 Poster: A snowHead
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We are looking at getting in a long weekend flying out Thursday evening 5th March and returning back late on Sunday 8th March (unfortunately the wife's work won't allow anything longer). Having explored all eventualities flight wise and considering airport and flight times with work etc we are pretty much left with flying into either Nice or Milan Malpensa.
Can anybody recommend any good resorts within a 2 hour drive of either airport. We are both intermediates and would prefer a resort with plenty of nice cruisey blues and reds, we were originally looking at Isola 2000 from Nice but are now considering whether there might be something a bit more to our taste reachable from Milan. However, having looked at a couple of options we keep finding stumbling blocks ie not much skiing to our ability, lack of accommodation for short stays or just a bit too far (really needs to be 2 hrs max to get in a full 3 days skiing). Therefore I am throwing it open to the snowheads collective for any suggestions. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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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'm also looking for somewhere close to milan, albeit bergamo. I'm a quite experienced boarder but not averse to cruise blues and reds. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread
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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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@GottaCatchEmAll, Champoluc?
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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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Have you considered Barcelona El Prat Airport and the Grandvalira in Andorra? I know the transfer is more like 3 rather than 2 hours, but with Barcelona being such a large airport, you might get quite favourable flight times. The Grandvalira has an enormous number of cruisy blues and reds and plenty of accommodation.
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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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Rather than Isola , have a look at this place , not well known in the UK , I went there on a cycling trip and thought what a nice place to go back to in the winter , v close to Nice .
http://winter.auron.com
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Isola or Auron might be difficult because it's French school hols till 7 March but if it's not that local region which is on holiday (you can easily check online) it'd probably be fine as folk from the north are not very likely to go down there. I'd probably pick Champoluc.
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Looks like you've ruled out Geneva. Are there any useful flights to Munich or Innsbruck?
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We had a weekend flying to Milan. It was about a 2 hour drive to Gressony. A quick look on the internet found a cheep, good quality, fairly deserted hotel (Hotel Gressony). The only disadvantages was it a bus ride each day upto the skiing and we were the only people in the bar in the evening. We took the last flight from Luton to Milan on the Frday and the last flight back on the SUnday, hence got 2 full days skiing in.
Gressony has lots of gentle blue and red pistes. Even the blacks are bashed to resemble reds. It is the middle valley of the Monterosa ski area.
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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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If you are renting a car for the time away, you can do Auron AND Isola 2000 - one day each - they are really quite close
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Did Auron and Isola in the past. Takes about 90-120 mins to get there from central Nice (deoending on traffic and your style of driving). From what I remember it would take about an hour to get from one to the other. Mostly because final 15-20km to Isola is on twisting alpine road. For this reason if it is snowing and you've no winters or chains you are stuffed. Auron can be accessed via funicular from the valley bed (St Etienne de Tinee) if you don't wish to go high in the car. Also Auron seemed to be slightly larger resort.
There is one more option within 2 hours from Nice: Limone Piemonte. You drive along the coast to Ventimiglia and then turn left towards Cuneo. Slightly smaller resort than both Isola and Auron, but still enjoyable for a day or two. Most of it was very cruisy and the blacks looked to me more like reds (if you consider Austrian or French standards).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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That's the perfect transfer days for Skiweekends.com! The flights are in to Geneva though but there are a few different resorts to choose from within 1-2 hours of the airport. The office no. is 02380 206971.
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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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@Sarah Evans, you should fess up that you are the Marketing Executive for this company.
There are lots of ski professionals on this forum, but they don't directly push their own companies. This is particularly inappropriate when the OP has specified Nice and Milan and you only offer Geneva! Perhaps you should add a signature line with your company details and then contribute to the forum using all your experience, so that people learn to trust your advice generally and then perhaps consider booking with your company.
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@GottaCatchEmAll,
You might find this a useful resource. https://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Airports/Ski_Resorts_Near_Milan_Malpensa_Map.html
Bear in mind that many of the "resorts" are local hills with limited if any facilities and limited piste skiing. Also, not all are marked in the correct places e.g. Pila is not where it really is.
Thinking about it and having driven Champoluc to Chamonix yesterday (high winds had closed most of Monterosa) - Courmayeur also a runner (motorway all the way).
While Gressoney is the middle of the 3 Monterosa valleys, that isn't the whole story. Each of the Gressoney hamlets, is just that. Tiny. Champoluc is a better option for Monterosa if you don't want to be playing tiddleywinks on your own in the bar. And the area is sufficiently tooled up with fast 4 chairs that it really doesn't make a huge difference logistically. On skis Champoluc - Pianalunga = ~1hr 30 without pushing it (driving to Frachey).
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the suggestions people, it certainly gave me some ideas. I ruled France out in the end due to it being French half term for some regions. In the end I decided on the Aosta valley so booked the flights to Milan and have booked a hotel in Torgnon with the intention of skiing Valtournenche / Cervinia. It's the first long weekend ski trip I've booked (excluding Scotland) so fingers crossed 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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GottaCatchEmAll The drive down from Cervinia can be very busy after skiing. We once made a late Sunday night flight out of Bergamo with seconds to spare - queued down the mountain then queues at motorway toll boots etc etc.
And that was after allowing ages extra. Just as well!
Cervinia will be great for a long weekend though  .
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