Thyon (also known as ''Thyon 2000'') is a purpose-built

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

in the

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 Physica ...

, located in the canton of

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, Switzer ...

. The resort is situated in the central part of the canton, in the region of Sion, and is associated with the village of Les Collons. It forms part of the "4 Valleys" interlinked ski area, which together includes Thyon,

Veysonnaz Veysonnaz is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sion District, Sion in the Swiss canton of Valais. Geography Veysonnaz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 29.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 44.5% ...

Haute-Nendaz Haute-Nendaz is a village in the municipality of Nendaz, Canton Valais, Switzerland. It is situated on plateau at an altitude between 1300m and 1500m. In winter, it forms part of the 4 Vallées ski resort and is one of the most extensive ski areas ...

Verbier Verbier () is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederatio ...

and

La Tzoumaz La Tzoumaz (formally known as Les Mayens-de-Riddes) is a ski resort in the Swiss Alps, in the canton of Valais. It is part of the "Four Valleys" ski area, which consists of various ski resorts, including Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, La Tzoumaz, ...

. The ski pistes from Thyon and Veysonnaz effectively constitute a large, single integrated ski area, and connect with the rest of the "4 Valleys" area. Thyon lies at a height of 2,095 metres above sea level, on the ridge descending from

Mont Rouge Mont Rouge is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located south of Nendaz and Hérémence in the canton of Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming t ...

. The 'Thyon 2000' complex was constructed in the 1970s. Administratively, it lies in the municipality of Vex. Some of the winter ski pistes descend across what in summertime is still an active "alpage" - an area of high mountain pasture grazed by cattle, including some '' Combat de Reines'' cows. Part of the local alpage cow barn has been converted to a seasonal restaurant. The alpage dairy produces cheese from the milk, some of which is sold in the adjacent village of Les Collons during the September "désalpe" festival - the ceremonious descent of the cows, often garlanded, to lower pastures. Apart from winter sports and summer hiking, the resort has views of the Valais mountains, the so-called

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

, with direct views of six 4000+ metre peaks (

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

Dent Blanche The Dent Blanche is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, lying in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At -high, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps. Naming The original name was probably ''Dent d'Hérens'', the current name of the nearby De ...

, Obergabelhorn,

Zinalrothorn The Zinalrothorn at is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, Pennine Swiss Alps, Alps in Switzerland. Its name comes from the village of Zinal lying on the north side and from the German word ''Rothorn'' which means ''Red Peak''. When it was first cli ...

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German language, German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major mountain, peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Mat ...

Bishorn The Bishorn (4,151 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps, Pennine Swiss Alps, Alps in Switzerland, just north of the Weisshorn. The mountain has two distinct summits, separated by a 600-metre easy-angled snow ridge. :*The west and higher summit ...

). A seventh, the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

, is visible in the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

to the east. In August, the annual trail race from Thyon to the

Grande Dixence dam The Grande Dixence Dam () is a concrete gravity dam on the Dixence at the head of the Val d'Hérémence in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. At high, it is the tallest gravity dam in the world, seventh tallest dam overall, and the tallest da ...

takes place. This is a 16 km run with 700m ascent/descent at an altitude averaging 2,000m and attracts around 1,000 competitors. The resort is accessed by road from Sion, by chair-lifts from Les Masses and Les Collons, and by gondolas from Veysonnaz.

Gallery

View of Thyon from above.jpg, View of Thyon from above Thyon2000 2008-01-20 14-46-43.jpg, View of resort complex from the ski pistes Summertime alpage, Thyon.jpeg, Summertime alpage, Thyon

References

External links

Thyon.ch
{{Coord, 46, 10, 55, N, 7, 22, 21, E, region:CH-VS_type:city, display=title Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland