 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone skied Saas Fee lately (dont say Wham! please) - I'm thinking of a trip end next January and wondered how good the lift system is, off-piste links from lifts, snow making facilities etc. Any recommendations for a smallish hotel/ pension? Is it possible to get a bus from Visp railway station? Is it a lash like say Zermatt/ Verbier, or half-reasonable re charges in bars/ meals out etc?
Any tips greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I went there a few years ago at the end of November, when not all the lift system was running. I also did half a day there the following March on the way to Zermatt. The lift system seemed pretty good on the whole. You can get a gondola and then funicular right to the top and I can give you a useful tip when going up in the funicular (Alpin Metro) lift. Climb the steps up to the front of the train at the bottom, because it requires a great effort to climb the steps at the top due to the altitude. There are some T-Bars on the glacier.
Didn't do any off piste, so can't comment, but off piste is a no no on the glacier at the top due to the large crevasses. There are warning signs about this and all the pistes are roped off. I believe there are off piste runs up there which require a guide.
It's easy to get the post bus from outside the railway station at Visp and if you get a Swiss Transfer ticket, the bus is included.
The prices weren't too bad when I went but the exchange rate has probably had an effect on that.
The Gletschergrotte restaurant is a good lunch spot and you get to it via a path from the blue piste which runs back to the village. It's sign posted from the piste, just get a bit of a run up to negotiate the up and down path through the trees to the restaurant.
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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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Markymark29, Pm me with your email address. My neighbour has a flat there and is out there just now. He was in St anton last year so well placed to make comparisons in price etc with what you're used to in St Anton
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Markymark29, I've skied some excellent off-piste in the area with SCGB reps - in the days before the current restrictions - including in the Saas Grund area, IIRC. May sure you get a full area pass if you want to do that, though. Also did a day's ski touring with hired kit. The day's first train stopped in the tunnel , then we climbed a ladder to pop up out onto the slope. Great fun - arranged through the guides' office. I stayed at the Domino b&B - and thought it very good - but a bit of a walk to the lifts. Prices generally a little lower than Zermatt - some hotels there can be eye-wateringly expensive, but there was good value around. I liked the resort.
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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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boabski, Trying to PM you my email address but the PM is stuck in outbox, is this normal, pressed submit but didnt go?? Any ideas? 
achilles, Thanks for feedback, looks good.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Markymark29, PMs stay in your outbox until the recipient reads it.
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geepee, Not like Outlook at all then?!! Cheers.
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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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achilles, Looks good and so does Domino, is there much apres ski going on?
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Markymark29, I am of a 'certain age', and so apres tends to consist of crashing out early 
There were some very lively scenes at some of the pubs at the bottom of the slopes, though. So, although the place is no Verbier, Ischgl or St Anton, I think there must be some fun spots in the evenings.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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achilles, Few beers after the day is all I need!
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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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Markymark29, you'll have no problem 
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Few beers after the day is all I need!
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Not EVERY day by the way, just big ski days it good to have a beer or 2...............! 
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You know it makes sense.
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Markymark29, Its is not cheap but it is not Verbier expensice either!
If you get a swiss transger ticket the bus from Visp will be included in your travel if not you can just pay on arrival they are fairly frequent and trip up is about 35-35 min
Lifts are well linked and quick very few ques, lots of Drags up top as it is a glacier but cest la vie! Resort is quite compact and everything comes back down to the one spot. Carefull going off piste to far above Morine station as the glacier stops about 300 Meters above it cravasses and all that!!
Options out of the village are Plattejen, access one side with great tree skiing and a long red and a blue or two and an itiniary run, and some nice off piste with to little effort.
Alpine express or Felsking will get you up to the Finucular that brings you right to the top from the village or Spielboden will bring you up to some nice bumps and another Itiniary run, and a good selection of off piste again.
Apres starts in the black bull adn moves to Poison and Popcorn livley but not to rowdy.
Plenty of great places to eat, second vote for the Gletscher Grot, also Don Chicios in the village and teh Bocolini pizza place above intersport is reasonable.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Fattes13, my memory is fading - but doesn't the bus run from Brig?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Markymark29, We stayed at the Hotel Elite, which is a small family run hotel, a couple of years ago. It's very friendly and the food is good. When we were there they always offered second and sometimes even third helpings at dinner if there was food left after the first serving (my OH loved it!)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hey Fattes,
Great stuff on F/B on the Verb trip- not long till Saas and "an la mor "!!!
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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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Thanks all for the feedback, great stuff......................looks like a plan for maybe end January, would appreciate any more tips.
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We had fanatstic week last week of Jan this year - the village is just getting sun at that time - earlier and it is blocked out early AM and mid PM on
Lovely lovely place to ski , fantastic snow making, but if you want to cruise lots of miles it's not for you. Bloomin expensive with the current exchaneg rate - Gletschergrotte you might be able to afford a (poor) make your own Hot Chocolate for circa £4 but dont think about eating anything for less than £18 a course ! Mrs sev112 and i got to skiing down at lunch, dropping off the skis and going to the supermarket to buy short- date sandwiches for £3 a piece.
Beer and wine are stupidly expensive at teh moment; pizzas are exhorbitant.
Still, one of the best skiing holidays i've been on, but 7 days of beautiful sunshine and good snow in one of teh most beautiful places on earth might have something to do with that 
Enjoy
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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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I'll be spending 4 nights in Tasch during the 2nd week of April. We are considering a day's skiing in Saas Fee in addition to three in Zermatt. Have never been to either resort. If we drive from the hotel in Tasch is there a particular car park to head for that will be best for picking up a lift pass from and getting onto the slopes with minimum hassle? Any info gratefully received.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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achilles, Both but Visp is a shorter bus ride, Bus from Brig will actually pass through Visp on the way
briand6868, Cheers full video to come oh and the Invite is on the way for ya ha ha
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Fattes13, fair enough, thanks. It's been too long since I was there, and memory fades - but the memories that are there are of a delightful resort.
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Stayed there almost this time last year (start of April) and it really did snow every night and was blue sky every day.
We stayed in an apartment called Dolce Vita right on the edge of the beginner piste so it was ski in ski out and the place was lovely.
Skiing was ace with loads of different off piste to do down the sides and round corners!
Apres ski was good, we were with a couple 'not drinking at the moment' so were just going out the 2 of us but it was fun and loads of places for eating.
I don't remember it being that expensive but I live in Geneva so that has probably got something to do with it! I do remember baulking at the price of the weeks ski pass though!
One thing that is stopping me going back this year is I just didn't think the area was big enough to do again in a hurry. Think we're gonna go Zermatt instead!
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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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We flew to Zurich and it was so easy to get train and bus to Saas Fee (via Visp), even with our 5 year old. Hotel Elite was superb and reasonable. Glacier was impressive to look at, but lots of T-bars for that reason.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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dw832, When you approach Saas Fee, there is a multi-storey car park just as you get to the village and you have to park there, as the village is car free. It's not too long a walk to the Alpine Express lift where you can get your lift pass and get the gondola up the mountain.
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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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Hi I'm on my way to SF end of Feb. my family are all beginners so I'm hoping they'll have a cracking time learning on the nursery slopes. I'm an intermediate but have noticed that the lift pass (370SF...) covers Saas Almagel and Saas Grund as well as Saas Fee - as I'm not going to get to these other places, is there a cheaper lift pass just for Saas Fee?
thanks
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Hi trolleyed, it is possible to buy a lift pass just for the village lifts which is, I think, Chf 30 per day. As far as I'm aware it is only available on a daily basis. There is also a daily pass for Plattjen at Chf 44. The village lifts are really only for beginners though Plattjen has some interesting skiing. It is possible to get individual passes for Saas Grund and Saas Almagell but unfortunately the main Saas Fee pass does cover all the areas.
I know Chf 370 seems a lot but the ski area at Saas Fee is so beautiful it really is worth it 
The snow is perfect, too, and should still be at the end of February.
Hope this helps
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You know it makes sense.
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Thank you that's really useful
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hello I've a further couple of questions for you lovely people.
For the last week in February, are we likely to see any sunshine at all in Saas Fee?
Additionally I've heard that the lifts close when it's windy - how windy is windy?
Thanks 
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Poster: A snowHead
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trolleyed, Jan is the only time it is really cold and dark other than that it is normally really nice. As for the lifts the only lifts that suffer from wind really are the Alpine Express and the lifts on top of the glacier, everything below them including Felskin and the chair lifts rarely close for hight winds.
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how windy is windy?
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The exact same levels that would close the lifts in most resorts!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Brilliant - thanks for this - the kind of information that isn't in the brochure!
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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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The glacier drag lifts often close in bad weather before anything else. The Alpin Express is a lot slower than the Felskinn if bottom to top ASAP us important to you, though if the entire resort has had a big dump, the Alpin a Express will usually open first. I think it moves more people per hour or something.
For the advancing beginner (I had my first week on sky's there 3 years ago and could cope with this on day 3), I recommend the orange spielboden gondola, then up to langfluh. It's a long drag for the blue, but it's long, wide and gentle. The red below with its own chair puts together a decent lap, blue>red>chair>drag. If they are timid though it is worth downloading on the lift system as the red piste across to Morenia has a long steep section compared to many of the other reds.
The route from Morenia down to the village also involves a red section, not too challenging in good conditions but does get very cut up and bumpy after fresh snowfall as it's the only real option other than the lift for blue fun skiers using the lovely wide pistes around that mid station. There is a chair you can use to lap the mid mountain blues.
For food, the Felskinn restraunt gas been refurbished recently, and if you don't have a massive appetite, half a spaghetti Bol does 1 nicely and I s about 10CHF. The Morenua restraunt is more expensive but does have a picnic area too if you bring your own. The crepe place opposite intersport and the pizzaria does a decent snack too.
OH brother is out there at the mo, apparently they've gad a big of snow, delaying opening some areas on a couple of days for a few hours, however something gas been open and reports are of decent sunshine.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| dw832 wrote: |
| I'll be spending 4 nights in Tasch during the 2nd week of April. We are considering a day's skiing in Saas Fee in addition to three in Zermatt. Have never been to either resort. If we drive from the hotel in Tasch is there a particular car park to head for that will be best for picking up a lift pass from and getting onto the slopes with minimum hassle? Any info gratefully received. |
I love Sass Fee, we are just about to go for our 5th successive family holiday there. BUT I would not at all recommend spending one of your 4 days there:
1. It is inconvenient to get to from Tasch. You will need a train, then a bus - which arrives at the far end of the village from the lifts. You have a c25 min walk or a taxi to get to the lift departure points.
2. Zermatt is very extensive (3 separate and BIG mountains) plus you can ski over to Cervinia in Italy for even more.
3. The skiing is a bit limited. You might be better off going to Val D'Annivers (great off-piste)
Saas Fee really works for us because we have 4 kids under 10. Before we had the kids we went to Zermatt every year...
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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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Getting really excited about my trip now - only 2 children under 10 so a little easier!
Was just thinking of a few finer details - do I need to get passport photos for the skiing passes for the children (4years old) or us for that matter?
Checking forecast - looks like there's lots of snow!
Cheers
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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we didnt need passport photos (adult or child) when we were there over xmas - they didnt even want to see ID. Have fun!
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| trolleyed wrote: |
Getting really excited about my trip now - only 2 children under 10 so a little easier!
Was just thinking of a few finer details - do I need to get passport photos for the skiing passes for the children (4years old) or us for that matter?
Checking forecast - looks like there's lots of snow!
Cheers |
Looks like we will be there the same week. Let me know if you want any restaurant/ski school/other recommendations. You are going to love it, as will the kids (as others have mentioned it is great place to learn). And I agree, the snow looks great! I will be off-piste around the whole area, ltd of people think the glacier limits this but not if you know where to go!
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We had a fantastic week in Saas Fee at the Esprit Annahof hotel! The snow and sunshine was perfect Monday thru Friday with only a white out on Saturday closing everything down.
The beginners slopes (3 levels - magic carpets for the kids in one area, a "green" style run adjacent for the first time beginner who can then move onto the other 3 blues on the other side of the river) were perfect for the beginner family. Found out that the beginners slope lifts were all free on Monday morning which was useful.
Lift passes (like Oyster cards but worked from within your pocket) were easily purchased from the Casse at the bottom of the beginners slope (no photos needed just the citizen pass from the hotel). For me the walking at the top of the Express or Felskin was a bit of a hassle but as mentioned above can easily be avoided by doing circuits on Langfluh or Morenia.
The children and my wife had lessons with the Swiss Ski school (through Esprit) and had a great experience and progressed quickly - we also noticed that the life attendants were particularly helpful and even lifted the children up when they fell off the lift!
Didn't go sledging - mixed reviews - some loved it some hated it
Would definitely consider returning to Saas Fee - the pistes were empty and I never queued for a lift!
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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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trolleyed,
Go back in Summer- it's even more beautiful than winter, believe it or not
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FAQ
