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Champoluc - extent of skiing for 7/8 days?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi

Thinking about going to Champoluc for a first visit and wondering if it will suit. We are good intermediates. Happy with marked runs off piste, or cutting corners, but not proper off piste. Teenage son will want to do some miles.

Just wondering how big it is. Good Ski Guide says 80 KMs or so, whilst the hotel (and Ski2 website) is telling us 160KM or 200KM. Seems there are lots of figures going around!! Worried we might be a little bored

We could do a day trip or two, I suppose, up the Aosta valley to La Pila, etc, except that the hotel we have in mind is one of the mountain restaurants with rooms (and so it is not so easy to get to / from car which is left in the village, of course).

Any local knowledge and tips very welcome.

Thank you.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@TheManOnTheBus, To be honest I am not sure which of these two figures to take, but I seriously doubt if it is anywhere near 160km. It just doesn't feal that big to me. I assume you have looked at the piste map and realise that a lot of the skiing is of the out and back type. We seemed to go out to Alagna and back rather a lot.

But you will not get bored and if you do then hire a guide or attend the ski school and do some of the off piste.
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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?
Sorry I forgot to mention that I wouldn't bother trying to go to any of the other resorts. Enjoy where you are.
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The longer figure probably refers to the linked valleys which are easy to ski to/from over the week. Was there last January 3rd week, when conditions weren't the best but with still lots of piste in really great shape, considering the lack of snowfall. They kept them well covered and groomed. Unfortunately not much in the way of 'of piste' but found some wih a guide. there is certainly enough for a weeks skiing there.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@TheManOnTheBus, skied Champoluc for a few days when I was a beginner intermediate. Plenty to do, varied terrain keeps it interesting and it seems larger than it actually is! Possible to ski to Alagna and Gressoney

Village is small and quiet but with nice après vibe among very pleasant Italians. Great food on and off the mountain!
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@TheManOnTheBus, you can have some grand days out, ie this was Alagna and back that I did with the kids this Feb, great long blacks and reds to be done. I think you'd be fine for a week. You may end up doing the same run a few times, especially the connecting ones

https://www.strava.com/activities/496373059
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks for all the advice!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Definitely not 180km, but because the skiing is stretched out, it still feels like more than the probably accurate 80km. We spent Christmas and N Y there a couple of years ago and loved it-even though we a firm 3V fans. We are pretty good skiers, on and off piste. Champoluc the village is lovely. What I think I liked most about the place is that every piste feels like it's interesting and worth skiing. There aren't really any silly long cat tracks. You will ski the same piste twice, but sometimes that is because it was so good the first time, you want to ski it again! Food on the mountain is fab too, and even with the down turn in the exchange rate, far better value than France. No queues to speak of apart from one lift big bottleneck during NY week, but even that was no more than 15 mins on a bad day.
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@Perty,Um! we had lot of problems with lift queues; lots and lots over 10 minutes and many over 20 and this was supposed to be a quiet week - the first week in January after new year. The pistes also appeared to be bashed to billiard table smoothness, which is not to my taste. Restaurants were cheeper than France and served good food. To be honest I prefered the smaller portions.
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@johnE, you must have been very unlucky, we only ever queued at one bottle neck even at half term. Most lifts were sub 1 min queues and some zero queues which was amazing at half term!!
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There is one lift that always seems to have 10-20 minute waits. Forget what it's called but it is essential connector to get to Gressoney

I would definitely say there is no more than 80 km of pistes, but for such a small extent of pistes there is genuinely plenty to do
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
We stayed in gressoney first week of April (second week of Easter school holidays) and the whole area was really quiet. One the gressoney side it was rare to even see another person on the lift. We encountered more people over in Stefal and Heading over the other side but still really lovely and quiet. Definitely on our list to go back.

Also the restaurant at Colle Bettaforca was fantastic the food absolutely delicious.
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been twice, really enjoyed it and looking to go again this year, what we have done both years is a day trip to Cervinia as well, that makes the trip well worth while. You can get a really good days skiing in by going to gressony and then alagna, can be mixed due to wind but plenty of interesting skiing.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@TheManOnTheBus,
Bergfex states the whole Monterosa = 180km http://www.bergfex.com/monterosa-aostatal/

I believe that includes - Champoluc/Frachey
- Alagna
- Antagnod
- Gressoney La Trinite/Stafal
- Gressoney St Jean
- Brusson/Estoul

A few of those aren't linked by piste either. 180km just seems to a be a nice round figure - once you break all those areas down by piste km it seems closer to 150/160km and the published figures are most likely spurious anyway. The main linked area would seem to be approx 100km.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
It's not a massive area but it's good enough for a week and as previously mentioned you won't mind doing some of the runs more than once. Antagnod is a short bus ride away and has a couple of nice easy blues / reds which you could do in a morning. I did a week there (minus a day due to injury) and didn't end up going over to the Gressoney side as there was enough to be going on with.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Thanks all - sounds great

Just booked!
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
peanuthead wrote:
There is one lift that always seems to have 10-20 minute waits.


Yeah, there is one lift that is essential in both directions. It would be a reasonably easy fix, as far as we can see. Hey ho.
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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?
NickyJ wrote:
We stayed in gressoney first week of April (second week of Easter school holidays) and the whole area was really quiet. One the gressoney side it was rare to even see another person on the lift. We encountered more people over in Stefal and Heading over the other side but still really lovely and quiet. Definitely on our list to go back.

Also the restaurant at Colle Bettaforca was fantastic the food absolutely delicious.


I was there the same week and agree that it wan't too busy. Never waited for a lift all week. I did venture over to the bottom of the cable car in Alagna one day and whilst the Champoluc side of the mountain was reasonably busy, once you were past the restaurant at Staffal you barely saw anyone.
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@TheManOnTheBus, where are you staying? Antagnod is small but a worthwhile trip down the valley, great views, incredibly quiet and some soft easy oft pisteand some really charming restaurants a it of a trek off the piste cost peanuts. Not so good a long time after snow though as its a bit icy. 30 mins down the valley by bus, makes a fun half day.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks for that tip
We are staying up the hill at Frachey in a mountain Hut
That day trip sounds fun and may give it a go
TMOTB
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@TheManOnTheBus, ultimately it depends on what you're looking for. If you are one of those very weird people who want to ski every run once and once only, ever in their life, well, too late.

You're toast.

I'll admit to 2 biases,

1. I am very happy skiing the same run more than once and have been known to spend a whole day on one chair, more or less. If the snow is good, what's the problem?

2. I have been skiing Monterosa every year since 2,000 as the OH has her roots there. I don't have the mental energy to estimate the number of days, but it is significantly in excess of 8 Twisted Evil

Yes, the lift topology is such that there's sort of only one way around, as such. Yes, there is one chair that you need to take in both Champoluc->Gressoney and the other direction, and it serves the local race pistes so if the area is busy, it certainly has queues but it is a fast detachable 4 and outrageously the Italians were enforcing full seating on busy days last year. Must have been a papal decree or something.

I would be more worried that stuck up the mountain you won't be able to sample the steaks at the Sapin nor Andrea's excellent cuisine at the Essential.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Oh and I would not bother with any Antagnod day trip. It's lovely on a big powder day as there a few trailsnthrough the meadows that aren't steep enough to be dangerous but there are like, 4? pistes.

Not worth the effort.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
johnE wrote:
,Um! we had lot of problems with lift queues; lots and lots over 10 minutes and many over 20 and this was supposed to be a quiet week - the first week in January after new year.

Not sure where you heard that period was a "quite week" this is traditionally when Italy goes skiing on mass. 27th December until the end of the week following NY...and if the snow keeps everyone on piste just forget it. Now the week immediately after that....well, normale.
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