Near Milan

A snowHead

Will be in milan from the 7 th to 10th Dec is there anywhere within driving distance for a days ski that could be open by then? Cheers .

A snowHead

Aosta valley not that long a drive.

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Chiesa in Valmalenco is 110 km north-ish of Milan. Lower key than top resorts so it advertises opening as “late November “. You’d probably have to contact the tourist office to check. 60km of pistes. May or may not be enough for you and party.
But I haven’t skied there so other SHs would be better placed to comment on the skiing itself.
Of course a @DaveoftheMarmottes noted Aosta is not that far away. And lots of options there

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Chiesa in Valmalenco is 110 km north-ish of Milan. Lower key than top resorts so it advertises opening as “late November “. You’d probably have to contact the tourist office to check. 60km of pistes. May or may not be enough for you and party.
But I haven’t skied there so other SHs would be better placed to comment on the dkiong itself.
Of course a @DaveoftheMarmottes noted Aosta is not that far away. And lots of options there

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Val Malenco assert they will be open tomorrow and Sunday...

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@jakemanc, All the closest resorts *probably won't be open* and are smaller in size. These would make an easy day trip. Slightly larger resorts may be more likely to open but are a little further to travel. Valmalenco is a pleasant ski area, mainly north facing in a bowl, easy free parking, and a simple drive. Madesimo would also be a possible option (higher pistes/ski routes *if open - unlikely* are great in particular, the rest similar to Valmalenco). Also easy to park for free and lift up to the resort. Drive is probably a little trickier if there is snow on the roads even if you use the included funicular train. I guess a final non Aosta option would be Alagna. Regarding the Aosta valley Pila would be clearly the easiest option (perhaps even of any based on the fact that you can park just off the motorway and take the lift up, so no difficult driving at all and probably fairly quick even in poorer weather). It is a *cold* ski resort though Smile

!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

TBH, per GoogleMaps, Val Malenco is 2h30 while Champoluc and Alagna both are 2h20 (using Linate as start point).

I'd go to Champoluc or Gressoney if they've opened.

After all it is free

If it's open, Madesimo can be done in around 2 hours, Cervinia is another option with high altitude, if there's decent snow you could park at Valtournenche about 5km down the valley and linked to Cervinia, a bit further unless you're starting from the west side of Milan.

I was also interested so just checked too:

In fact Pila from Aosta is fastest (just), Valmalenco and Madesimo a few minutes longer, and those slightly quicker than the links to Montarosa. The difference is not great so maybe snow conditions should dictate (and conditions of the roads).

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Wait and see where is open, Pila has put back its opening date.

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@Millom, indeed, road conditions could make a huge difference, e.g. Pila from Aosta is stright off the autoroute (as is Courmayeur f'r instance), Champoluc about 30 minutes on dry roads up the mountain and some others quite a bit more on mountain roads.

At this stage, snowfall should be a big input.

snow reports

I find this website quite useful, as you can sort ski resorts by distance from airports, etc.
https://www.j2ski.com/ski_resorts/Airports/Milan_Malpensa.html
If you're only looking at one day of skiing, one of the smaller resorts nearer to Milan could be a fun day out.

For eg.:
https://www.pianidibobbio.com/
Much closer to Milan than the resorts British skiers usually go to. I've not been there, but it looks nice from the website and opens 2nd December.
There's loads of little resorts like this, where you wouldn't plan to spend a whole week, but that are well worth a visit.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Evening,

Just crashing this thread...

We are visiting some friends who live in Como in late Jan, and are hoping to do at least a couple of days - possibly three - on the slopes. We are flying into Milan Malpensa, arriving early Saturday, and thinking of driving straight to the slopes, meeting our friends there, skiing for two/ three days and then back to Como.

The question is: given the choice, where would you go? Would prefer an easy drive and a hassle free access to the slopes. Everyone (kids & adults) can ski well enough to not worry about whether it's challenging or not - we just want to grab a couple of days' skiing, but a bit of wintry alpine village/ town in the evening would be a big bonus.

Possibilities: Madesimo (anyone been?), Piani di Bobbio (very small?), Pila (is it a pain to get up from Aosta?), Cervinia (tough drive if snowy?), Gressoney (don't know it at all?)... anywhere else?

My Italian ski knowledge is limited to Courmayeur, which is probably too big a drive, but sort of ticks the boxes - easy cable car up, easy once you're on the slopes, cheap to eat etc, town is pretty...

Any additional info to what's already on the thread would be great. I'm working on the basis that conditions will be much of a muchness once we are end of Jan.

A snowHead

@rainman, Only been to Pila from your list. There is a huge carpark in Aosta by the Cable car. This takes you straight up to the Pila lift system and is 20 mins ride. Ticket is included in your pass. You can drive up to Pila and park next to the top of the lift but the lift is a better option as it was heavy snow on last visit and it took us over an hour to get up the hill by car with chains on.

Alternatively if you are stopping a couple of nights you can stay up in Pila and be on the slopes quicker in the morning. We use Carol at Pilaski.co.uk to sort out the accommodation/tickets etc and she is brilliant.

A snowHead

@rainman, "Everyone (kids & adults) can ski well enough to not worry about whether it's challenging or not - we just want to grab a couple of days' skiing". Haven't been to Piani di Bobbio but it won't be particularly challenging skiing. Pila is nice enough but cold. Cervinia might be better for a longer trip (a week or more) but obviously with link to Zermatt offers something for everyone. Montarosa or Madesimo would be my choice. Montarosa is not a hugh area but you get the feeling of travel from one end to other as it is quite spread out across the three valleys. The slopes are interesting and you have the opportunity for interesting off piste if capable and conditions are right. Madesimo is a little smaller again but would be good for a couple of days. A nice village and location with easier runs lower down on the front side and some excellent ski routes high up and pisted slopes/off piste off the back side. If the ski routes are going to be open and you're capable of skiing them then I'd go with Madesimo. They are some of the best marked ski routes in Europe. High wind or limited snow would restrict options in the resort however so might need to be a late decision. Montarosa probably a safer bet if you need to sort the exact details ahead of time (say a week or more).

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+1 to Madesimo

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Tell me about "ski routes" in Madesimo, please...are they unpisted runs served by lifts,

We are Intermediate Piste skiers interested in Madesimo, so curious about "ski routes"

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

That's really helpful @Millom, and @Mike Pow, . I wasn't sure whether Madesimo would be a bit of a poor relation, but it sounds like it's worth investigating. We will probably have to do a bit of pre-planning, so as to find somewhere to stay; I wonder if Monterosa might offer more choice on that front.

If we were to head to Monterosa, google maps suggests that Alagna is the slightly quicker drive, but which of the villages would be best to base ourselves in? Champoluc?

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If you choose a smaller resort, as long as it's open midweek, it will be a lot quieter then. Many small resorts closest to large population centres in Italy only see an influx at weekends and over holiday periods, New Year (Capodanno) especially.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@dublin2, never pisted (probably not possible) accessed directly from the top lift at around 2900m with about 900+ vertical. I think at least 2 have names but you really have a choice of routes all kinda visible to the left (when travelling up) of the lift (there may be something available off piste to the other side of the lift but I haven't skied that area). If open they should be safe/controlled but high winds, fog, lack of snow etc will close them. The hardest parts are probably the initial bowl and potentially the last flatter section if the snow is hard. If you can cope with the most difficult ski routes in other resorts you should be able to ski these in similar conditions. The lift on the back side also gives access to some nice terrain and off piste routes in and away from the ski area. One thing to note there are no pisted slopes down the front side from the top so once you commit you're in for the full 900m+ drop.

After all it is free

@rainman, I'd have thought in late Jan you'd be able to sort accommodation late in the day (a few days before) without a problem particularly with access to a car. You could even decide to base yourself at the top of Lake Como or in Chiavenna for Madesimo and with Montarosa you'd have choices within each of the valleys. Others will be able to compare those valleys better than me.

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Spent the last two Christmas holidays in Madesimo and we loved it even though the snow was very poor (as it was almost everywhere) - we were limited to a few man made runs. There looks to be lots of off-piste accessible from at the top of the cable car which was talked about by the locals. What we missed out in skiing we made up in enjoying the village and other activities, mainly long lunches!. Mountain restaurants are quite cheap. It looks to be close to Lake Como as we passed it from the airport and access to the village is available by car with the last part being quite windy and steep however this can be avoided by parking at a or there is a village further down the valley and talking a fast train that tunnels to Madesimo.

snow reports

+1 Madesimo

@Mike Pow, now that's what I call a trip report! Much appreciated.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

As intermediates, I don’t know Madesimo, but Monterosa would certainly suit. Champoluc best village to my mind as it has more bars and restaurants, at least 3 of which are truly excellent with excellent value for money.

You also have controlled off piste off Punta Indren which is not super difficult, other than one couloir. Usually pretty compacted snow.

A snowHead

As intermediates, I don’t know Madesimo, but Monterosa would certainly suit. Champoluc best village to my mind as it has more bars and restaurants, at least 3 of which are truly excellent with excellent value for money.

You also have controlled off piste off Punta Indren which is not super difficult, other than one couloir. Usually pretty compacted snow.

A snowHead

We spent about 4 days last February in Madesimo, lovely little village, enough skiing for 3/4 days. Can recommend hotel Soldanella, 50m from the main lift, really family friendly.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@jakemanc, Pila is just opening intime for you

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