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The Swiss summer ski resorts also happen to be some of the best on the planet. With the highest slopes and biggest ski areas, this is where national teams from all over the planet practice for the winter season.
While Switzerland has swathes of resorts, a select few have the makings for proper summertime skiing. So we’ve also included our favourite glacier ski areas, which mightn’t be open in August, but still have longer seasons than the rest.
Switzerland: Top Summer Ski Resorts & Glacier Ski Areas
Skiers and boarders have 21km of slopes up on the Theodul glacier – which towers over the region from a heady 3820m. This forms the highest and biggest summer ski area on the continent, which sees national ski teams (from the USA and other corners of the globe) honing their skills for the winter season. If you’re not quite at competition-level, British ski school Summit still run lessons at this time of year… Corduroy here comes in the blue and red variety: These aren’t the steepest slopes in the Alps, but they’re beautifully wide and stupidly scenic, giving up-close views of the mighty Matterhorn. Then there’s the Gravity Park, which is shipped over to Plateau Rosa for the summer months, with its 15 rails, 7 boxes, 10 jumps and socking great half pipe - so good that Burton often hold their summer camp here.
The Allalin glacier’s the key to Saas Fee’s enviable year-round snowiness. Skiing’s a morning affair in the summer months, so set the alarm early for the 7:30am lift opening. With no time wasted layering thermals, it’s just a case of hopping on the Alpin Express to reach the dizzying height of 3600m. Smashing for intermediates, it’s a 20km sea of red up here, with the Swiss Ski School open from July to help out if needed. You’ve also got a huge pro standard snow park – superpipe and all - where they often host the Saas-Fee Ride event in the summer. But you don’t have to ski to enjoy the snow here – head to Mittelallalin at 3500m and you can have a crack at snow tubing and ski-dooing at the Glacier Fun Adventure Land.
Hogging the highest point in the spectacular 4 valleys, the Mont Fort Glacier is quite the sight. Snow tends to build up to around 3-4 metres up here and with excellent snowmaking, the conditions are the best around. Mont Fort’s off piste is the stuff of legend, with the steepest, most wonderful descents down the back side. Summer skiing isn’t a regular affair up here, but it’s not unheard of either: When winter weather’s been good enough, lifts have been known to open in July for a spontaneous spot of morning schussing. The rarity of this makes it massively popular, with skiers in their thousands – locals and tourists – bringing an electric atmosphere to resort. Whether you’re here in the winter or summer, get the 20m stairway from the very summit, where views extend from the Valais all the way to Mont Blanc.
Take the Ice Express chairlift from Les Diablerets and step out onto the Glacier 3000, where the season normally kicks off around October and continues into May. 25km of pistes can be accessed from here - the highest are a bunch of blues, but the black-graded Olden run takes the gong for the longest at a mighty 7km. Just around the corner is one of the finest snow parks in the region (Snowpark Glacier 3000) – shaped by Arnaud Kugener with line rails, a big air and all sorts of kickers. The off piste terrain isn’t bad either, thanks to the deep powder that piles up over the winter. Cross country skiers aren’t forgotten, with a 7km trail open from April through to December, and there’s also free winter hiking and sledding by the ice express chairlift. The scenery up here is an eyeful: A sea of 24 peaks over 4000m spanning across Mont Blanc, the Bernese Alps and the Matterhorn.
Accessed by a series of lifts from resort, the Plaine-Morte glacier is huge (covering 10km squared), seriously thick (up to 200m in some places) and mighty high (reaching 2927m). It’s also forgivingly flat, making the snow and views accessible for skiers, cross country skiers and walkers - who certainly won’t want to miss the sights of the Mischabel, Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. Ski-wise, there’s a network of short-ish reds served by drag lifts, with the gloriously long Tubang run taking you all the way back to base. These usually open in November, and tend to stay skiable into April.
St Moritz’s season usually lasts from November through to April, with the Diavolezza glaciers hoarding a whole load of the white stuff. A train ride to Bernina Diavolezza, then a quick jaunt on a cable car finds you at the top of the mountain. Many go for the long, windy red that takes you from the 2973m summit to the base of the hill. But the 10km ungroomed run on the other side of the area’s the star attraction. Leading down the moraines of two glaciers - Pers and Morteratsch - this is the longest glacier run in Switzerland and it’s a corker.
Switzerland - best summer & glacier ski resorts
| Resort | Best features |
|---|---|
| Zermatt | Theodul glacier – usually open every day of the year |
| Saas Fee | Allalin glacier – snowy year-round |
| Verbier | Mont Fort glacier – sometimes open for summer skiing |
| Les Diablerets | Glacier 3000 – usually skiable from October to May |
| Crans Montana | Plaine Morte glacier – usually open November to April |
| St Moritz | Diavozella glacier – Switzerland’s longest glacier run |
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