lift ?
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Brian...I'm no Saas Fee expert but the village is pretty compact. There were some hotels very close to the lift, but even the ones in town centre would not be far at all. The hassle was the fetch & carry from the car park in full ski gear & equiptment on a summers day as a day-tripper! If you stay overnight it looked as if the hotels have electric golf-type vehicles that will do the luggage for you.
Red Dave...I was almost tempted to ask the group en-mass "any Snowheads here? I'm rungsp!" Perhaps I should have.
So how many times did Rob say "awsome!" ? He is a very nice guy and a good teacher who communicates his desire to see you improve. Our family's skiing has been crafted (or recrafted in the adults cases!) by Warren and Rob. My kids have already given him their business plan for a feeder academy that will take on beginners....it plans to open for business in about 6 years!
How did you get on with the weeks course?
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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.
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brian, as rungsp says, if you're staying overnight you can pretty much choose any hotel in the village. We have stayed in several over the years and they have all beed pretty good. "Car-free" in Saas-Fee simply means there are no petrol cars. The place sometimes seems to be overrun with little electric things that creep up on you without warning. All the hotels have them and they will ferry you to and fro from the carperk or the bus-station when you arrive and leave and to the lift stations for skiing.
The Tourist Office has an on-line booking system which lists the hotels, room availability and prices. We've used this a couple of times and it seems to work well. I can't remember, but there may be a couple of places where my little German was useful.
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brian
brian
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Derek Jackson, ah yes, I know what you mean, I have been nearly run down by those milk floats in Zermatt.
| Derek Jackson wrote: |
| I can't remember, but there may be a couple of places where my little German was useful. |
Does he carry your bags ? 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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brian, I have an even smaller French
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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.
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Rungsp, Rob was awesome - yes he does say it a lot, though I noticed that this years buzz word is 'sweet'! I was temeted to hand out buzzword bingo cards for the video feedback.
The course was great; I'm a big fan of Warren's style and have been on a few courses over the years; in fact I met my girlfriend on one 2 years ago!
Summer skiing is great for imporving technique and the WS Accademy is very sociable too.
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