Saas Fee Snow Conditions

Saas Fee lies at the end of the Saas Valley in the Valais district in the southern Swiss Alps. Known as 'The Pearl of the Alps', the ski resort sits at the foot of the highest mountain in the country - the Dom (4,545m) - and is surrounded by over a dozen peaks and glaciers towering over 4,000m. Its location results in a snow sure ski area with guaranteed conditions each season, and an average annual snowfall of 265cm. Due to the extreme high-altitude and close proximity to the Dom, the resort can be very cold during the winter. 

 

The resort sits at an altitude of 1,800m, with access to nearby glacial slopes with a top elevation of 3,500m. Skiing is ideally suited to intermediates, and the 100km of terrain is made up of reds, blues and blacks, with most of the runs over 2,500m, and a vertical drop of 1,700m. First-timers have convenient nursery slopes at village level, as well as some gentle terrain, and for intermediate skiers there are long challenging pistes running from top to bottom - the longest run here being 9km. Experts have a number of black runs to navigate, mainly away from the main ski area, and some tree skiing, as well as a host of untracked off-piste to explore. Saas Fee also offers summer skiing on its glacial slopes, with 20km of terrain open for visitors.

 

The main ski season in Saas Fee runs from mid-November to mid-April, although the glacier does open for summer skiing from July to September. Upper slope averages in 2008 reached 295cm, with the lower slopes seeing 98cm. There is snowmaking in the resort, with 60 cannons covering 10km of non-glacial piste at the lower levels.