Les Diablerets

A snowHead

Just returned from a summer holiday in Switzerland and visited both Saas Fee and Les Diablerets whilst we were there. Surprised how many British teenagers were in Saas Fee attempting to get some summer snowboarding in. I say attempting because one group we spoke to had been there 7 days but the glacier had been closed for 5 of them because of poor visibility or high winds.

As for Les Diablerets - I thought the glacier up there was supposedly skiable for a large chunk of the summer. The copy of the rough guide that I had certainly implied it and it's only a couple of years old. It seems like it now only stays open until May. Does anyone know if this is now always the case ? One of the gondola operators further down the valley said the glacier had really reduced in size over the last few years, so I'm presuming that's why.

A snowHead

It may also simply be that the Les Diablerets Glacier 3000 skiing area has never been very successful commercially regardless of the state of the glacier. It went bust a few years ago, and although it was resurrected as a going concern (just), the limitations that accounted for its demise are still there. The skiing on the glacier itself is pretty limited, boring and flat - I don't think it's as steep as Saas Fee. (n.b. In contrast, in winter the run off the back of the Les Diablerets glacier, the Combe d'Audon, is fantastic)

I was told that the whole Glacier 3000 project, with its large cable car and designer restaurant, was partly inspired by the success of the Jungfraujoch railway/restaurant, with the expectation that in Les Diablerets they have the advantage of being closer to big population centres along Lake Geneva. The trouble is, even though the views are good, they can't compete with the Eiger, and they don't have the same volume of summer holiday visitors as the area around Interlaken & Wengen/Grindelwald. Also, in making comparisons with Saas Fee, the latter is larger and more developed as a summer holiday resort.

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Thanks for the info Julian. Yes, Saas Fee much, much busier. I thought Les Diablerets was fantastic though - really dramatic location. Lots of summer activities to do in extreme peace and quiet !

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I agree Les Diablerets is a fun place in the summer and winter. A pity about the glacier now. In the winter there is some great off piste from the top. One place I go to do great runs without anyone in sight. About a 1500m+ drop so quite steep in places.

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Les Diablerets

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