 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello all,
The folks at Snowheads helped me plan a wonderful vacation in 2013 to Lech so I figured this was the place to go to get help for our 2015 trip. My wife has a week of vacation in Feb (she's a teacher) and we can't move the dates. Last time she was able to get a few extra days but that won't happen this year, it's just a week from start to finish. We'll be happy if we get 5 solid days of skiing what with transportation logistics. We started looking at Italy but I don't know much about the resorts beyond a few big names.
We're looking for a place with lots of skiing available from a single starting point, perhaps with some bus rides as needed. We don't want to rent a car, but get transport from the airport (Venice?) to the town we're staying in. As skiers, we're both pretty advanced, looking for mainly off piste and we'll probably hire a guide for some days, ski on our own for others. I'm on tele gear, she's on AT so we can do some touring as well. In Lech we stayed in a pension with breakfast so we could sample local restaurants in the evenings. We'd like to do the same for this trip.
Is mid-Feb a good time for Italy? When are the most crowded weeks?
Thanks in advance,
-dave-
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Fly to Turin. Get a transfer to Sauze d'Oulx and ski The Milky Way for a week. Tons of skiing in 2 countries too  .
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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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Immediate thought would be Monterosa. One of the touring meccas of the world and with quite enough on piste should you want it to keep you occupied for a week.
Three villages; Champoluc, Gressoney and Alagna.
Although Alagna bills itself as the "Freeride Paradise", IMV that's somewhat in it's own head. And there is not so much particular advantage to be based there. And it's a pain to get to from any airport that you can easily get to from the US.
We have stuff in Champoluc so that's where we always stay. It is by far the liveliest of the three although that isn't saying so very much as it's pretty small and quiet but does have some truly excellent restaurants. and a few bars. Quite enough evening fun for a week. I've probably skied there about 150 days or so and still have fun. And I like my fun.
Gressoney is sort of in the middle of the area which doesn't add any advantage IMV from a piste p.o.v. but may wrt off piste. But there's almost nothing there. Tiny, tiny. I could just about imagine staying there for a weekend.
Guiding definitely available from Champoluc, and I believe so from Gressoney.
Why assume Venice airport? it's a pain to get to from much of Europe let alone from across the pond.
For either Champoluc or Gressoney, your best bet is Turin. And flights seem remarkably easy, well timed and not too expensive. I don't see why you wouldn't get 6 full days skiing in
For example, $1,382
DETAILS: Boston/Turin From http://matrix.itasoftware.com
ITINERARY Boston (BOS) to Turin (TRN) - Fri, Feb 13
Air France 333 Dep: 8:00PM Arr: 8:35AM 6h 35m Boeing 777 Coach (T)
Layover in CDG Sat, Feb 14 4h 40m
Air France 1702 Dep: 1:15PM Arr: 2:50PM 1h 35m Avro RJ85 Coach (L)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turin (TRN) to Boston (BOS) - Fri, Feb 20
Air France 1103 Dep: 10:50AM Arr: 12:25PM 1h 35m Avro RJ85 Coach (L)
Layover in CDG 3h 45m
Air France 338 Dep: 4:10PM Arr: 6:00PM 7h 50m Boeing 777 Coach (T)
Transfers I have no idea, but it's about a 1 hour drive so a booked transfer shouldn't be too expensive. Check out www.ski2.com who although they're a "family" ski company offer accommodation in Champoluc in the better run hotels and do offer transfers.
Accommodation, if you wanted a nice apartment beside the main Champoluc gondola, I can send you a PM. That's not, incidentally, a motivation for the post as that week will sell without any problem.
Having said all that, there are many nice places in Italy! Courmayeur also fits the bill, could be done via Geneva flights with easy transfers and has good off piste and guiding opps. In fact, that might even be a better option. Anyhoo.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I assumed Venice because some friends flew through there for a trip a while back, but that only seems to work for a few resorts on the eastern side of Italy. I'm checking online and flights to Turin are much better logistically. Like you found, we could easily fly on the night of the 13th and get an extra day on the ground. That extra day seems like a huge win.
We're not much into nightlife and we don't have kids, so small with a few nice restaurants and a few bars is perfect. We'll be asleep early so we can get first chair. 
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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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yad, check out Geneva flights for Courmayeur as well. Makes the transfer much easier.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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yad, or check out Milan. Slightly longer transfer but I'm sure direct flights from any hub in US
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yad, If you do fly into Venice then the Sella Ronda area is the logical place to go. Fantastic scenery, great mountain restaurants etc. There are several resorts on the Sella Ronda circuit, but as you're not much into nightlife then Arabba is probably the best for you (and incidentally has been the base of the snowHeads Birthday Bash for several years). There is also a subsidised coach transfer from Venice airport to Arabba.
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peanuthead, I checked. As far as I looked, not very hard, single search, Turin and Milan equally good. National carrier, (of sorts), Alitalia, hubs through Rome so Turin better than Milan.
5 or so years ago you'd have been absolutely right. Sadly now, not so much. On many many local levels let alone international.
Italy? Lovely people. Amazing food and wine. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish infrastructure and admin.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish infrastructure and admin.
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But that's part of the charm
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Hmmmm
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rubbish, rubbish infrastructure and admin
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often true but the public transport can be good. And inexpensive.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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