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Montgenevre or Sestriere/Sansicaro/Sauze D'oulx

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hello,

I am still torn as to whether to go to Montgenevre or one of the Italian resorts. We will be going for a full week and are decent skiers. I like the look of Montgenevre but am concerned that there isnt enough terrain to keep us occupied. However Montgenevre seems much better for Chalets which is how we prefer to stay. Has anyone been to both and can make some pros/cons?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
They are connected. Montgenevre is at one end, the others are in the middle. Easier to do the whole lot from the middle on different days. However, as decent skiers you should be fine in Mongenevre and will not be stuck in a small area.

I have skied from Montgenevre car park, and from a week in Sauze d'Oulx in a hotel.

Nightlife is fairly muted in Montgenevre.
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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?
I really liked my stay in Montgenevre, which was a long time ago now. The combined Milky Way area is decent - but if in Montgenevre early season, IIRC there needs to be enough snow for the links into Italy to be open....at least that was the case when I was there.

There isn't a Glacier in the area, so not as snow sure early on, as some....but it has a decent snow record (more so than the rest of the Southern Alps, as it benefits from snow storms coming from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean).

In bad weather - There are plenty of tree lined slopes.

If poor snow - The high, open and mostly north-facing slopes of the Les Gondrans bowl usually offer the best snow conditions in the area.

The lifts need upgraded, so are inclined to be slow and the Piste skiing is a little tame, if expert...but the Off Piste is good and doesn't get skied out in the same way as the likes of Espace Killy.

I can't compare it to other areas as a place to stay - but I suspect Italy could be cheaper to stay in than France.
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Thank you for the replies
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I've stayed in both Sauze d'Oulx and Montegenvre on different holidays. Staying in Sauze d'Oulx would be my choice as it gives you much easier access to the skiing in Sauze and Sansicario which, in my opinion, is the best skiing in the area. I've also skied a couple of days at Bardonecchia and if you have a car it would be well worth planning a day at Jafferau and also a day in the Melezet sector. I don't think this can be done on the Via Lattea lift pass, but I'd say it's worth considering buying day passes to give you the variation.

Staying in Sauze d'Oulx was also a great experience. Lots of really nice Italian restaurants, great food and good prices. The bars are good, and I seem to remember a 'pizza window' in the main square that we frequented regularly for post-skiing snacks. I enjoyed my holiday in Montgenevre but, for me, between the two it would be Sauze d'Oulx every time (with a couple of days' skiing in Bardonecchia thrown in for good measure).
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Thank you fartbag Neh Neh I will aim for Italy
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
turboblackbeard wrote:
Thank you fartbag Neh Neh I will aim for Italy

What influenced your decision - VFM? Nightlife?
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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!
Amount and quality of runs is a biggy

Nightlife is if anything a negative for me in a resort. We often go as a large group to a chalet so are quite happy to chill and drink at the chalet.

VFM and a good selection of food is an added bonus
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turboblackbeard wrote:
Amount and quality of runs is a biggy


I'm not sure the amount and quality of the runs differ - it's just Sauze is one end of the Milk Way and Montgenevre at the other...but Sauze is at the drier end, re snow.

Like you, nightlife is really more of a negative.....so for me - it would come down to cost of accommodation, whether there is table service (and in my case, Vegan options for my Daughter) and how close the lifts are to the accommodation. I don't want to have to get crowded buses either way, if possible.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Quote:

but Sauze is at the drier end, re snow.

do you mean less snow? Do you feel the Italian end of the milky way is better for snow making? We are going start February so should be good.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
turboblackbeard wrote:
Quote:

but Sauze is at the drier end, re snow.

do you mean less snow? Do you feel the Italian end of the milky way is better for snow making? We are going start February so should be good.

I mean it's inclined to get less snow....but they have invested heavily in snow making, which I believe covers around 60% of the terrain.

I personally would make your decision based on the accommodation that you like the look of best and whether it provides decent value for what you are getting. Remember, as a village, Mongenevre is considerably higher, so resort level snow is likely to be better.


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Sun 31-07-22 16:33; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
The best skiing is in Sansicario but there's not a great deal else there (accommodation, restaurants, bars). There's more going on in Sauze but the lift infrastructure is pretty terrible, snow record isn't amazing either but great if you like to ski on ice..
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Sestriere would be my choice of base. Worth mentioning the Italy/France connection is a long slow affair with a walk and long downlift followed by two slow chairs up. I'd rather be in Italy and visit France once, perhaps twice, than go the other way more often.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We had a trip planned to Montgenevre in March, 2020 that, as you can imagine, did not happen Well, we are finally taking the trip (we had a big fat deposit still on hold) in March 2023. Very excited given that we booked it in 2019 and had to wait FOUR years.

Anyway, despite not going in March 2020 and, I had a chance to ski a few places in the US since then... Purgatory, Winter Park (primarily Mary Jane), Crested Butte and A-Basin. A-Basin is one of my favorites in the US (finally took on some of the hike-to terrain this past May) and I truly enjoyed Crested Butte. I ended up pushing myself more than usual in Crested Butte (strongly recommended for advanced/expert skiers) and because of that I'm looking forward to spending quite a bit of my time off piste in Montgenevre. Will most likely hire a guide. A friend of mine who lives near Prali (smaller resort not far from Torino) also strongly suggested Serre Chevalier and he may meet up with me there for some off-piste skiing. Anything to do in Briancon for family who might not want to ski?

Any tips on areas to explore would be great. We'll be staying on the Chaberton side of the valley.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I would have a read thru this thread from last season - https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=158313&highlight=montgenevre&start=80 - it gives a good report on Montgenevre.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
ado wrote:
I would have a read thru this thread from last season - https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=158313&highlight=montgenevre&start=80 - it gives a good report on Montgenevre.


I'll take a look. Didn't read much last season as skiing in Europe was not an option for me Sad
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Plenty to do in Briancon. Lovely old city
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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?
For me, when living in a van and eating out of tins, the highlight of Briancon was the supermarket cafe with lots of side salads. It also had a McDonalds for breakfasts. Other than that it was just another place to access Serre Chevalier lift system. I avoided the nightlife in Briancon, due to its size. Preferred Chantermerle for nightlife.
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