Editing Saastal (section)

==Tourism and economy==

Since the mid-20th century, the Saastal has developed into a major [[winter sports]] destination. Three separate ski areas—Saas-Fee, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell—offer over 150&nbsp;km of [[piste]]s, all linked by postal bus rather than inter-resort lifts. A single combined ski pass provides access to all three, while summer [[tourism]] focuses on [[glacier]] excursions, high-alpine [[hiking]] and [[mountaineering]].<ref name="Waeber 2012"/>

The Saastal's landscape is dominated by almost twenty glaciers, but they are shrinking rapidly. Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS) reported that the country lost about 10&nbsp;% of its total ice volume during the hot summers of 2022 and 2023 alone, the steepest two-year decline on record. Southern Valais glaciers, including the Fee and Allalin ice bodies above Saas-Fee, recorded some of the greatest thickness losses, and several small [[cirque]] glaciers vanished entirely.<ref name="Mantovani & Balibouse 2023" />