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david wise
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italy
#1
My Long Service Leave in
va l l e d ’ a o s ta
21 ski resorts,
interlinks with france and switzerland, and even
this historic italian valley is home to
offers a back door to the famous valle blanche to
chamonix. so in the tradition of ‘my year in tuscany’
dave windsor took the family and went native to
bring us back the book on italian skiing.
V
alle d’Aosta, Italy’s smallest region, is chock full of ski resorts,
21 to be precise – from Pila to Courmayeur, La Thuile to
Breuil-Cervinia, the amazing Monte Rosa, and national
treasure the Gran Paradiso National Park, all accessible on a single
valley ski pass. You may as well add La Rosière in France (accessible via
La Thuile), Chamonix (via road tunnel or the Vallee Blanche on skis),
Zermatt (from Breuil-Cervinia) and Alagna (in Piemonte).
The peaks of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) 4807m, Monte Rosa 4634m,
Monte Cervino (The Matterhorn) 4478m and Gran Paradiso 4061m
create a pristine snow covered cul-de-sac just a couple of hours from
international airports at Milan, Turin & Geneva.
In 25BC Emperor Augustus conquered the Salassi (a Celtic/Liqurian
crew) and established a garrison in the valley at 580m, Augustus
Prætoria, now known as Aosta, to defend the empire from the Gauls,
Barbarians and delusional outfits with elephants. In the 12th century
the House of Savoy took control; in 1800 Napoleon came through, and
today VDA remains one of the 5 ‘semi autonomous’ regions of Italy.
164 snowaction.com.au
Ok, so Augustus’s Arch in Aosta doesn’t have a lot to do with skiing, but it sure shows how good tradies were back in 25BC © David Windsor
We rented an apartment in the historical centre of Aosta, from a
charming gentlemen, Signor Dino Carlino, who typifies the warmth,
humour and hospitality that has drawn me to Italy on 3 prior occasions.
He welcomed us, showed us the apartment, navigated us through town,
made a dinner reservation, shouted us a welcome drink at an outstanding
enoteca (wine bar/shop), then took us skiing at Pila on day 2. It simply
comes naturally to the Italians to welcome and take care of guests. Dino
is now ‘zio’ (uncle) to my 7 year old, Porshia.
I skied with Dino at Pila, Courmayeur, La Thuile & La Rosière. He
introduced me to his fabulous friends and family, extensive network and
the rich culture of the valley. Perhaps as his first Australian guests he was
as excited as us to experience something new. Regardless, it was brilliant
sharing a ride in his Subaru ‘tractor’ up and down the valley.
Aosta is a perfectly placed hub in the centre of the valley with easy
access to the vast range of ski fields both large and small. While there,
you can take in the culture, heritage, castles, forts, chateaus, Roman
ruins and more.
How’s the skiing? In a word – Italian. Immaculate pistes, powder caches,
tree runs, high fashion, long lunches, vino rosso, chilled prosecco, hot
espresso, chocolate fondue, acqua frizzante, fast skiers, no crowds, lifts
everywhere, cold mornings, sunny days, dolce vita, border crossings,
tiramisu, pizza, pasta, polenta. Here’s a brief look at the main areas.
Pila
A ten minute walk from the centre of Aosta is the Pila ticket office, rental
shop, massive free car park, ski lockers complete with individual boot
warmers and telecabines that shuttle us from 580m to 1,800m in 17
minutes. The resort offers genuine ski-in ski-out accommodation and a
plethora of restaurants serving mostly Italian and British guests, testament
to successful marketing and evidenced by the extensive use of English in
the valley. From Pila’s unique vantage point you can take in the big three
– Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa. It’s north facing so the
snow remains perfect, though it’s possible to ski in a sunny spot all day.
It’s the smallest of the big ski areas, but still has 70km of piste, 14 lifts
and a large array of runs to ski up to 8km from top to bottom.
A stop at Hermitage for hot chocolate is an indulgence that shouldn’t be
missed (at least once a day). They also make a mean panini.
Take the seriously challenging Platta de Grevon run down to Société for
lunch of succulent polenta with deboned shin meat (not unlike osso
bucco), plus the mandatory bottle of red.
For a memorable dinner experience a snow cat shuttled us up to La
Châtelaine restaurant at 2,200 metres, where the host is 1979 double luge
world champion Damiano Lugon.
As Aosta was our base we skied Pila several times. To Porshia’s delight
instructors spoke English, and to my delight it was only €27 for a 3 hour
group lesson with 3-4 other kids. They took her off piste, into the valley’s
largest terrain park, through the trees, down lift lines and into powder.
Later I shared a lift with local alpinist Piero Bessone who, after a massive
snow fall overnight, invited me to come for a ski in the woods in search
of fresh. We found untracked knee deep in every forest, some tighter than
others, some steeper than others, some more obvious – though all entering
and exiting off the piste. You just gotta know where to enter and exit.
snowaction.com.au 165
My Long Service Leave in
va l l e d ’ a o s ta
Skiing, what skiing? We were too busy eating! © David Windsor
La Thuile
Every Saturday there’s a free ski shuttle from
Aosta to La Thuile, so I trundled down to the
bus station and met the bus driver Liliano,
along with a Genovese snowboarder Gianni.
Upon our 8.30 departure Liliano’s first
rhetorical question is, “We stop for coffee,
ok? Beautiful girl works there”. And he stops,
insisting on shouting, we are his guests! By
arrival 45 minutes later we know his life story.
I spent the day skiing with Gianni in boot deep
fresh on-piste and knee deep off-piste. What
a day. It’s not often I do laps with a boarder,
but Gianni was great fun and the empty slopes
beckoned us to keep going. It was the first time
that I noticed people skiing in the afternoon.
Typically the crowds really thin out after lunch,
but not today.
“The slopes today are like a round, soft
beautiful woman” Gianni pointed out, “why
wouldn’t you be skiing?”
166 snowaction.com.au
La Thuile is a big resort at 1400m with 20,000
beds in hotels, B&Bs, pensiones and apartments.
The village has medieval roots, but it’s the
city of chocolate now as I found out at the
delightful chocolateria aptly named Chocolat,
enjoying a rich velvety chocolate fondue for
lunch. Many restaurants offer chocolate menus
in addition to their dessert menus.
It’s easy to burn it off with 160kms of piste to
choose from (in combination with La Rosière)
and massive off piste as well. La Thuile also has
heli skiing.
They claim La Thuile’s north facing slopes
are 2-3 degrees colder than other resorts in
the Valley and the massive central plateau is
blanketed in dry white where a myriad of lifts
and runs intersect. Again, red runs dominate,
however as a Europa Cup Downhill venue
and vying for World Cup inclusion it’s worth
smashing down pistes 2 and 3. Ripping the
fall line as fast as I could I realise, a) the pros
are amazing athletes & b) I’m not. But the
chocolate loading helps.
Back on the mini bus, Liliano’s last rhetorical
question is, “We stop for prosecco, ok?”
La Rosière, France
La Rosière is easily accessed from La Thuile
over Belvedere (2,641m), and excellently signed
in both directions and in both languages – with
both blue and red courses delivering you into
and out of France since 1984. Fortunately we
had a cold clear morning to cross over.
La Ros, as it’s affectionately known amongst
the UK nanny set, is south facing and despite
a lack of precipitation the snow was brilliant –
light, fluffy and plentiful. Not as meticulously
groomed as say Pila, though that might be the
way they like it in France, a bit wilder and freer
and softer from the sun.
There are acres upon acres of off trail, knee
deep powder super dry and light from the dump
several days earlier. The highlight was piste #1,
a 3km red run through 735m vertical winding
through a verdant forest blanketed in snow.
Turning around and repeating the experience
down piste #2, a long challenging black bumps
course was a must, screaming down for smoko
at Le Vieux Chalet - champers in a teepee with fur
covered bench seats was most fitting.
A leisurely lunch in the village followed –
escargots, steak tartare, steak & frites and a
bottle of Beaujolais.
After lunch we headed back towards the border.
Porshia couldn’t quite make it to the end of
the 2 km surface lift. Then half way back to
the start we were picked up by a caring liftie in
a skidoo for an express trip to the top and our
onward journey, service par excellence.
The shuss back to La Thuile is a 9km home
trail along the snow covered SS26, a summer
road link between Italy and France, then a final
thigh burner into the village for après.
Champoluc - Monte Rosa ski area
Up and down the Valley everyone sang the
praises of Champoluc and the legendary Monte
Rosa ski region. So again we took advantage
of the free winter shuttle bus from Aosta, past
historic castles and forts, that delivered us
right to the door of the lift station. The half
hour climb up the Val d’Ayas is painless and
pretty through a handful of villages famed for
their cheese production. Champoluc’s village
at 1,579m is both quaint and inviting. Two
telecabines & a chair whip us up to 2,702m
where the adventure begins. The Monte Rosa
Massif boasts an impressive interconnected trio
- Champoluc, Gresseney-La-Trinité and Alagna
Valsesia, plus 3 satellite areas of Antagnod,
Estoul & Gressoney-Saint-Jean, for a total of
180kms on 69 pistes accessed via 37 lifts.
As with all Italian resorts, the uncrowded
slopes are groomed to perfection, making for
super stable top to bottom skiing. At Monte
Rosa you can ski from peak to peak, similar to
skiing France’s Trois Vallee from Val Thoren
to Courchevel and back, or perhaps Gerlos in
Austria, though with decidedly less crowds and
no lift queues.
The runs are carved through daunting rocky
gorges that open out to masses of terrain
and funnel down to a lift that invites you to
progress further. The overall feel of the area is
that of a peaceful, barren expanse that goes on
and on. I felt the runs here are consistently the
longest and steepest in the valley, and the sense
of solitude and serenity couldn’t be surpassed.
Despite the lack of crowds, every lift was
turning and every mountain restaurant open and
welcoming. Coffee, hot chocolate & ciambella
(Italian doughnut) at Du Soleil di Frogetti kept
us going till lunch at Ristoro Sitten, a delicious
rabbit stew, cheese plate and glass of red,
followed by a Calimero (coffee, vov & cognac),
whilst Porshia played fusball with a local kid.
snowaction.com.au 167
My Long Service Leave in va l l e
d ’ a o s ta
Coulda-been-champions: Dave’s Wild Card to the Swatch FWT event in Courmayeur went missing. Next year! © J Bernard, FWT
168 snowaction.com.au
Crévacol
The little local resort of Crévacol - 2 lifts,
20 kms across 11 runs, €22 for a day pass, is
34 km north of Aosta towards the Gran San
Bernado tunnel into Switzerland.
On a lazy Sunday afternoon I found a full car
park right next to the bottom double chair, lots
of families, some sightseers and a hearty lunch.
This little gem is a locals favourite. It’s
affordable, there are no tourists and its south
facing slopes fashion an organic solarium. The
double and triple chairs ascend 810m to a
respectable 2,450m.
I let Porshia lead the way as all the runs
converge at the same spot. As with the rest of
VDA and like NZ, most of the skiing is above
tree line so in addition to the immaculate
pistes, there are vast amounts of safe in bounds
terrain. It reminded me of Porters, understated
and making the most of what they’ve got.
Breuil-Cervinia
Monte Cervino / The Matterhorn looms grey,
dominant and omnipresent from every run
and every lift. Breuill-Cervinia is clearly a very
popular resort with the most people that I
experienced in the entire Valle d’Aosta region.
For the first time in three weeks I couldn’t
get a seat at lunch. I bumped into Americans,
Argentinians, Brazilians, Brits, Germans,
Italians & Swiss – predominantly of older
vintage, or with kids, and there didn’t seem to
be too many free-riders around.
Depsite the ‘crowds’ there were no queues, no
doubt due to the sheer volume of lifts, gondolas
and telecabines that despatch punters from low
to very high – the Plateau Rosa peaks out at
3,480m on the Italian side, on the Zermatt side
it’s possible to reach 3,899m.
The majority of the skiable terrain is contained
within a massive plateau with a plethora of runs
that gently wind their way down, down, down.
This would be a tremendous resort for the kids,
beginners, or the cruisy carver types. Most, if
not all of the trails, converge and become blues
- which I would classify as greens. Whilst the
reds, which dominate the trail map, are by and
large blue by Aussie standards.
Being up close and personal to the Matterhorn/
Cervino is an obvious drawcard and certainly
worth a day trip or two. An extended stay would
be fine if you like ski in/lift out accommodation
and an easier ski holiday.
Highlight is the steep, fast and empty #59
- Pista Nera del Cervino. It’s as close to the
Matterhorn/Cervino that you can get, one of
the few blacks, and is very well served by an
ultra modern detachable six.
Courmayeur
In the North East there’s Cortina d’Ampezzo.
In the North West there’s Courmayeur. Two
luxury bookends bounding a library of great
skiing across Northern Italy from the Dolomiti
to Valle d’Aosta. Courmayeur, like Pila, La
Thuile & Monterosa, requires at least 2 days
and a week or more to be truly appreciated.
Having previously skied Courmayeur on a day
trip from Chamonix I was looking forward to
re-acquainting myself. If you’re in Cham jump
on the tunnel bus and check it out. Great food,
great mountain, great coffee and the best view
of Mont Blanc - it might officially be in France,
but the Italians get the better view.
A quick walk through town for a spot of
window shopping before catching the Emporio
Armani sponsored gondola made me thank my
lucky stars that we weren’t staying here wearing
out our credit cards at the boutiques. It’s easily
accessible from Aosta by car or bus, so our
retirement plans are still on track.
On-piste the skiing is fast, lively, active, steep
and uncluttered. This I discovered with my local
amico Dino Carlino and viticulturist Massimo
Penna from Alba, Piemonte. From Cresta Youla
at 2,624m it’s all down hill. The Ferrari red
runs beg to be raced down – get some good
carvers and power through the curves like Felipe
Massa – you’ll be in good company as the tracks
round here are high octane wide straights,
sweeping bends and screaming finish lines into
any one of the high speed lifts so that you can
do it all again.
Dinner with a view on the mountain is available
as the Courmayeur gondola operates until
11:30pm. We celebrated Australia day in style at
the sophisticated, stylish, sublime La Chaumière
ristorante at 1,704m.
As for the off piste, the World Freeride Tour
was in town at the same time. My wild card
entry didn’t arrive, but I did score an awesome
freeride day with local alpinist Piero Bessone,
who I met on a lift at Pila. We started from the
Funivie Monte-Bianco in La Palud (5 minutes
west of Courmayeur village). Twenty minutes
later we’re at Pavilion du Mont Frety at 2,173m
and we start hiking right. Having skied fresh
with me through the woods of Pila for half
a day Piero seems confident in my abilities,
though truth be told, I’m apprehensive. It’s
windy, cold and not a soul in sight. Doppelmayr
are building a new funivie and they’ve installed
a massive construction crane on the side of the
mountain that’d make Grollo proud.
The snow’s perfect, 6cm of fresh, talcum dry.
It’s cold. What more could one want. Crazy
arcs taking turns at first tracks, snaking our way
down until we reach the first serious challenge,
a steep narrow 100 metre couloir as wide as
my Dynastars at the narrowest point. Keeping
cool I take some snaps with my iPhone 5 whilst
Piero assures me that it’s safe. I make it, even
managing a couple of decent turns. I’m awash
with confidence now, and the 800m vertical
descent back down to the funivie is a serene
dream through the Mont Fréty forest.
Let’s do it again says Piero, this time on the
other side. We hike about 350m, heading left
into the wind. What’s with all the hiking?
Finally we arrive and I see why – fresh as far as
the eye can see. Monte Bianco, Mont Maudit,
Mont Blanc du Tacul all looking down on you
and in the distant distance Courmayeur looking
up. Piero proceeds with caution, ever conscious
of avalanche danger. He heads right and arcs
left. He’s not happy, and tells me to stay right
and we head for a ridge line that’s ripe for the
picking before heading into the woods.
Powder stashes abound as we weave in and out
and through the trees before taking a circuitous
southbound route to stay in the snow line.
One wrong turn saw us hiking back up for 15
minutes. The gentle cruise down to the carpark
and Italian entry/exit of the Mont Blanc tunnel
again had us with skis off for the 2 km walk
back to the car along the roadside, with trucks
and cars screaming past with curious looks on
their faces. Ah, the joys of skiing. µ
valle d’aosta [the ticket]
Space precludes adding the 21 Valle D’Aosta resort’s details. Find them at:
Aosta www.ilovevda.it www.iloveaosta.co.uk www.skivallee.it
Pila www.pila.it www.scuoladiscipila.com www.lachatelainepila.com www.ristorantesociete.it
La Thuile www.lathuile.it www.chocolat-collomb.it
La Rosiere www.larosiere.net www.skilarosiere1850.com
Champoluc - Monte Rosa www.monterosa-ski.com
Crevacol www.crevacol.it
Breuil-Cervinia www.cervinia.it
Courmayeur www.courmayeur-montblanc.com www.montebianco.com
www.lachaumiere.it www.freerideworldtour.com/courmayeur.html
Vallee Blanche from Courmayeur www.newagemountain.com www.montebianco.com
www.guidecourmayeur.com www.nuovefuniviemontebianco.com
For all your Ski Italy bookings ex-Australia www.skiitaly.com.au (see next page)
Did you know you can watch the FWT webcast - check www.freerideworldtour.com
snowaction.com.au 169