Zermatt and Saas Fe

Hi

2 possible resorts for next season which I am considerin, can anyone offer any advice on either of them in terms of prices, ski area, snow history, etc?


Will be going mid Jan 2009.


Cheers

Anyone?

Been too long since I've been to either (hopefully Zermatt this year but we'll see) so very briefly :-

Snow - both are very high, and if either is suffering lack of snow in January then the season will not be a good one...

Ski Area - Zermatt is one of the world's must-ski resorts and for good intermediates or above will have the edge over Saas.

Scenery - both spectacular and awesome; can't really miss the fact you're in high, rugged mountains! :lol:

Charm - Saas Fe prettier but doesn't see the sun much in January.

Won't be much in it on price, and you'll benefit from going in mid Jan.

Personally? I'd pick Saas Fe in the summer and Zermatt in the winter.

Sorry Tony, must have been dozing.

Zermatt the town is terrific, there are heaps of old barns, building mixed in with the new. No cars, in theory, but heaps of electric taxis/buses fleeing around.

Stayed last season at the Hotel Atlanta, good value, OK food, balconies at the rear look out on to the Matterhorn. Mostly German clientel.

Getting up into the ski areas is still a pain. Better just to accept it will take you 45 minutes to get anywhere. If any of your party is claustraphobic, the big gondolas are likely to be a big problem. They take 140 people, and are mostly full when they leave.

Once on the mountain, the views are very good, the Matterhorn dominates. Nice skiing over in Italy. There was very little changing skiing, but that can be pleasant if you are with a group.

Costwise, the mountain food/drinks are a smidgin over Austrian prices, less on the Italian side. Much cheaper than rip-off France.

Was pleased to tick it off my hit list, but will certainly go there again.

Weather at the top can be extreme, the Italian connection sometimes closes. We were there in March, great powder, bright sun.

Hope this helps.

Can't help with Saas Fee until mid-march!

Been to Saas Fee a number of times.

High, snowsafe ski area, lots of village charm.

Village spreads over a vast area and many hotels/chalets are a seriously unpleasant hike from the lifts. No cars, only transport in town are electric taxis.

Not the most convenient ski area, modern lift system including underground railway to the glacier, off-piste without guide an extremely dodgy enterprise due to glacier, crevasses etc.

Day trip to smaller areaof Saas Grund is ok for a bit of midweek variety. Have been blown off the hill more than once as the altitude and no trees makes it vulnerable to close down during storms.

On balance, I like it, but for several reasons not to everyone's taste.

I have been to both, though only summer skiing in Zermatt. Both are busy resorts with high altitude skiing. Both are in German speaking Switzerland, both have glaciers.
In Saas Fee, you really get the feeling that the ski area is towering over the resort, the ski area is not too large, and OP without a guide is a no-no, too many crevasses. The village is quite spread out, and I found it a PITA walking such a lot in ski boots. At the op of the funicular is a revolving restaurant, if you can catch your breath long enough to read the menu :mrgreen:
Zermatt is a big village. It has a swiss McD's if the budget is a tad thin. It also has lots of tourists in the summer, large coach parties of Japanese and Americans, all going ...."aaah" and taking the same snap of the Matterhorn. It's got lots of history if you are keen. Plenty of OP opportunities and a good alpine centre right in town. It gets busy, I saw a sign on one of the cable car entrances "45 mins from here"...thats queueing time :shock:
I went there in late summer to ski, and did'nt get my usual high altitude headaches up on the glacier. The last leg of the KM c/c is a little steep, if you get tourists they will likely be a bit noisy :mrgreen: Skied across to Italy where the coffee is better :D I quite fancy going back in winter, I could see how much skiing there is available.
Some photos here.. http://picasaweb.google.com/bandit2106/Zermatt07

Thanks for the comments. I think as much as I like the idea of Zermatt, the fact its to busy, expensive and touristy, has put me off somewhat.

I might investigate Grindlewald a little more before however. That looks interesting, and a lot loss queuing too.

If you went to Grindlewald you could ski Murren and Wengen as they are in such close proximity.Might even be a pass to do the lot :)


AJ Adele