Fee Glacier

Fee glacier from the north. From left Allalinhorn, right behind Rimpfischhorn, far right Alphubel

The Fee Glacier is a two-part glacier above Saas Fee to the east of Mischabelgruppe in the Valais Alps. He is around 6 kilometers long and covers a total area of 16 km ². The extending over a Höhenbereicht of 4200 m to 1900 m glaciers (also Big Feegletscher ) divided into North Feegletscher (also Little Feegletscher ) and South Feegletscher.

In the north- Fee glacier is a valley glacier, which has its origins in the steep eastern flank of the Mischabelgruppe. It runs north from Längfluh in a steep, narrow tongue. The front part of the tongue in 1955 spilled over a length of 500 meters by a landslide. Over the next 30 years, the glacier ran over the debris in this area and the tongue regenerated itself. Only since 1988 has there again - in the meantime rapid - retreat of the ice to watch. The area of ​​the North - Fee glacier was in 1973 about 7.5 km ².

When South Feegletscher is a multi-part, ending in several tongue rag mountain glaciers on the northern slope of the Allalinhorn ( 4,027 m above sea level. M. ).

Large parts of South - Fee glacier ski area and developed for use as part of the ski resort of Saas -Fee, the second largest to Zermatt summer ski resort in Switzerland. It is in the summer by two 3 -rope cable cars (1st and 2nd section ) and in the third section with a funicular railway, the Metro Alpin, underground to station Mittelallalin at 3'456 m above sea level. M. tapped. The ice pavilion ( ice cave ) in the Fee glacier is a tourist attraction and with 5500 m3 volume of the largest in the world.

Both parts of the glacier feed the Feevispa, a side stream of the Saas Vispa, which carries the water through the Saas Valley to the Rhone. During the high stage of the Little Ice Age in the mid- 19th century, the Feegletscher handed partly down to the valley behind Saas Fee, the Gletscheralp was enclosed by the two ice streams.