We have been visiting Switzerland for ski holidays for over 15 years. First coming when our children were 10 and 12. Since then we have visited over 16 ski resorts in Europe and Japan but keep coming back to Saas Grund.
In this post:
Where is Saas Grund?
Saas Grund is in the famous Valais ski district. Up the same valley as the upmarket Zermatt and the Matterhorn (until it splits at Stalden). It is located just below Saas Fee (made famous by Wham featuring George Michael’s Last Christmas) which itself is overshadowed by Dom the third highest mountain in the Alps. Dom dominates the vista when you are skiing Saas Grund.
How to get to Saas Grund
Access to the Saas Grund is via bus from Visp or Brig train station. It is a 40 minute Post Bus ride on the 511 bus to Saas Fee. The buses are very reliable, we have watched as the local bus driver puts on the chains to keep the bus on snowy roads. The locals do an amazing job at clearing the roads during and after heavy snowfalls. The buses are built for tourists with both ski racks and additional storage for bags.
Read our tips on travelling to ski resorts in Switzerland by train.
Accommodation
Saas Grund is one of the most affordable ski resorts in Switzerland. Accomodation in the village is around half the price of the trendier Saas Fee a few kilometres away. On our most recent visit we stayed at Apartment Castel which is run by the Hotel Roby next door. A two bedroom apartment with slow combustion burner was CHF190 per night. The apartment is one minute walk to the bus stop, two minutes to Coop supermarket and five minutes to the base of the Gondola.
Of course most of the apartments are now available via AirBnb. We have also stayed and recommend the recently renovated Amici at Unter Den Bodman, a short bus ride away.
Ski Passes
On our recent trip to Saas Grund we stayed for 13 nights. That is way too many days to ski Saas Grund alone so we choose the 6 day all season pass for CHF255. A single day pass by comparison is CHF56 per day.
We then had the flexibility to visit other ski resorts plus take a rest day. We visited both Bettmeralp and Zermatt by bus and train. Each of these resorts are less than 2 hours away and by leaving early were able to be on the first gondolas of the day. Considering the time it takes to get from Saas Grund to the top of Saas Fee this is a great option.
Daily ski prices of nearby resorts
On our most recent trip we tried:
Zermatt: CHF79 or CHF92 if you want to cross over to ski Cervinia in Italy. A great place for intermediate to advanced skiers. You get the opportunity to ski the highest runs in the Alps.
Bettmeralp: CHF 55 is well suited for beginners and intermediate and incredibly easy to access by train. It is also south facing so gets great sun. You also get to see the Aletsch Glacier the largest glacier in the Alps, which is worth the trip alone.
Of course if you are in the area then visit:
Saas Fee: CHF75 is suited for intermediate skiing and has some wonderful T-bar runs on the glacier. Saas Almagell can also be included on a two day ticket. Only worth doing for box ticking.
When is the best time to visit?
We have found that January is the best time to visit. Just after the Christmas break and before the Swiss school holidays. While it can be bitterly cold at that time of the year you will have the resort to yourself.
Unlike Saas Fee you get sun from about 10:30 am in Saas Grund.
The other highlight is the world ice climbing champions. It’s free to go before 4pm when you get to see all the major climbers in the preliminary events. It is set up inside the car park and you can follow the climbers around to get the best views. Its a must see event!
Skiing at Saas Grund
The biggest challenge with skiing Saas Grund is the limited number of runs. This is made up by the quality of the gondola. The first of two gondolas takes you from the village to Kreuzboden at 2,400m. It stops to pick up skiers from the Trift mid-station. There is then a second gondola that takes you to the top of Hohsaas at 3,200m.
It is a 19 minute gondola trip from the bottom to the top. With the gondola opening at 9:00am you can be having your first run by 9:20. Once at the top there are just three ways back down to Kruezboden. There is 800m elevation difference over 3.5km run. This means you will be on some pretty challenging red runs from the get go.
The top runs are built on top of a glacier, so there is no scope to go off piste. The upside is that there is usually plenty of snow at the top of the mountain. The quality of the grooming is sensational which makes it a lot easier to get down on the first runs of the day. On our recent visit in January we were still finding patches of corduroy at noon.
The run from top to bottom is huge, 9.3km long with a vertical difference of nearly 1.5km. Once you are past Kruezboden it gets a lot easier to Trift. From Trift to Saas Gund it is essentially a bunny run with a very nice section midway down.
Our days usually consisted of up to three hours of hard skiing followed by an afternoon of walking between the various villages of the Saas valley.
For beginner and families the Kreuzboden area had a restaurant, picnic area, ski school, a poma tow lift and a T bar with some simple blue and red runs.
Saas Grund For Beginners
Our whole family learnt to ski at Saas Grund. There is a gentle beginners area with a poma tow rope. You can then progress to more challenging runs. Learning at Saas Grund means that you can ski in just about any conditions. Many of the blacks we tried at Zermatt and Bettmeralp were no more challenging than some of the reds at Saas Grund.
Saas Grund Village
The village of Saas Grund consists of a Church, priory, some of the original farm houses and newer holiday accommodation. It still has the quaint feel of a farming village, each morning we would walk past the sounds and smells of the local sheep living in the traditional Valais barns to the Gondola.
From Saas Grund you can easily walk to the neighbouring villages of Saas Almagell or Saas Balen Alternatively you can catch the bus up to Saas Fee and then walk home via Saas Almagell. A beautiful 90 minute walk. In summer the Saas Valley is a hikers paradise with over 300km of walking tracks. A few of these are open in Winter.
Apre Ski
Saas Grund is not the place to go for Apre ski. You can get all that up at Saas Fee. The Roby Hotel has a restaurant but otherwise the village is extremely quiet.
Ski Rental from Saas Almagell
Over the past fifteen years we have rented a lot of skis all over the world. Derby Sports at Saas Almagell have some of the best skis we have come across. You select the latest models from brands such as K2, Rossignol etc. Booking online provides further discounts.
Located at the very end of the Saas valley and a 5 minute bus ride from Saas Grund it is well worth the visit. The staff are super friendly and helpful.
Saas Fee Citizens Pass
As part of your accomodation you get the Saas Fee Citizens Pass included. The best part of the part is access to the post bus between the villages of Saas Grund, Saas Fee and Saas Almagell. We used it to pick up our skis, visit the Ice climbing in Saas Fee and to connect the walks between villages.
There are other activities you can do. My recommendation is to go and talk to the tourist office. The Saas Grund tourist office is now located at the base of the gondola.
Summary
Saas Grund has some of the longest run anywhere in the world. It’s a great place to perfect your skiing in the morning and then spend the afternoon exploring.
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Planning a Covid trip in March!
Will stay in SaaS Grund and ski Sass Fee one day each.
My next trip…
Davos Klosters, Laax, Andermatt,
Saas Grund, Zermatt, Crans Montana, Verbier. a bit of a Swiss noddle sprinkled with gold dust.
Ski ya,
Murray.