 Poster: A snowHead
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I’m looking to plan a trip to ski in Italy for the holidays in December. We’re a ski anything crowd that looks to enjoy our time on & off the mountain. We’re hoping to find something that provides enough challenge skiing, good lunch options on the mountain and a town for the evening. Much of the focus has been on MdC, however I am concerned that the skiing will not be challenging enough (seems to tick all the other boxes).
Am I misinformed about the skiing? Are there any other places we should be thinking of?
Thanks for the help/advice!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Val Gardena maybe?
Otherwise Kronplatz with Brunneck for times off the mountains
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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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@mischwar, Cervinia for lunch with Zermatt for the challenging skiing? Or perhaps Courmayeur with Hellbronner (only if you are confident off piste). Monte Rosa ski area also has some great terrain (stay Champoluc or Gressoney?).
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December is the spanner in this one. It's really where is open and combined with the other 2 conditions.
Passo Tonale.... dull skiing and prob dull apres
Dollies...... only Arabba is challenging
Sauz ...... too dodgy for the snow
There's only really Cervinia and then you have to ski in Zermatt for the advanced stuff
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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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La Thuile opens fairly early, and has some challenging runs. Some good off piste from what others have said. Apres is a bit dull though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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But what do you mean by "December", @mischwar? There's a big difference between mid December and Christmas/New Year.
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Pam, you’re right. Was meaning Christmas/New Year
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Most of the good options have been covered already...Arabba, Kronplatz or Val Gardena in the Dolomites, Cervinia, Monte Rosa, La Thuile, Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, maybe Sauze or Sestriere in the Milky Way... but this is a good resource for comparing them...
https://www.bergfex.com/italien/
New Year is a really popular time to ski for Italians, as it is right across the Alps, so expect resorts to be busy.
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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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Not sure what you mean by 'challenging', maybe you could name somewhere else that is as a guide? But fwiw I thought that Cortina had plenty to offer on the one day I skied there.
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@mischwar, where you arriving from (just nosy).
Italy busy at New Year but not IME as bad as e.g. France. And typically only for a few days over NY itself.
Can't really recall Cortina was 20 years ago. Was definitely fun enough for a weekend ... Can't comment on rest of Dolomites. Courmayeur a bit small IMO for a week. MdC again, fine for a weekend. Done a couple of long weekends there, don't recall anything very special about the town but weren't in town very much (was there for work).
Can recommend Monterosa, although have to say that it's not PdS or 3Vs range of skiing. But assuming Punta Indren is open, you can certainly get as challenging as anyone will want. (Will need avvy kit, can be rented if not owned, but that then begs a question).
If Monterosa, Champoluc liveliest of the villages, although that doesn't mean necessarily very lively. But there is excellent food to be had on and off the mountain  (NB we have an apartment there so I have a certain bias).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We've always enjoyed La Thuile, though never been as early as Christmas. It has some really great runs, good restaurants on piste (and not too expensive) and there is nightlife in the town around the Planibel area esp.
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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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@under a new name, we have just booked an apartment in Champoluc for Feb 2023, never been before so any recommendations much appreciated for good runs, lunch places, town restaurants for the evenings.
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@trmacc, Good choice of place to stay is Champoluc even though at one side of Monte Rosa. Check out Le Bistrot for post skiing nibbles and drinks. On the mountain my favourite place for a light lunch is the Rascard Frantze just below Crest. If you have a car I would suggest an away day at either La Thuile or Courmayeur, but both can be a bit of a trek requiring early start. Enjoy.
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You know it makes sense.
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@skimastaaah Thanks, will check those out. Got an apartment just 2 mins from the gondola so that will be nice and easy. We will have a car so might try a day in Courmayeur as never been there before but might struggle with our teens and too early a start! We are a bit beyond ski school now for the children do you happen to know if there are any teen ride courses or similar?
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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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@trmacc, it's an hour and a half each way on a good day from Champoluc to Courmayeur, that's if you use the Autostrada which costs €20 each way too. La Thuile is even further.
They're nice places, but I can't imagine anyone will thank you for that trek when you've got a nice ski area on your doorstep.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@luigi, ahh, not sure I can be bothered with that. Really looking forward to seeing what Champoluc has to offer.
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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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Mike, do you know if Madesimo is reachable by road from Switzerland in winter?
Edit: found the answer - Julier pass is usually open in winter (closed in extreme conditions)
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Tue 17-05-22 20:54; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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we like MdC as it's a nice town with some pleasant night life (not a party town though), in a beautiful area and there's some lovely runs.
So it depends on your definition of challenging. There is virtually no off-piste and every piste is groomed every night so if you're looking for that kind of challenging it might not be the best choice. BUT it does have some genuinely steep blacks and like most places you'll find some moguls in the afternoons.
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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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@trmacc,
Our favourite resto in town is probably the Sapin - steaks, tagliata, lovely lamb chops. Can't go wrong. We also like downstairs at the Bistrot. Slightly more left field is the Essential d'Andreone. Rather more fish based and not so alpine.
On the hill, we had a very good lunch in the Cré Forné in March. I'm not sure the Frantze was doing lunch last season? We ate a few times at the bottom of the Moos run into Stafal which was new. We quite often stop at the Albergo del Ponte - menu inside much wider than shown outside. Cheap and cheerful. And we went again this year to the restaurant Punta Jolanda which is pretty good.
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