Courmayeur

A snowHead

I've booked to go to Courmayeur end of march 21, i've never been before so what can i expect? also any tips or advice?

A snowHead

There is a free bus to La Thuile

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your wallet emptied

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ski wise?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'm meant to be going back for the third time in January but that is looking doubtful. Piste-wise it's all pretty cruisey I would say, though some easily accessible and fun OP depending on conditions. I don't go back for the skiing per-se, but if you take the terrain in hand with the amazing restaurants and lovely town then it's one of my favourite resorts for a more chilled break. I've not got involved (yet) with the proper off-piste routes that abound but others more competent than me can comment on those. We do always get a taxi or bus to La Thuile for a day though to break things up otherwise you might find you are skiing the same runs a few too many times. La Thuile has some nice long and steepish pistes lower down through the trees which are usually enjoyable and it's defo worth the 30mins or so trip to get there (lift pass included with your Courmayeur pass I think if you buy enough consecutive days).

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Re "wallet being emptied" not sure where that comes from - Maybe the glitzier restairants and fasdhion shops but we had a good time drinking and eating for not much money. That was one day as part of a wider Aosta valley trip and the good value for money was v notable everywhere. Post brexit may be different! Lift pass isn't bad value although it is a small ski area so echo the above recommendation to go to la Thuile as well. Also the monte bianco skyway was great afternoon out.

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@mmcla, do you mean you’ve not skied before? Or just not been to Courmayeur before?

If you’ve skied before, what level are you and what do you like/dislike? snowHead

After all it is free

Re wallets. If that's happening to you, 1. they saw you coming, 2. you just lapped it up right? rolling eyes

That said, amd it's a few years since we were last there but Ciecco was (certainly at the time) just excellent. Not the biggest of resorts, ski wise. Not a lot on piste that's particularly challenging.

Is it worth skiing it late in the season, say early April ?

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@mmcla, if you don't mind the skiing area being small, roughly 40-50 km of piste, Courmayeur may suit you well as a base. Many of the pistes are decent red standard. Even some of the blues can be challenging in icy or hardpack conditions. Not somewhere for beginners I'd say. Some tree cover for flat light or snowy days. Usually does OK for snow and on the sunnier more sheltered side of Mont Blanc.

The village is quite large, easy to walk around and usually lively, but who knows this season? I don't remember prices being alarmingly high and there's plenty of competition. Food quality both on the mountain and in the village were very good. I don't think it has a swimming pool or sports centre, unless that's changed recently. I paid a silly amount to swim in a private hotel pool one evening.

Two days in La Thuile sounds good. As you probably know, you can usually get a bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix valley. Assuming that's possible this season it opens up more challenging terrain, if wanted. We used it to access an unforgettable day up and around the Aiguille du Midi. Also did a guided day from Courmayeur down the Valle Blanche, Mer de Glace, not difficult but dangerous without a guide.

Overall, although the skiing at Courmayeur isn't extensive, as a base it has plenty going for it. Fingers crossed you'll get to enjoy it.

all that sounds perfect, it will do me nicely Very Happy

thanks for the tips

You know it makes sense.

It's quite a few years since I went, somewhere around 2006, and I would only have been about 15.

Memories of the place were, I came down really ill with a sickness bug just before we went so only skied half days.
We were able to leave our skis and boots up the top of the cable car rather than lugging them down the hill in to town every day.
There was a bar in the town which I want to say was called Bar Roma, if you went in to have a drink, they laid on a load of snacks. Might not be the case this season due to covid though.
It started snowing on the Wednesday and didn't stop by the time we left on Saturday, and it's some of the most snow i've seen, but that can happen anywhere at any time.
It's not a particularly big ski area, but I think the off piste is decent, especially with a guide, and as has been said, La Thuile for a day trip, and i'm not sure if Chamonix or Pila are included or not, but it wouldn't take too long to get to either of them as well.

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

A snowHead

I last skied in Courmayeur in 1997 but remember really enjoying it. Whilst it is not an extensive ski area there were some enjoyable runs and it was very scenic with fab mountain restaurants. I did the Vallee Blanche day trip which is one of my most memorable days in 30 years of skiing. There were also day trips available to La Thuile and Argentiere for eg.

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@mmcla, we’ve been going for the last few years, and really like, or we wouldn’t go back. It is a smallish area on piste as others say, we’re not off piste skiers so can’t comment on that side of things. It’s good value on the mountain and in town unless you hunt out one of the glitzier places, €1.50 for a coffee on the mountain is good for me.
Having been for a few years, the last two we have got the Aosta valley pass and spent a few days in La Thuile and one in Pila also ( we have a hire car).
I we use the Dolonne lift which is an 8 man gondola, and free car parking, you may need to use the overflow car park a the weekend which is a couple of euro, may be reduced this year, and we use the hire shop and it’s lockers to store our stuff overnight, the other lift from town is a monster 120 people lift, but no free parking, one goes up as one comes down so can be a bit of a wait in the morning and at end of day. It’s a nice walk through town if your accommodation isn’t too far away. The town is nice to stroll around after a meal, Bar Roma is the bar with free food under normal circumstances.

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I'm a 20yr Val Gardena veteran. Gave Courmayeur a whirl with my daughter back in Jan this year. Came away decidedly underwhelmed. Tiny ski area (skied it out by 3pm on day one) which is disconnected from the town. The disconnect kills apres and also the fact that there's no busy part of town. The few bars which are apres orientated are strung out along a mile long 'high street'. It doesn't really work IMO. The trip to La Ros/La Thuile was the highlight of the week. Bar Roma does free pretty ropey bar food to offset the astronomic bar prices. Then there's SuperG Mountain Club. 10 Euro for a tiny beer! The barman apologised for charging me 20 Euro for two small beers. He said that the management were 'crazy'. The place was unsurprisingly quiet.

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Save up and go to Chiecco on the mountain for a long lunch. Simply superb.

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Courmayeur is sort of Italian version of Chamonix ... bit smaller, town is more interesting, food is better and the "official" ski area is nothing to crave about ...

However, being in the shadows of the great Mont Blanc it provides good skiers with almost endless options ... If you are good off piste skier - this is one of the top 5 places in the world !!!

And yes, it attracts well to do crowds from Torino/Milano and does have a certain whiff of snobbery ...

Our family went on a ski trip there few years back (2017 and 2018) and while my wife and two daughters had massive amounts of fun skiing groomers and enjoying on mountain lunches/snacks/views - I've had blast skiing some of the most interesting off piste terrain ...

After all it is free

The Hellbronner lift on the Mont Blanc side is an amazing lift that opens up all sorts of options including steep couloirs, glacier runs in the sunshine and the Vallée Noire back down to Chamonix. There’s also some good off piste on the other side in the trees.

@mooney058, I'll accept your opinion re. Courmayeur, but sh!te food in the Dolomites? Are you having a laugh?? Dodge the polenta, I do.

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@mmcla, after reading this thread full of snowhead critique, I ask myself why I've ever skied there. TBH, Courmayeur is my go to resort for a short/couple of days skiing. Don't expect anything other than chi-chi in town, half decent pistes on the mountain, very decent restos both in town and on the mountain, drop-dead gorgeous views of Monte Bianco. Be prepared to get to the local lifts, or stay just out of town, have your skis left up the mountain, and defo post-ski in town. Bar Roma is a must, so is Maison di Filipo in Entreves, opposite possibly the best hotel in the valley (Maison de l'Auberge). But please do not expect to get the best out of the resort in just one trip. It takes years to access the joys of Courmayeur. I first went there in the 1980's, and it's magical draw (which now extends the Aosta Valley) is still very strong.

Otherwise I would give it a miss.

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Its another place you can ski, its not a raucus place like the Austrain alchol driven apres.
But you have to at least tick it off the list.

But Bar Roma is (or was[2010]) fabulous .. we asked for an Irish Coffee and we had the best one we had ever had before that.

My wife loved the ear ring shop along the Via Roma.
We didnt go to Aosta or La Thuile while on that trip, but we did go over to Chamonix one miserable foggy day.
The bus took us up to Argentia ... but it may as well have been the nursery slope at Neiderau.
We should have stayed back on the sunny side.

You know it makes sense.

I visited Courmayeur in Feb. It is a stunning setting with amazing views of the Mont Blanc range and its glaciers. It is a varied ski area, but a bit small for a week if you can't take advantage of the guided off-piste terrain. Probably best combined with other areas in the valley like La Thuile and Pila.

I stayed mid-valley near Aosta and drove each day to a different ski area...Courmayeur, La Thuile/LaRosiere, Pila, Cervinia/Zermatt, Champoluc/MonteRosa. Not many places you can ski 3 different countries on successive days! snowHead

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Seen this place come up on soem super cheap deals, I gather the area is small (Hit Selva in Jan) compared to others, but it soundslike the town layout is strange or something, arent most resorts the town/bars/accom are all at the foot of the lift, how does this differ?

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@zikomo, exactly.

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@Sarny, to answer your question, there's no valley run, so you get the lift up to more lifts that covers the skiing. So basically, you'd do your apres up the hill then lift down to town for dinner and hotel.

Edited to add, the area itself isn't massive, but the free bus to La Thuile makes for more adventure!

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I like Courmayeur a lot, but it is definitely not for those who only ski on-piste and like a variety of easy skiing. The town is gorgeous, great restaurants and a good (slightly upmarket) vibe. The off-piste options are phenomenal locally, via heli, and through the tunnel in Chamonix. But the pisted slopes are very limited in both extent and variety. It is for a different type of holiday - i.e. a long weekend sans kids where I can disappear for day tours/challenges and wife can have an afternoon pootle on-piste or just read a book. Followed by an adult evening of fine food and wine. If your kids are better than early-intermediate but not yet skiing tough off-piste, it is not ideal.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@zikomo, that's sort of fair, but I grew up skiing Cairngorm on family holidays in Aviemore ... Courmayeur way better than that Twisted Evil

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@under a new name, Don't get me wrong! I love Courmayeur. I just think the high milage (easy) piste basher used to French mega-resorts would not like it!

Am a Glenshee man myself, and before that The Lecht!

After all it is free

@zikomo, to confirm your view - I'm a definite early intermediate piste skier and did not love Courmeyeur for the reasons you give. But - the vibe you mention plus being able to ski over in La Thuile makes it good value for a bargain. Hotels over there are much better value (or more choice at least) if you're willing to travel between resorts.

Went for the third time (a day each time as part of a wider aosta trip) at half term and for the first time it wasn’t a white out. Such pretty runs in the trees with gob smacking views of mint Blanc. V nice town for a mooch and beer in after too. I can get that it would be too small for a week but combined with la thuile it’d be fun I’m sure.

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Wow a trie consensus view! Is that a first?

Help!!

Courmayeur

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