Saastal

Saastal, or Saas Valley, is a valley in the district of Visp in the eastern Canton of Valais, Switzerland, followed by the Saaser Vispa river as it flows north to join the Rhone at Visp, and separated from the neighboring Mattertal by the Mischabel massif. Moving upstream it holds five main villages, Eisten, Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund, Saas-Fee and Saas-Almagell, which until 1893 were united as a single parish served by the only church, in Grund. The valley is ringed by roughly twenty glaciers, now in marked retreat, and by numerous peaks over 4,000 meters, including the Dom at 4,545 meters, the highest mountain lying entirely within Switzerland, and today its economy rests heavily on winter sports, with over 150 kilometers of ski runs across its three main resort towns and hydroelectric and snowmaking capacity provided by the Mattmarksee reservoir built in the 1960s.