 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello everybody
How practical, with a car, is it to get between the resorts covered by the Aosta Valley pass? It covers a huge amount of skiing, but how realistic is it to access?
Based in the town of Aosta what sort of distances/drive times are you looking at to ski, say Courmayeur, La Thuile, Cervinia or Alagna.
What peoples experiences of using Aosta as a base?
Thanks
PJ
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've only been there in the summer, but I seem to remember Courmayeur, Aosta and La Thuile all being no more than 40 minutes apart.
The car park at the bottom of the Pila cable is MASSIVE so it's obviously well set up for driving.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Courmayeur is a fair hike from Aosta (allow 45 minutes by car).
I am pretty sure Pila is accessible from Aosta as I have seen a gondola flying over the A5\E25 at Aosta heading up to Pila.
Cervinia and Alagna\Gressoney\Champoluc are a long way (about an hour).
La Thuile about 45 minutes away.
Bearing in mind a huge dump could blow these times out but I have driven through there during a big dump and they did a top job keeping the roads clear. Never used Aosta as a base but have spent a day there. Not a nice place at all, best steered clear off IMHO.
In summary, I think Pila is a gimme. La Thuile is doable. You would have to be very keen to do MonteRosa or Cervinia from Aosta. Better off staying in Champoluc and maybe doing a day at Cervinia.
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The Pila cable car starts at Aosta. Juddernaut is right - I don't think Aosta is a particularly nice town but if it's central...
La Thuile might be a better base - Courmayeur is nearer, and Aosta still 45 minutes away. Don't forget you can access La Rosiere from La Thuile. You could also do Les Arcs for a day trip from La Thuile if the Col du Petit San Bernard is open (I don't know the likelihood of this in winter).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Jenniper wrote: |
| . You could also do Les Arcs for a day trip from La Thuile if the Col du Petit San Bernard is open (I don't know the likelihood of this in winter). |
By ski possibly although you'd only have an hour or so there. During the winter the Col du Petit San Bernand is not a road but a ski piste!
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Aosta -champoluc about 45 mins, i think about same for cervinia. Aosta-courmayeur about 20 minutes maybe 25. All very easy but I have no idea about the all valley pass -that's a little obscure!
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I spent last season in Gressoney and had to go to other resorts over five times to justify the extra on the season pass.
Which I did mainly in Courmayeur and la Thule which weren't really more than 70 minutes away, mainly spent on the valley decent down To Pont st Martian. The weather patterns are significantly different up at Monte Blanco I had some huge days up there- more deep days than in gressoney for sure.
Cervinia really isn't my cup of tea resort wise, the valley up there goes on forever (it takes as long getting there from gressoney as to la Thuile), the matterhorn appears spectacularly though. I preferred taking a couple of days off punta Indren and coming back over to champoluc and I got to use my pass for that.
Pila, well it might work for you but not much vertical. As for Aosta with everyone else here. One day visit is fine but stay?
Alagna you won't get to in under 3 hours but fine on lifts out of gressony or champoluc over passo Salati,if the wind isn't howling.
You also should factor in the toll each trip up or down the A5 (16€s each way full length of the valley) the most expensive road in Italy although it was never unpassable.
I did have to road trip to Andermatt and Engelberg, 3.5 and 4 hours but when you gotta get some you gotta get some.
Verbier 3 hrs (2 from Aosta) at least 50€s tolls including the tunnel. (The cols only good for a yomp so forget that) Like it at the top of mont four but not worth it being with the monsters who seem to be drawn to Verbier.
Cham 1.5hrs but that toll hurts again unless you get a 10 pack. But hey we out of Aosta.
March/April in Aosta is epic with the southern storms. No one there and regular big dumps that were good in the morning before getting wet, and even then so what. Best corn I've ever had the pleasure of harvesting too.
I went to Gressoney because it was best access for Monta Rosa (be warned there ain't NOTHING going on at night) and Turin which is great to hang out in on down days and nights.
Bottom line. If you are going to storm chase base yourself in Switzerland. live in your car. If you are prepared to embrace all the conditions the mountian has to offer(minus the  wind), eat well(mostly), live cheaper (keep out of the heli's) Italy rocks. Oh and do NOT get broken and have to use their health system.
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Thanks everyone, very interesting. I hadn't even considered road tolls, that would make a huge difference.
I'm looking at options for spending a month in Italy, probably January. Aosta seemed to suit as it's a big town, therefore more affordable and with more going on. I liked the idea of being able to get to a range of resorts, particularly the off piste opportunities in Alagna, if the snow turns up.
By the sound of it though, all the resorts, apart from Pila, are a bit of a schlep. Maybe basing in La Thuile or Courmayeur would be a better option or Gressoney perhaps?
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I should imagine Courmayeur to be a pretty expensive place to stay - it's quite chic (especially compared to Aosta). La Thuile is somewhere between the two.
RobW, I had no idea the col was a piste in the winter! It does make sense though.
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