 Poster: A snowHead
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A group of 10 of us are just Back from a week in Madesimo - Italy.
Getting there
From Norn Iron, we easyjeted it to Stanstead and then Ryanaired it from there to Milan (reverse on return). - I'll keep the Ryanair whinge for a different post.
Hired 2 cars from Bergamo Airport for the week and drove up in 2 1/2 hrs. The drive was reasonably straightforward and the road didn't get windy until the last 10 miles or so
We were staying in Motta, about a mile above the main village of Madesimo, which was closed to traffic 9:00 -> 17:00
As we could not use our cars 9:00 to 17:00, we either skied back and fourth between the villages or used a taxi for E2.00 per head
We didn't get snow chains as the hire company had none left, so we decided to leave our cars in Campodolcino village below the snowline and got a minibus taxi down to it when going home. This turned out to be a great move.
Skiing
Excellent skiing conditions
Great base at the start of the week (130/160), bright and sunny for the first 3 days and then snowed plenty on Wednesday just as it was starting to get a bit packed and icy but still ski-able, leaving Thursday and Friday great
It starting to snow heavily just after we left on Fri night / Sat morning.
The Police were stopping everyone going up the mountain and making them put on snow chains on Saturday morning
The US team were staying in the resort and a couple of pistes were cordoned off for them, but there was still plenty of variety left
The black Canalone run is one of the longest in Europe, from what I am led to believe, I did not do it myself, but one of our group who is a very advanced skier did and found it hard going.
The lifts were all pretty well connected, mostly with reds
There is a bit of a blurry line between the blues and reds there, which caught me out a few times bringing a few novices with us.
For the novices with us, there was a lot of walking from one end of the village to the other as the runs / lifts are not all that well connected with easy runs.
Resort
Shopping - My wife reckoned that the shopping was crap, unless you wanted a £400 coat and everything closed from 12:30 to 3:30
Food - Reasonably cheap. The piste side / bottom cafes did the usual burgers, hotdogs and toasties with usually a pasta of the day, but not much else on offer. A couple of good evening restaurants around though.
English was not very widely spoken and when you did get a waitress, who spoke English, it was usually of the Pigeon variety, but we made ourselves understood most of the time.
It is a weekend resort for the Milanese and is completely dead during the week. There were longish ques at the weekend but virtually none midweek. There was no night life to speak of, but being a group of 10, we made our own craic. Indeed in the Tender discobar (the only one in the town), we were the only customers on Valentines night.
Accommodation
2 of our group stayed in the Hotel Ferre and had nothing but praise for it and the staff
The other 8 stayed in the Baita Verde appartment in Motta. Motta is about a mile outside of Madesimo and is closed to non commercial traffic during the day, but there is a taxi service that runs up and down. The Apartment was great. Owned by Giovani who spoke perfect English. Loads of hot water and plenty enough space for 8 people to live comfortably TV , DVD player etc all supplied
Conclusion
Accommodation - Excellent
Snow conditions - Very good
Food - Good
Getting there - Reasonably straightforward
Runs - Good, but possibly a bit limited for novices
Village - Dead as a doornail
Would I go back - No as it is far too quite during the week
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Good report! To be honest, that sounds like a perfect resort for us as we've a native Italian (and a budding Italian learner). Mmmmm, empty weekday runs. Bliss.
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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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| FallaghNOver wrote: |
There is a bit of a blurry line between the blues and reds there, which caught me out a few times bringing a few novices with us.
For the novices with us, there was a lot of walking from one end of the village to the other as the runs / lifts are not all that well connected with easy runs.
Runs - Good, but possibly a bit limited for novices
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Which runs did you think were the 'easy runs' - I see from the piste map that there are blues both end of the villages?
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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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@Biblu, you might be pushing @FallaghNOver, ‘s memory as it was 13 years ago, even if he/she still posts here!
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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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FAQ
I did wonder if it was a little too long ago 
