Pearl of the AlpsSaas-Fee

By Emily Mawson

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Switzerland, the 4,545-metre Dom. Radiating out from the liftarea, which is crowned by the rotating Drehrestaurant Allalin,the pistes are mostly gentle reds – ideal for intermediateskiers or those eager to master their parallel turns. There isalso a half-pipe and one delightful, long blue run known asthe Weisse Meile. With a gradient suited to leisurely cruising,it gives you time to admire the glacial formations that look likewindows into Antarctica – marshmallow-smooth snow breaksin places to reveal raw, pale aquamarine sheets of ice.

Mercifully (at this altitude), queues for the lifts are relativelysmall. When the whole resort is open, visitors can spread outacross the 22 cableways, 100 kilometres of pistes (25kilometres of blue, 50 kilometres of red and 25 kilometres ofblack runs) and even down the valley to Saas-Grund, Saas-Amagell and Saas-Balen, which are included in the lift pass.“Saas-Fee was where I learnt to ski as an adult,” says SimonWhite, a Leader for the Ski Club of Great Britain, mentioningthe accessible teaching slopes just above the village.“However, the real secrets of Saas-Fee are the acres ofuntracked snow and awesome runs. I recommend hiring aguide from the Guides’ Bureau (www.saasfeeguides.ch) tomake the most of these slopes.”

Award-winning pistesAfter being named 'Best Swiss Ski Resort 2012' by a study ofthe same name, Saas-Fee has a grand reputation to live up to.“The award is an honour and a commitment at the same time,”says Head of Saas-Fee/ Saastal Tourismus, Pascal Schär. “Itshows that our investment in the piste preparation, artificialsnowmaking and hospitality is appreciated.” As a nervousskier, I applaud the soft snow conditions. It has snowedrecently and there is barely a patch of ice to be seen. Instead,tufts of powder fly up behind skiers and boarders as theyweave down the mountain.

“There was always a great atmosphere on the slopes,”remembers Iain Cartmill, a hedge fund manager at GAM inLugano, who spent many early season weekends in Saas-Fee from 2000 to 2002, “with good snow conditions, pretty

A warm welcomeI arrive in Saas-Fee under darkness. As the coach winds upthe Saas Valley, the only signs of the steeply ascendingslopes are twinkling lamplights dotted ever higher until,above a ribbon of inky darkness, they meet a curtain of starsin a sapphire sky. The moon is a perfect crescent, with softrays grazing the smooth summit of Stellihorn at 3,436 metresabove sea level.

The bus terminal in the car-free village whirs with activity, aselectric cars from hotels come to collect their loads. Theheavy beats of après-ski music dissipate between the chalet-style hotels and 17th-and 18th-century Stadel (wooden storagehuts on stone stilts) that are scarcely visible under the mutedstreet lamps.

It is late November and early season. Nevertheless, when Iawake the following morning, my balcony at the Hotel GarniFeehof*** opens onto brushed snowy slopes. They sweepupwards to form the basin of 13 peaks over 4,000-metres thatgive Saas-Fee its nickname, the Pearl of the Alps. Lowerdown, weather-beaten larches in shades of burnt sienna andorange intermingle with snowy meadows and jagged, silverysummits. There are smiles everywhere, from Feehof ownerBeata Imseng at breakfast to the friendly baker where I stopto buy sandwiches for a day on the slopes, and the helpfulshop assistant at Cesar Sport Alpin where I rent my skiequipment.

A glacial realmWhen I visit, skiing is restricted to the Allalin – reached by theworld’s highest funicular, Metro Alpin from 2,989 to 3,500metres above sea level. Here, views extend to the BerneseAlps and beyond to Italy. It is where the so-called ‘glaciervillage’ hosts summer skiing between the Fee, Hohlaub andAllalin glaciers. In fact, frozen tongues cover just over half thearea surrounding Saas-Fee.

Allalin is a realm of Bergschrund (sweeping mountaincrevasses), overlooked by the highest mountain in

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It calls itself the ‘Free Republic of Holidays’, has 300 days of sunshine annually and is one of fewresorts in Switzerland where you can ski in the summer. After being named ‘Best Swiss Ski Resort2012’, Saas-Fee in Canton Valais has proven that it is also a charming winter resort.

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begun. It was helped in part by the fact that famousmountain guide Alexander Burgener (1845 – 1910), whohad many first ascents in his satchel, lived in the area – hispresence attracted English and German mountaineers whoalso wanted to be the first to the top of the area’smagnificent summits.

A place of special energy“After travelling, you become aware that Saas-Fee is one ofthe energy spots of the world,” says Maren Müller, co-owner ofthe local Waldhotel Fletschhorn (Swiss News April 2012). “Yourecharge quickly, and moments of awe and peace areguaranteed.” A trip up the Hannig cable car to sledge sixkilometres down to the village in the foreground of theMischabel chain of mountains is one way of diving into nature.There are also 60 kilometres of pretty winter hiking trails and36 kilometres of cross-country skiing pistes in the valley.

Just make sure you are on your best behaviour when you visit.Legend goes that the Bozu – who looks like a Capricorn andhas a split tongue – runs around the forest chasing naughtypeople. Now, an encounter with him wouldn’t be a very niceway to end your relaxing holiday, would it?

Make it happenArrival: There is a large car park at the edge of Saas-Fee where cars

must be left. By public transport, take the coach from Visp. Seats mustbe reserved for the return journey

Skiing and snowboarding: Day lift pass for Saas-Fee, Saas-Grund,Saas Almagell and Saas-Balen costs CHF 69 for adults with a Saas-

Fee Passport. Lift passes are free for children up to 9-years-old. There are 3 ski schools in Saas-Fee as well as numerous

guiding organisationsWinter hiking: The Winter Hiking Pass entitles guests to six days’ use of

all the cableways in the Saas ValleySledging: At Hannig; twice-weekly night sledging

Other activities: telemark skiing, curling, skating, ice climbing,snowshoeing, Alpine gorge, and husky tours

Après-ski: 39 restaurants, 15 pubs and bars, and 3 nightclubsWhere to stay: Feehof*** (cosy hospitality in a central location);

Waldhotel Fletschhorn (gourmet dining in a Relais & Chateaux hotel inthe forest); The Dom**** (newly-renovated hotel built in 1881)

Special offersThe Saas-Fee Citizens’ Passport entitles you to free transport on

Postauto buses within the Saas Valley, a 12 per cent reduction on last year’s ski pass prices and more

good weather and the chance to meet many interestingpeople.”

There are all kinds of people here – ski clubs training on theslalom runs; children learning with their parents; freestyleskiers doing acrobatics in the air; snow sports enthusiastsenjoying the early season skiing; and ski tourers slowlyascending the slopes. Some visitors come especially toexplore the world’s largest ice pavilion, reached by a 70-metre long tunnel into the glacier. Inside, the surface issmooth, wet and see-through like a clear plastic bouncycastle, then rough where new ice crystals have formed.

Something for everyoneCertainly, you do not need to be a skier or boarder to enjoySaas-Fee. In the village, which has just over 1,700inhabitants, there is a range of shops, plenty of cosy cafésand hundreds of years of history to explore – the SaasValley has been inhabited since the Iron Age. Some housesin Saas-Fee date back three hundred years and arerecognisable by their dark wood façades (untreated larchthat stained over time).

For many centuries, however, Saas-Fee was uninhabitedand, although the resort now attracts almost 800,000tourists annually, the local economy used to be farmingbased. “People used to live in Saas-Grund, further down thevalley, and would bring their cows to Saas-Fee to graze inthe summer,” says local Chantal Imseng, who works forSaas-Fee/Saastal Tourismus. This explains the derivation ofthe name Saas-Fee – Saas taken from Salix, which means‘pasture’ in Romansch, and Fee from the German Vieh,meaning ‘cattle’. “I think we’re tough people, because wehad to grow up in hard conditions,” theorises Chantal. “Inthe winter, everybody was closed in. But I think people werehappy – they enjoyed a glass of wine every evening!”

Local priest Johann Josef Imseng (1806 – 1809) changedthe village’s fortune forever. “He noticed that tourists wouldgo to Zermatt for mountaineering, and said we should dothe same,“ explains Chantal, “so he started pushing peoplein Saas-Grund to build hotels.” By the time the first, theMonte Moro, was built in 1856, tourism had well and truly

Informationwww.saas-fee.ch

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