Saas Fee boasts plenty of superlatives, and a lot of them have to do with up. It's one of Switzerland's highest resorts, with the highest funicular and glaciers big and high enough to hold snow all year long. Icy peaks soar to well over 12,000 feet, offering runs longer than any in all of North America—5,900 feet top to bottom.

No doubt that Saas Fee is also one of Switzerland's most well-known resorts. With its classic wood chalets, elegant hotels, and tight, carless streets (it wasn't until 1950 that a road came to town), Saas Fee is certainly one of the more polished of the Alpine gems. And while it's true that there is no shortage of boutique inns, luxury apartments, and $100 wine lists, at least they all come with five-star scenery, too.

The resort tucked is in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, a collection of four areas—l;Saas Almagell, Saas Balen, Saas Fee Saastal, and Saas Grund—each with its own assortment of runs and lifts. Count on gondolas and cable cars and a funicular to take you up to about 11,500 feet, some of the highest lift-serviced resort runs in the country. Put together, the areas create a network of mostly moderate trails that drain through big, breathtaking vistas. It's hard to beat carving fast turns on the sprawling Fee glacier with the massive 14,911-foot Dom looming in the background.

When it comes to hardcore steeps, Saas Fee is not exactly an Engelberg or Verbier. With about 75 percent of the runs geared toward beginners and intermediates, Saas Fee is all about the groomers. That makes even the high reaches accessible to many. You'll find a lot of the easier runs around the Morenia area.

Saas Fee boasts plenty of superlatives, and a lot of them have to do with up. It's one of Switzerland's highest resorts, with the highest funicular and glaciers big and high enough to hold snow all year long. Icy peaks soar to well over 12,000 feet, offering runs longer than any in all of North America—5,900 feet top to bottom.

No doubt that Saas Fee is also one of Switzerland's most well-known resorts. With its classic wood chalets, elegant hotels, and tight, carless streets (it wasn't until 1950 that a road came to town), Saas Fee is certainly one of the more polished of the Alpine gems. And while it's true that there is no shortage of boutique inns, luxury apartments, and $100 wine lists, at least they all come with five-star scenery, too.

The resort tucked is in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, a collection of four areas—l;Saas Almagell, Saas Balen, Saas Fee Saastal, and Saas Grund—each with its own assortment of runs and lifts. Count on gondolas and cable cars and a funicular to take you up to about 11,500 feet, some of the highest lift-serviced resort runs in the country. Put together, the areas create a network of mostly moderate trails that drain through big, breathtaking vistas. It's hard to beat carving fast turns on the sprawling Fee glacier with the massive 14,911-foot Dom looming in the background.

When it comes to hardcore steeps, Saas Fee is not exactly an Engelberg or Verbier. With about 75 percent of the runs geared toward beginners and intermediates, Saas Fee is all about the groomers. That makes even the high reaches accessible to many. You'll find a lot of the easier runs around the Morenia area. Ride up to the highest section under the Allalinhorn for the fun intermediates, including runs the Swiss ski teams use for training and races.

Things get really interesting, though, once you step out beyond marked slopes. Traverse out from the Egginer area in any direction and you'll find upward of 20 variations of freeriding your way back to civilization. The lead tours up most of the peaks you can see, including the Alphubel. A favorite excursion is to ski all the way to Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the next valley over along a portion of the Haute Route. Cross the Hohlaub Glacier and skin up to the Adler Pass. From there, it's all downhill through a frozen jawbone of some of the Alps' most impressive topography to Zermatt.

Of course, if you're going to do that, then you might want to consider a helicopter tour with SwissSkiSafari, which leaps from valley to valley to hit the best of the backcountry with the best hotels at night, including one in Saas Fee. The possibilities seem limitless.

Where to sleep? You can't go wrong staying at a place like the FerienArt Resort and Spa. The entire building, built in the early 1980s, was renovated in 2009. Many of the rooms are now sprawling suites right in the heart of town. Wellness hotels here abound. The Pirmin Zurbriggen, which opened in 2008, has more than 10,000 square feet of pools, massage parlors, and fitness rooms. The hotel is kid-friendly, with organized programs and film screenings in the pool.

As for what to do when you're not on the lifts (or sledding down from the Hannig station): Saas Fee goes extreme in January with the Ice Climbing World Cup competition. Need to rev it up a bit? That usually happens at the Popcorn Bar. DJs get the sweaty masses bumping while live acts will rock well into the night.

The upshot? If you're going to come all the way to Switzerland to ski, you want a vacation to go with it. Saas Fee delivers on all the gorgeous scenery; fun, accessible slopes; and classic Swiss clichés you'd expect. The best part? It doesn't have to cost you a fortune either. Call the local tourist office for help finding an apartment with a ski-pass package.