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Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee () is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded by a total of 13 peaks above 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) which is the highest concentration in the Alps, giving the village the nickname ''the Pearl of the Alps''. It is a classic ski resort characterised by well-preserved Swiss wood architecture and a car-free city centre. The villages in its neighbourhood are Saas-Almagell, Saas-Grund and Saas-Balen. Overview Its location close to the glaciers of the Dom and the Allalinhorn provides winter sport opportunities throughout the year, and neighbouring peaks such as the Weissmies, the Nadelhorn and the Lenzspitze are popular climbs in the summer season. The community is considered to be a very attractive winter sport destination in the Swiss Alps. Typical activities include skiing, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dom (mountain)
The Dom is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, located between Randa and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. With a height of , it is the seventh highest summit in the Alps, overall. Based on prominence, it can be regarded as the third highest mountain in the Alps, and the second highest in Switzerland, after Monte Rosa. The Dom is the main summit of the Mischabel group (German: ''Mischabelhörner''), which is the highest massif lying entirely in Switzerland. The Dom is noteworthy for its 'normal route' of ascent having the greatest vertical height gain of all the alpine 4000 metre peaks, and none of that route's 3,100 metres of height can be achieved using mechanical means. Although ''Dom'' is a German cognate for 'dome', it can also mean 'cathedral' and the mountain is named after Canon Berchtold of Sitten cathedral, the first person to survey the vicinity. The former name ''Mischabel'' comes from an ancient German dialect term for ''pitchfork'', as the highe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro Alpin
The Metro Alpin is an underground funicular situated above the Swiss town of Saas Fee, in the canton of Valais. Opened in 1984, it links the Felskinn cable-car station ( MSL) on the shore of the Fee Glacier to the Mittelallalin () in the north flank of the Allalinhorn. The Felskinn–Mittelallalin Tunnel has a length of , with an altitude difference of between the two stations. The Metro Alpin is the highest funicular in the world. Being a fully underground railway, it is also considered the highest subway in the world. See also * List of buildings and structures above 3000 m in Switzerland *List of funicular railways *List of funiculars in Switzerland This is a list of all funiculars in Switzerland, commercially operated according to a timetable. See also *List of funicular railways * List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland * List of aerial tramways in Switzerland * List of ... References External links * Saas-Fee website ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Alps
The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physical geography, physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina Range, Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The Swiss Alps comprise almost all the highest mountains of the Alps, such as Dufourspitze (4,634 m), the Dom (mountain), Dom (4,545 m), the Liskamm (4,527 m), the Weisshorn (4,506 m) and the Matterhorn (4,478 m). The other following major summits can be found in this list of mountains of Switzerland. Since the Middle Age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visp (district)
The district of Visp (, ) is a district in the Canton of Valais in southern Switzerland. It has a population of (as of ). Municipalities It consists of the following municipalities: Coat of arms The blazon of the district coat of arms is ''Per pale Argent and Gules, two Lions rampant respectant counterchanged.'' Demographics Visp has a population () of . Most of the population () speaks German language, German (23,373 or 87.2%) as their first language, Portuguese language, Portuguese is the second most common (853 or 3.2%) and Italian language, Italian is the third (658 or 2.5%). There are 398 people who speak French language, French and 12 people who speak Romansh language, Romansh. , the gender distribution of the population was 49.8% male and 50.2% female. The population was made up of 10,909 Swiss men (39.4% of the population) and 2,881 (10.4%) non-Swiss men. There were 11,353 Swiss women (41.0%) and 2,528 (9.1%) non-Swiss women. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brig, Switzerland
Brig, known as Brig in German and Briga in Italian, is a town in the canton of Valais, in the commune of Brig-Glis. Toponymy The name Brig comes from the Celtic ''Briga'', meaning “hill fortress” or “height, then castle”. History Mentioned for the first time in 1215, Brigue was not recognized as a town until the 17th century. It underwent major development thanks to Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper (1609-1691), a shrewd businessman nicknamed “King of Simplon”. Brig’s thermal springs were already renowned during the Middle Ages. Ruined by a landslide in the 15th century, they were cleared in 1471 and annexed to the public baths. The Jesuit Collège du Saint-Esprit, built between 1673 and 1688, is a fine example of Baroque architecture. On January 25, 1913, Brig was the starting point for Juan Bielovucic's 28-minute monoplane flight across the Alps to Domodossola. On September 24, 1993, the town was partially devastated by flooding, following the overflow of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saas-Grund
Saas-Grund is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies east of Lenzspitze and Dom (Mischabel), Dom. History Saas-Grund is first mentioned in 1438 as ''grunderro''. On 3 April 1849, an avalanche destroyed a house that served as a refuge in avalanche-prone weather, and killed 19 people. After that winter, each building that abutted the hill was extended with a vault, a ''Lawinengruft''. Each of these underground refuges was about 5 meters x 4 meters large, and had an interior height of 2.5 meters. In 1943, the Swiss Alpine Club's magazine ''Die Alpen'' reported that they were last used in the winter of 1887/1888, and only two of them were remaining. As these vaults served several families, each modification to the vault had to be done with the co-owner's agreement. Geography Saas-Grund has an area, , of . Of this area, 11.0% is used for agricultural purposes, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Swiss Alps, Alps and the Jura Mountains, Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's Demographics of Switzerland, 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts List of cities in Switzerland, its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne. Switzerland is a federal republic composed of Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh language, Romansh. Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadelhorn
The Nadelhorn (4,327 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It is the highest point on the Nadelgrat, a high-level ridge running roughly north–south above the resort of Saas-Fee to the east, and the Mattertal to the west. Its three ridges join to form a sharp-pointed summit, which looks like a needle (German: ''Nadel'') when seen from the north. The other summits on the Nadelgrat are the Stecknadelhorn, the Hohberghorn, the Dürrenhorn and the Lenzspitze. It was first climbed by Franz Andenmatten, Baptiste Epiney, Aloys Supersaxo and J. Zimmermann on 16 September 1858. See also *List of 4000 metre peaks of the Alps This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refer ... References * Dumler, Helmut and Willi P. Burkhardt, ''The High Mountains of the Alps'', Lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weissmies
The Weissmies is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais in Switzerland near the village of Saas-Fee. It is the easternmost four-thousander of its range. Geography The Weissmies is located on the main Alpine chain, on a massif separating the Saastal valley on the west and Simplon valley on the east. The massif consists of two other main summits lying to the north at almost the same altitude, the Lagginhorn and Fletschhorn. The mountain lies between the Lagginjoch (3,500 m) to the north and the Zwischbergen Pass (3,260 m) to the south. The Weissmies is one of the 10 four-thousanders surrounding the Saastal, facing the Dom on the west, the third highest summit of the Alps. Climbing It was first climbed by Jakob Christian Häusser and Peter Josef Zurbriggen in 1855 via the Triftgrat. The ascent was mired in some controversy as the local guides did not believe that the peak could be ascended without their help; when they themselves ascended to the sum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raccard
Raccards are traditional granaries that can be found in parts of the Minho, north of Portugal (called Espigueiro), in Galicia and Asturias, north-west of Spain, Swiss Alps (usually in Valais) and in the Italian Alps (in the Lys Valley, Valsesia and in Ayas). In Italy they are called rascard or torbe and in Savoy regard. They are found in the Valle d'Aosta and Piemonte regions of Italy. These pre-industrial structures resemble log cabins, built above ground and supported by wooden stilts. A circular stone slab, forming an overhang, is intercalated between the stilts and the granary to prevent rodents from gaining access to the grain or fodder reserves. Raccards allow for preserving and processing grain products. image:Raccard.JPG, Raccards in Saas-Fee image:Grimentz-Raccard (1).jpg, Raccard in Grimentz - a view of the stone slabs which prevent rodent incursions. image:Rascard à Barmasc (Ayas).JPG, Rascard in Ayas See also * Hórreo An ''hórreo'' is a typical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allalinhorn
The Allalinhorn () is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. It lies between Zermatt and Saas-Fee in the canton of Valais, and is part of the Mischabel range, which culminates at the Dom (4,545 m). It was first climbed by London barrister Edward Levi Ames, a member of the Imseng family and Franz-Josef Andenmatten on 28 August 1856. The building of the Metro Alpin funicular to the Mittelallalin (3456 m) just below the north-east face has turned the mountain into one of the easiest and popular 4000-metre peaks of the Alps, when climbed by the standard route (WNW Ridge, difficulty Grade F). On the normal route, climbers can ride up to the Mittelallalin; from there, there are only about 500 vertical metres to tackle. However, even the 'easiest' route still has objective dangers from crevasses and should not be attempted by inexperienced mountaineers without a mountain guide or adequate crevasse rescue training. See also *List of 4000 metre peaks of the Alps This li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valais
Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzerland, Sion. Valais is situated in the southwestern part of the country. It borders the cantons of Canton of Vaud, Vaud and Canton of Bern, Bern to the north, the cantons of Canton of Uri, Uri and Ticino to the east, as well as Italy to the south and France to the west. It is one of the three large southern Alps, Alpine cantons, along with Ticino and Grisons. It is a bilingual canton, French and German being its two official languages. Traditionally, the canton is divided into Lower, Central, and Upper Valais, the latter region constituting the German-speaking minority. Valais is essentially coextensive with the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps, the two largest mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
