Saas-Fee

Well another fantastic day. It was snowing again as we set out this morning with snow lying down to resort level.
(Another total failure for weather forecasts as the Saas Fee Site, Metcheck and Snow-forecast all said it would be sunny in the morning)

Because of the quantity of snow that had fallen, only the lower lifts were open.

The weather may have looked reasonably friendly down in the resort, but at the top of Plattjen it was verging on blizzard. This didn't cause any distress, as just a little way down the run the wind had disappeared. The National was virtually "virgin" and a dream to ski.

Those weather forecast predicted just 5cm snow. It actually snowed almost all day. All pistes we tried were magic, and not being able to go above Felskinn did not seem to matter. And then as the afternoon progressed the sun eventually won the battle with the clouds and managed to break through. We skied down the Weisse Perle (see picture) with patches of blue sky above and lovely powder under our skis.

I am now looking out on a cloudless blue sky. Tomorrow could be heaven.

Well, we had our heavenly day.
The day dawned cloudless. And come 7am, eight of us were munching breakfast in eager anticipation of an off-piste day with guides Gabriel and Marc
We lined up at the bottom of the piste to get kitted out with bleepers and harness – the glaciers round here make crevasses a constant danger

Then off we went up the lifts.
All standard stuff until we got to the Metro Alpin (funicular).
This run of the lift was reserved just for us. It stopped half way up at the point where the two trains cross.
We got out and found ourselves in this short tunnel with snow at the far end, and a small opening near its roof where sunlight poured in.

One by one we eased ourselves out, to find we were near the top of the mountain on a small ledge with virgin powder all around.
No warm up, we just had to plunge down and hope. I could have done with more hope.
I seemed to spend more of the day struggling to get up than skiing. I discovered I could cope reasonably well with snow up to my knees, but when it came to snow up to goolies, I lost my bottle and kept falling.
Even so it was a wonderful day. Gabriel said you only get days like these 3 or 4 times in a season.
Come the end of the day we were all exhausted but euphoric.

It was a leisurely day yesterday. The sun stayed out, but most of the easy access (just off-piste) powder had been mostly skied out. Going through that chopped up stuff I found even trickier that tackling it virgin the day before
And note the crevasses in the distance – those edge of skiing area markers are not just there for show in Saas Fee as a lot of the runs are either side of a serious glacier.

Even with this glorious weather and wonderful snow conditions, the pistes are strangely empty. There are no lift queues anywhere. And Saas Fee seems from my experience devoid of out-of-control bombing idiots so common in French resorts I visit (La Plagne and Val Thorens).

Of course Saas Fee is a particularly smart resort, and so it is vitally important you have all the right (and latest) kit, and you dress correctly. For anyone coming out for Easter here is the latest look for the Alps in Switzerland.

Derek Jackson: Everything was organised by Mountain Life.
There were 8 in our group, and with two guides we felt much more secure with one leader and one sweeper. The guides were patient and friendly, and even thanked us at the end of the day for the fun time they had had – cowdoo maybe, but it added to an all round great experience.
The actual run is awesome. None of my pics really do it justice. This one is the best I could find.

We ended up at Saas Almagell, and taken back up to Saas Fee by minibus. Then we went straight up to the top – to Allallin without so much as a coffee break – and skied down beside the glacier in some of he deepest snow I have ever tried: get your technique wrong and you slowly sink further and further down. Digging yourself out when the snow is above your waist is utterly exhausting. A harsh lesson. You get your technique right blooming quick I was so knackered and full of snow I didn’t manage any pics.

One treck everyone should do at Saas Fee is the walk out to the Britannia Hut.
You start from the top of the Egginerjoch T-bar (known by all here as the Jock-strap)
It takes about 10 – 15 minutes along an up and down road.
There are significant sections of walking up the hill that are best managed with your skis off (though one of our party - a stubborn guy – did manage it all with his skis on. He came in last and exhausted).

And you have to back on the same path.

But the sense of achievement of is exhilarating.
And then is it well worth going on up the hill beyond.
The views from the top are magnificent.
We always make the mistake of eating lunch at the hut before making the climb.

Of course it is only worth doing this in good weather.
Since the heavy snow on Sunday and Monday we have had wonderful weather every day.

And I’m looking out on a blue sky again this morning.

Another wonderful day in Saas Fee. Started with blue sky and only a few clouds, but anyone who left their goggles behind and failed to wrap up well had a rough morning: the clouds moved in, the temperature fell suddenly, and snow began to fall.

It was never bad enough to make skiing unpleasant: visibility was always adequate and there was very little wind. The pistes were also almost empty.

Saas Fee skiers are definitely fair weather people.