 Poster: A snowHead
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Has anyone on here been to Saas Fee? We are considering going in Jan.
Is it any good?
Is there enough terrain to keep advanced skiers happy for a week?
What are the upsides and downsides to Saas Fee?
Thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whitegold, I know nothing about Saas Fee other than it's where Wham! filmed the Last Christmas video - dependent on your view that's a plus or a minus 
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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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Great resort, no vehicles other than electric buggies, fairly good range of skiing but not a huge area, though the pass can cover Saas Grund and Saas Almagell which need a bus ride to access. Good for non-skiers too with lots of walking routes & tobogganing. I'd go back.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Personally I think Saas-Fee is a great place, but it depends very much what you are looking for.
At 1800 - 3600 m you are guaranteed snow, but the weather can be bad and it can be VERY cold. If the weather is good the snow is really great. There are about 100-120 km of piste. That is not a lot if you are an advanced skier and want to clock up the kms. As an everlasting intermediate I think there is a sufficient variety of runs to keep me happy, but you would certainly end up repeating runs quite frequently. Off-piste is potentially very dangerous because of the glaciers. There are a couple of unpisted routes for the more adventurous and there are numerous opportunities for linking pistes if you look where others have been, but serious off-piste requires a guide. I believe there are several good routes through the glaciers.
There are several T-bars on the glaciers because chair lifts are difficult on the moving ice and some of the lifts are not the newest in the world. It can take 40 minutes or so from the village to the top.
If you feel you have skied out Saas-Fee, you can always go round to Zermatt for the day. It takes just under 2 hours by public transport, but some of the TOs arrange day trips and at least one of the travel agents in the village does so also.
There can be a fair amount of walking to the lifts. Be careful where you stay and ensure it is close to the centre of the village. Most hotels will offer an electric taxi service to and from the lift stations, but if you are self-catering it can be along walk. There is no free skibus service and I think the skibus tends to fill up very quickly.
There is a good range of restaurants and bars, although I don't know the bars very well. There are a couple of night clubs, but I am much too old for those. The village should be quiet at night because there is the risk of a fine for making noise in public places between 2200 and 0800, but the nightclubs are all sound insulated.
Is there anything else you want to know?
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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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Whitegold,
Is it any good? Yes it is.
Is there enough terrain to keep advanced skiers happy for a week? I can't answer that from personal experience, but I would say yes if you are into off piste skiing..
What are the upsides and downsides to Saas Fee? You can't park your car outside the acommodation. But the streets are traffic free.
Wonderful alpine village atmosphere. But it will be cold at the top of the highest lift in january.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Great feedback, all. Thanks.
DJ -- I was unaware that there is not a free skibus service in Saas Fee. Is there a public skibus that goes around at regular intervals during the day and, presumably, you have to pay for? If so, how much is it per ride or per week?
Separately, is there much tree skiing in Saas Fee? It looks like most of it is above the treeline?
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Whitegold, I think the electric skibus costs about CHF 3 each time, but I haven't used it - the bus always seems to be full and anyway we always try to minimise walking with our equipment. If you buy an area pass and want to ski in Saas Grund the bus there and back is free. There are several places you can leave your skis overnight close to the lifts.
Trees go up to about 2400 m, but I don't know anyone who has done any tree skiing. Some of the lower pistes are tree-lined. I would say, though, that the trees are quite close together.
There was an article in Ski Canada December 2005 about off-piste skiing in Saas-Fee which I found some long time ago, but it doesn't seem to be available now. I have found a paper copy and here are some quotes:
The in-bounds piste skiing at Saas-Fee had proved generally steeper and more fall line than the slopes in Zermatt ...
... it would be hard for our group anyway to sustain excitement doing exactly these same groomed pistes for five straight days.
We were eager to explore some of Saas-Fee's off-piste routes ... We were hooked-up with Mark Derivaz .. On our way up the Alpin Express Mark pointed out some enticing larch forests rising along the smaller Plattjen section, confirming these are great skiing during a snowstorm with another metre or so of base ... Ho also noted the extensive non-glaciated off-piste slopes out from Morenia, but again no base.
The real action is on the "variants" up on the glacier. Mark showed us three excellent descents hidden in the glacier's folds. The first was a broad, meaty 40-plus slope. The second run started out more subtly, but was many times longer - wound among ranks of towering cracked ice - we skied perilously narrow looking ribbons of snow snaking among massive crevasses.
Mark told us about some of Saas-Fee's more serious off-piste. One classic descent is the lovely and long run down from the Britannia Hut, past the Mattmark reservoir, to Saas-Almagel. Mark said he sometimes takes clients heli-skiing in Zermatt and the afternoon run is off one of the 4000 plus peaks all the way down to Saas-Fee.
Our final off-piste was off the 3500 m top. We veered rightward from the piste and glided along a convex slope - three moderately steep offset pitches veering between crevasse fields.
That's the end of the quotes - sorry I can't find it on the web.
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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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| Derek Jackson wrote: |
| ........That is not a lot if you are an advanced skier and want to clock up the kms. ....... |
Well, I had a day's ski touring ( the SCGB rep got in touch with the guides' office, which helped me and my mate, but you cold do it yourself). I had a fantastic day, and there was plenty more to do.
I think Saas Fee is great. Lovely warm, welcoming, laid-back sort of place.
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Good stuff, thanks. I'm gonna have to give this some more thought. The limited pistage, long walks and exposed slopes of Saas Fee may not be an ideal choice for early Jan. It sounds more like an Apr-type visit.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Whitegold, Mrs Hoppo and I did have a fine time there over New Year, would probably go back once since we went near the beginning of our skiing career and there are bits we didn't ski.
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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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I like Saas Fee, but wouldn't choose to go there purely on skiing. The piste skiing is very intermediate, and off piste is limited due to the glacier. However, it is pretty.
Re the ski buses. If you have a lift pass that covers Grund and Almagel, then the buses between the resorts are covered on the pass.
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