 Poster: A snowHead
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Links to all trip reports
Feb 2014: Soll (SkiWelt), Austria
Jan 2015: Alpe d'Huez & Les 2 Alpes, France
Jan 2016: Les Carroz (Grand Massif), France
Mar 2017: Belle Plagne (Paradiski), France (no TR yet)
Jan 2018: Notre Dame de Bellecombe (Espace Diamant), France
Mar 2018: Ponte di Legno +Ponte di Legno-Tonale, Pejo, Monte Altissimo (Borno), Aprica , central Italian Alps
Jan 2019: St Gervais (Evasion Mont Blanc) +Cordon, Megeve-St Gervais-Combloux-La Giettaz, Les Contamines , France
Mar 2019: Varena, southern Dolomites +Alpe Cermis, Passo Rolle, Latemar, St Martino di Castrozza, Alpe Lusia, Pozza di Fassa / Buffaure, San Pellegrino / Falcade, Carezza, Jochgrimm, Catinaccio / Vigo di Fassa , Italy
Jan 2020: Abondance (Portes du Soleil) +Portes du Soleil main circuit, Abondance, Cret Beni (La Chapelle d'Abondance), Bernex, Praz de Lys, Thollon , France
Mar 2020: Embrun, Provence Alps +Les Orres, Foret Blanche (Risoul-Vars) , France
Jan 2022: Vizille, Grenoble Alps +Le Collet d'Allevard, Lans en Vercors, Alpe d'Huez, Alpe du Grand Serre, Chamrousse, Villard de Lans-Correncon, Meaudre, Autrans, Les 7 Laux, Gresse en Vercors , France
Mar 2022: Aosta Valley +Espace San Bernardo (La Thuile-La Rosiere), Pila, Courmayeur, Monterosa Ski, Skyway Monte Bianco , Italy
Jan 2023: St Jean d'Aulps (Portes du Soleil) +Portes du Soleil main circuit, Morzine-Les Gets, Roc d'Enfer, Praz de Lys , France
Mar 2023: Valtellina +Piani di Bobbio, Valchiavenna (Madesimo), Livigno, Bormio, Cima Piazzi, Santa Caterina, Ponte di Legno-Tonale, Valmalenco, Aprica , Italy
Jan 2024: Aravis & Tarentaise +Le Grand Bornand, La Clusaz, Valmorel, Arêches-Beaufort, Pralognan la Vanoise, Sainte Foy Tarentaise, Courchevel , France
Feb 2024: Trentino +Folgaria, Paganella, Monte Bondone, Rittner Horn, Campiglio Ski, Lavarone , Italy
This trip report
This year's March trip is to the central Italian Alps, loosely based around the Valtellina region of Lombardy.
The Valtellina centres on the long valley extending east from the head of Lake Como, with Sondrio at its centre. It includes the fairly well known ski resorts of Bormio and Livigno, plus several others. It's a big area, so choosing a base required some careful planning as well as a car. We eventually settled on an initial two nights to the south near Lecco, and then a full 8 nights halfway between Sondrio and Bormio in the heart of the region.
The skiing in this region promises to be as varied as can be, running the gamut from major holiday destinations to small day-tripper domains, from 3,000m+ glacier slopes to 1,100m valley bottoms, from intimate wooded pistes to exposed high alpine... and from the snow-sure to the sometimes snow-less! Ski areas on our radar include (from the bottom of the valley upwards, as shown on map below):
1. Piani di Bobbio - skip to report
2. Madesimo - skip to report
3. Valmalenco - skip to report
4. Aprica (revisit) - skip to report
5. Ponte di Legno-Tonale (revisit) - skip to report
6. Bormio - skip to report day 1 / day 2
7. Cima Piazzi - skip to report day 1 / day 2
8. Santa Caterina - skip to report
9. Livigno - skip to report day 1 / day 2
>> skip to cost breakdown
We've booked some ski passes in advance due to "dynamic pricing", leaving a few gaps to sort later. The order in which we visit the resorts is fairly important due to some multi-area lift pass arrangements, and also to keep driving times manageable.
As for current conditions - central Italy has had less snow this season than almost every other part of the Alps. There hasn't been any meaningful precipitation for over a month, and I think Bormio has only had about 40cm in total since the beginning of winter! Fortunately, artificial snow produced earlier in the season seems to be keeping many / most slopes open, so there should still be some decent skiing even if it isn't a winter wonderland. Weather models indicate that the current mild / drizzly / cloudy conditions will transition to light snowfall by the end of this weekend, then becoming warmer and drier in time for our arrival.
Any tips (or questions), please post below! As always, I'll add photos and a cost breakdown after the trip.
Caurga (red) from Pizzo Groppera, Madesimo
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 4-03-24 23:06; edited 13 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I went on my first school ski trip to Santa Caterina in 1983, hope you make it there so I can read your review.
Interestingly, your linked piste map is different to the one on Bergfex.
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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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Mm interested in this I was considering Livigno as a lateish March trip this year, a resort I've never been too but the snow depths are not looking good.
My second ever ski holiday was to Bormio which I have fond memories of.
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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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Looking forward to this report!
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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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Looking forward to the read
Big fan of Madesimo
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, really looking forward to this.
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@Jagerbull, Santa Caterina is definitely one of the places we plan to visit. Do you remember much about the ski area?
@T Bar, you're right that snow depths are thin in Livigno (as they are almost everywhere in Italy). However they claim to have 100% snowmaking coverage, which should make it one of the safer Italian bets right now. They're planning to be open until May, so would imagine they'll use the cannons as much as possible through March.
@pam w, @element, cheers.
@Mike Pow, I'm looking forward to Madesimo too, though given the low snow depths, might not be as epic as usual!
Piani di Bobbio looked to be top of the Valtellina leaderboard today, with perhaps a whole centimetre of fresh snow 
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@denfinella, interested in this as going to be staying in Bormio area from 15th to 22nd March. Lack of new snow a worry but also locked in with accommodation and lift pass now. Got good value highly rated accommodation right at base of Cima Piazzi ski area so booked early. Coming with a three year old on his third ski trip so being at bottom of lift near beginner friendly area sold it for me. Although I intend to be in Bormio and Santa Caterina also. From what I read, in good conditions Santa Caterina is superb. Was hoping for snow this weekend but doesn't look like anything now.
Have been to Plan di Bobbio, Madesimo, Valmalenco and Livigno before. Of those I liked Madesimo most.
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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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@denfinella, sorry, I don't really remember much about the whole holiday. Vaguely remember the ski lessons and the end of week slalom race.
I must have loved it cause I went on another 2 school ski trips after this first one.
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Last time I was out with a guide in Livigno he reckoned Santa Caterina was the spot for off piste.
I was in Livigno over the freak new year of 2015/2016 when there was no natural snow below about 2600m. It was 100% open and the pistes were actually pleasant, barring one or two link roads. They are incredible at working with artificial snow.
I've been up and down that valley so many times, and have stopped in loads of places, but I've never actually skied anywhere else in the area but Livigno. Looking forward to hearing about the other spots. Im heading out on the 11th so keen to hear about how it is on the ground.
Let me know if you have any questions or want recommendations for Livigno.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Doing the snow dance for you! Look forward to reading about all the smaller places, the piste maps look tempting, just hope the maximum is open! 
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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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@denfinella, looking forward to another chance to live vicariously through your reports!!!
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You know it makes sense.
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i was in Livigno last April , and was out the snow conditions the whole winter not so good.
However was almost everything open..
Loved this place.
Dont forget to try pichocherri.
As element said They are incredible at working with artificial snow.
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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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| Quote: |
We're hoping to get two days there, so probably one day on either side of the valley - do you think that makes sense?
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Yea, that works, although they are as good as lift linked now with the 'ski-link' bus, so you can follow (or dodge) the sun if you feel like it. Ski-link is a new free bus that's separate from the main town buses and runs constantly in a direct 5 minute trip between both sides. There are two routes, North and South. The North route links Mottolino gondola with the Yellow Tagliede gondola in the main town centre. The South route links the Teola chairlift on Mottolino side with the Carosello3000 gondola. This is usually the one to take as these lifts will put you at either peak quickest. Carosello3000 in the morning and straight to the Federia area will usually have the best snow, and it has a covered high speed chair. The livigno avalanche bulletin is always worth reading too, even for fresh snow depths. 5cm at altitude the past two days apparently, pow fest!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Daughter went to Livigno just before xmas and it was fully open even though a lot of places hadn't had much snow, altitude and being Eastern end of things defo helped (she headed there for that reason and a consistent early opening. as above she said you had to work out the ski bus routes as it does a loop, so she had a short ride in the morning but a longer one at en df day back to accomodation.
sounds like an epic trip - enjoy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@denfinella, I've never been but that seems to be true! Powderhounds also reported those upper lifts in the Cima Piazzi area to be out of action and as you say they are off most recent piste maps. Shame as would open up alot more terrain. So for you I'd probably not bother visiting that ski area, but for my three year old son should work fine.
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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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The traditional pasta dish in the Valtellina is Pizzocheri, made from buckwheat pasta cooked/served with cheese, butter, some garlic, potatoes and cabbage. As @turms2 said, don't forget to try it. In Italian buckwheat is "Grano Saraceno" suggesting that it first arrived at the time of the Crusades.
I've eaten pizzocheri many times in the Valtellina, but the best was at Trattoria Altavilla in Bianzone (http://www.altavilla.info) - antipasto followed by pizzocheri was more than enough. They have rooms as well.
Unfortunately, it's a non-starter without your own transport.
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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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@B1g_browner, cheers!
@turms2, @Nemisis, yep, looking forward to Pizzocheri, and all the other Valtellinese specialities. Glad to hear you had a good experience at Livigno.
@element, @t44tomo, useful info, thanks.
@ozski, I think we will aim to spend at least some time at Cima Piazzi, but maybe not a full day. It's the most sheltered of the Bormio areas, so will probably end up as one of the snowy day options.
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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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We did a day at Cime Piazzi in March 2019 and thought it was great. We didn't use the lifts at the very top, just went top to bottom on the two different sides of the mountain. Yes, the chairs are a bit slow - but you get empty slopes and it's really nice skiing in the trees. The gondola is good to use for a bit, so that you don't feel like you're stuck on slower lifts all the day.
There's a self-service at the top, nice location and friendly staff but the food wasn't great. The better option is the restaurant at the top of the gondola, a really nice spot looking up to wooded ski runs above.
It would be a great place for a three year old to learn but, as Ozski says, not really enough terrain for an extended stay. However, there is enough for a good day, and it allows you to enjoy the type of tree runs that the main Bormio mountain lacks.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thu 2 Mar - arrival day
Good evening from the Italian foothills. Punctual 11.45am easyJet flight from Edinburgh to Malpensa, landing around 3pm. Then a slight wait for ground staff and again for baggage, but straight through passport control.
We've rented from almost all the main car hire companies over the years (from premium brands all the way down to Interrent), but this is our first time using Goldcar, which I know has notoriously bad reviews. I'll reserve judgement until after the trip, but staff were polite and didn't really even try to upsell anything. At £73 for 11 days it seems a bit too good to be true. Car is a Ford Transit Courier (!), so loads of space for skis. Free snow chains were initially absent but provided when requested, still in their unopened packaging. Another good thing about Malpensa (Terminal 1 at least) is that hire cars are located next to the arrivals hall, so very little walking required.
Away from the airport at 4.45pm and across the northern Milanese hinterlands in busy rush hour traffic. Around two hours' journey time via a mix of hectic dual carriageways, autostrada, slow urban roads and an impressive series of tunnels from near Lecco at 200m to Ballabio, 500m above.
A quick detour to Barzio (Piani di Bobbio's local town) to collect skis / boots from Marocco Sport before they closed at 7.30pm. These were pre-booked via email (and copious use of Google translate), which secured a decent discount on the walk-up price: €69pp for 10 days. Friendly staff member, who was happy for me to try several pairs of boots as the first few pairs didn't suit.
Our Airbnb is in the nearby village of Primaluna. It's very much low season here, and we are reaping the benefits with accommodation prices. £27 per night for a very comfortable, modern apartment with full kitchen, appliances, double bedroom, WiFi etc. We're a minute's walk from the village centre, with inexpensive takeaway pizzeria (pizzas start at €3.50, recommended). Carrefour supermarket around the corner may come in handy tomorrow.
Primaluna
Pizza menu!
Weather since landing has varied from sunshine to cloudy periods and very light rain (probably snow up at most piste altitudes), but sun is forecast for tomorrow.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 15-03-23 12:09; edited 2 times in total
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I did spend a day in Piani di Bobbio, a powder day as well, had an early flight to Bergamo and was skiing by 11:30am. On a powder day anywhere is fun. I see Valmalenco reported 10cms today and Santa Caterina FB page shows image of some snow to village level, looks like a dusting. But better than nothing in a drought.
Good to hear you are hopeful of needing trees for shelter from the weather!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 3-03-23 9:57; edited 1 time in total
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| denfinella wrote: |
Thu 2 Mar - arrival day
Good evening from the Italian foothills.
11.45am easyJet flight from Edinburgh to Malpensa was punctual, landing just ahead of the 15.10 published arrival time. Then a slight wait for ground staff and again for baggage, but no queues whatsoever for passport control.
We've rented from almost all the main car hire companies over the years (from the premium brands all the way down to Interrent), but this is our first time using Goldcar, which I know has notoriously bad reviews. I'll reserve judgement until after the trip, but staff were polite and didn't really even try to upsell anything. At £73 for 11 days it seems a bit too good to be true.
We have been given a Ford Transit Courier (!) so there's certainly plenty of space for skis. Free snow chains were initially absent but were provided when requested, still in their unopened packaging. Another good thing about Malpensa (Terminal 1 at least) is that the hire cars are located very nearby the car hire desks in the arrivals hall, so very little walking is required.
Away from the airport at 4.45pm and across the northern Milanese hinterlands in busy rush hour traffic. Around two hours' journey time on a mix of hectic dual carriageways, autostrada, slow urban roads and an impressive series of tunnels from near Lecco at 200m to Ballabio, 500m above.
A quick detour to Barzio (near the foot of the Piani di Bobbio gondola) to collect skis / boots from Marocco Sport before they closed at 7.30pm. These were pre-booked via email (and copious use of Google translate), which secured a decent discount on the walk-up price. €69pp for 10 days. Friendly staff member, who was happy for me to try several pairs of boots as the first few pairs didn't suit.
Our Airbnb is in the nearby village of Primaluna. This is very much low season for the area, and we are reaping the benefits with accommodation prices - only £27 per night for a very comfortable, modern apartment with full kitchen, appliances, double bedroom, WiFi etc. We're a minute's walk from the village centre, with inexpensive takeaway pizzeria (pizzas start at €3.50, recommended). Carrefour supermarket around the corner may come in handy tomorrow.
Weather since landing this afternoon has been a mixture of sunshine, cloudy periods and very light rain (probably snow up at most piste altitudes), but sun is forecast for tomorrow. |
Christ, those are some great prices
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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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@YellowAndBlue, thanks for the Cima Piazzi info.
@ozski, I suspect we might just get some days with very light snow and poor visibility, but we'll see...
@Mike Pow, helps make up for some of the rather steep lift pass prices later in the week...
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Fri 3 Mar - Piani di Bobbio
Piste map here.
15 minutes back up the road to Barzio this morning to ski at Piani di Bobbio - which I thought was relatively obscure but seems to have been visited by a handful of snowHeads
Piani di Bobbio claims 35km of slopes, though that is an exaggeration. This is one of the closest ski areas to Milan, so is busier at weekends. Prices reflect this with a €10 lift pass discount on weekdays, which if bought 24 hours in advance online brings the rate down to €30. To be honest, it didn't feel that quiet - so the discount must be working! No queues really, but it wasn't quite always ride-straight-on.
An enormous car park with miniscule-sized spaces (high risk of being boxed in) surrounds the main lift base at 800m. From here, a gondola rises steeply to the foot of a high bowl at 1650m. There are glimpses of an ancient piste back down, which has long been abandoned and with a southwesterly exposure would hardly be viable in today's climate. The main bowl has only 220m vertical but has 8 or 9 pistes served by 4 fixed-grip, 4-person chairs (all modern with conveyor belts). These are arranged in a fan shape with the steepest runs to skier's left (a short black, facing northeast), then gradually mellowing around to some west-facing blues.
Foot of the bowl from the Orscellera chair
Main bowl runs, Ongania (red) in the centre
Rocky terrain under the Camosci chair
Campelli (red) from the Camosci chair, Orscellera (black) in the background
Blue piste back to the gondola
A church makes an unusual addition to the heart of the ski area:
Beyond all this, a fast quad chair comes up from a second car park (1330m) in the separate Valtorta region - 1.5 hours away by road, so don't get stuck on the wrong side! The pistes over here (red, black) are longer (400m vertical) and more interesting, with great views to high mountains (devoid of snow) - shame there aren't more runs on this side. Nube Bianca (red) was today's best run, with consistently excellent snow and plenty of time to do laps.
Nube Bianca (red), Valtorta sector
Tre Signori (black), Valtorta sector
All runs were open except the Cedrino black to Valtorta (and the red branching off it), thanks to near-100% snowmaking. Surface conditions were surprisingly excellent, with 1cm of fresh snow on top of an immaculate artificial base - vastly better than the scrapey stuff produced in the Portes du Soleil when we were there in late January. Our top-notch ski / boot hire may be helping: it looks brand new and feels supremely comfortable. Thank you, Marocco Sport! Off piste, almost all hillsides are bare up to 2000m+. Northern aspects do still retain continuous cover above ~1600m, and there appeared to be some limited off piste possibilities heading north off the Fortino chair towards Nube Bianca.
Snowless Valsassina from the traverse back to the bowl from the Valtorta sector
Sunshine in the morning with the 0°C isotherm around 1700m, before cloud gradually increased after lunch with a few halfhearted snow flurries. Afternoon slush was limited to a couple of very sunny spots.
Lunch was at Ceresola on the Valtorta side, with an interesting menu using predominantly local products. Pasta dishes all €8 or €9, but we splashed out on venison in juniper sauce (€16, with unfortunately plain polenta) and a €13 skier's dish (lovely polenta taragna, eggs, crispy speck etc.). The highlight was a white chocolate mousse with meringue and honeyed chestnuts (€5). Low point was that the snow surrounding the restaurant has melted, so reaching it involved a short but muddy walk across a field covered in horse manure!
Lunch venue - note lack of snow!
Piani di Bobbio seem to have future-proofed their ski area very well: the lifts are all modern with none requiring replacement any time soon, high capacity chairs to absorb weekend visitors, and excellent snowmaking to combat erratic snowfall. There's only one minus point which they can't control - the runs in the upper bowl are pretty short and all share the same views. Fine for a first day warm up (which is why we stayed here at the start of the trip rather than the end), but not for any longer than a day. Which isn't surprising really when you look at the piste map.
Looking back to the main bowl from the top of the Chiavello chair from Valtorta
Time for quick look around Barzio after skiing. Nice place.
Barzio
Tomorrow we're moving further north, no doubt accompanied by weekend crowds...
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Wed 15-03-23 12:34; edited 7 times in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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I must say I admire your plucky British spirit with the sad bare slopes and walk over a muddy, manure strewn field to lunch. Not sure I would have been so upbeat about it all  I would have probably had a bit of a dummy spit and decided to do some touring of Italian towns and countryside in the hire car instead.
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@Raven, you would have gone skiing because you’ve traveled half way around the world to reach the white gold! I know this from your previous. £27 for accommodation and €30 for the lift ticket, it’s a gentle shift from the usual state of lifts and runs in Scotland, which is so different from what you get in the Alps. The base line is reset and it’s onward and upward. Hoping for FRESH snow for you both.
BTW Did you get over the ridge to Cervinia on your recent trip to Zermatt? If so, how was it? All on the ground intelligence appreciated.
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You know it makes sense.
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@what...snow, the comparison makes sense in theory, but fortunately Piani di Bobbio is a lot more interesting Cairngorm (nowadays at least)!
@Raven, there were plenty of other mountain restaurants with no muddy walk required, but this one had the best reviews. I may have painted an unfair picture in my report - the snow on piste is excellent and the surrounding hillsides are mostly white (since they face north).
@what...snow, thanks. If there's no fresh snow, that's also fine - artificial snowmaking is SO Good in this part of the Alps.
Probably worth making the general point that natural snow scarcity is reasonably common around here so the resorts are great at dealing with it. Last season there was even less snow cover in most of Italy.
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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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@denfinella, sounds like a decent first day - I'd have gone just for that pudding.
It'll be interesting to hear more how things compare to last year. I thought Pila, for instance, did very well with what they had but it was still bogging for most of March!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
| denfinella wrote: |
Thu 2 Mar - arrival day
Good evening from the Italian foothills.
11.45am easyJet flight from Edinburgh to Malpensa was punctual, landing just ahead of the 15.10 published arrival time. Then a slight wait for ground staff and again for baggage, but no queues whatsoever for passport control.
We've rented from almost all the main car hire companies over the years (from the premium brands all the way down to Interrent), but this is our first time using Goldcar, which I know has notoriously bad reviews. I'll reserve judgement until after the trip, but staff were polite and didn't really even try to upsell anything. At £73 for 11 days it seems a bit too good to be true.
We have been given a Ford Transit Courier (!) so there's certainly plenty of space for skis. Free snow chains were initially absent but were provided when requested, still in their unopened packaging. Another good thing about Malpensa (Terminal 1 at least) is that the hire cars are located very nearby the car hire desks in the arrivals hall, so very little walking is required.
Away from the airport at 4.45pm and across the northern Milanese hinterlands in busy rush hour traffic. Around two hours' journey time on a mix of hectic dual carriageways, autostrada, slow urban roads and an impressive series of tunnels from near Lecco at 200m to Ballabio, 500m above.
A quick detour to Barzio (near the foot of the Piani di Bobbio gondola) to collect skis / boots from Marocco Sport before they closed at 7.30pm. These were pre-booked via email (and copious use of Google translate), which secured a decent discount on the walk-up price. €69pp for 10 days. Friendly staff member, who was happy for me to try several pairs of boots as the first few pairs didn't suit.
Our Airbnb is in the nearby village of Primaluna. This is very much low season for the area, and we are reaping the benefits with accommodation prices - only £27 per night for a very comfortable, modern apartment with full kitchen, appliances, double bedroom, WiFi etc. We're a minute's walk from the village centre, with inexpensive takeaway pizzeria (pizzas start at €3.50, recommended). Carrefour supermarket around the corner may come in handy tomorrow.
Weather since landing this afternoon has been a mixture of sunshine, cloudy periods and very light rain (probably snow up at most piste altitudes), but sun is forecast for tomorrow. |
Christ, those are some great prices |
You’d pay that for 1 day ski hire in Verbier 
And how can you rent an apartment for £27 a night
Only been to Bormio in the Summer for the Stelvio but would love to go back in Winter…
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Sure this TR isn’t from 1923?
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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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| BobinCH wrote: |
| Sure this TR isn’t from 1923? |
Italy can be very good value for money
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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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@denfinella, great, detailed report as always. Looking forward to the next page.
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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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Duplicate
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sat 4-03-23 10:17; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| franga wrote: |
| @denfinella, great, detailed report as always. Looking forward to the next page. |
+1
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| Hurtle wrote: |
| franga wrote: |
| @denfinella, great, detailed report as always. Looking forward to the next page. |
+1 |
+2
Keep the reports coming. Good to get the full picture.
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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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@ElzP, it is better than last March - shaded hillsides are snowier and the few runs that don't have snowmaking are still sometimes open. Plus the weather so far is *much* nicer - we had almost a whole week of fog last time!
@BobinCH, @Mike Pow, yes it's been cheap so far but lift passes will go up for the rest of the week (see future posts). However for these types of trips, France is consistently cheaper - but that's a discussion for another day 
@franga, @Hurtle, @JHS, thanks.
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Mon 4 Mar - Madesimo
Piste map here.
A lovely sunny day at Madesimo (Valchiavenna) today. Packed lunch to maximise skiing time.
The ski area is a 75 minute drive from Primaluna (our previous base), so an early start required to reach the car park at 8am. A wiggly mountain road down a gorge to Bellano, then miles of dual carriageways in tunnels along Lake Como. Next, an excruciatingly slow road up Valchiavenna, through a million towns with near-constant 50kph speed limits, tractors and speed cameras. To top it all off, there are over 20 hairpins at the very end, before the main (free) day-tripper parking is reached at 1100m. (Want to continue to Madesimo itself? That'll be another dozen hairpins.)
The ski area is best accessed by an underground funicular up to Motta at 1700m; check the timetable as it mostly only runs every half an hour. We were in good time for the second, 8.15 departure which gets you up in time for 8.30 lift opening.
Motta
Madesimo has (an accurate) 37km of slopes, of which the vast majority spread across a west facing hillside with altitudes between 1550m and 2250m. Motta is at the southern end with mostly open slopes...
Motta chair
Nostra Signora d'Europa by Serenissima 2 (blue)
Serenissima chair
Cascèe (red)
...and mostly wooded runs in the middle...
Cima Sole chair & Vanoni (red)
Interpista (black) from the Cima Sole chair
Scoiattolo (red)
...eventually reaching the proper resort of Madesimo at the northern end.
Run to the foot of the Lago Azzurro chair at the bottom of Madesimo
Larici gondola, middle Madesimo lift base
Nave (red) to the upper end of Madesimo
Pistes under the Montalto chair
6 fast chairs and a gondola seem to deal well with weekend queues (there weren't any), plus there are a couple of slow chairs serving beginner slopes. Runs are mostly of red gradient, with a handful of proper blues, several traverses and a couple of twisty blacks. The top to bottom Interpista (black then red) was particularly enjoyable, but there are lots of lovely reds all over. Above this main sector, a smallish cable car climbs to the Pizzo Groppera at almost 3000m. Worth mentioning that the cable car only seems to operate on perfect weather days - today (Saturday) was only the second time it's been open this week.
Groppera cable car
View back down the cable car to the Cima Sole area
...There are two spectacularly scenic reds off the back of Pizzo Groppera (one shut - insufficient snow despite the altitude and northeast aspect!) overlooking the Lago de Lei and a sea of high peaks. We headed here first, with only 5 others sharing the cable car, so near-deserted pistes - and it stayed like this for the next hour and a half.
Caurga (red) from Pizzo Groppera
The rickety Val de Lei two-seater chair back up is the only barrier to efficient lapping:
There is also the famous Canalone off-piste run back down a valley to the front side. Apparently this used to be a proper piste (a hard black), but is no longer so. With avalanche risk at 1/5 we were sorely tempted, but snow cover looked extremely thin and rocky (and probably icy), so we took the cable car back down. Some people were skiing down though.
Foot of the Canalone
Snowmaking is not quite so comprehensive here as it was in Piani di Bobbio, and 5 or so runs were shut, while some others were a tiny bit stony / brown. Surface conditions were otherwise mostly excellent, with the freezing level around 2000m.
Overall we liked Madesimo a lot, for a day at least. Excellent red runs. Off-pisters could have a ball in good snow conditions. €49 (ouch) for the lift pass (booked online yesterday to avoid potential queueing, but no cost saving). Some of the pistes were quite busy with some dangerously fast skiers - it would no doubt be quieter during the week.
Currently in the passenger seat driving up the main Valtellina road to our next Airbnb, which I'll report on later. 15°C down here in the valley, with traces of snow just visible on the highest peaks...
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Wed 15-03-23 14:20; edited 1 time in total
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