 Poster: A snowHead
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Just back from a week in Sauze, Sunday 5th March to Sunday 12th March. 6 adults. We have all been to Sauze a few times before so we had a good idea of what to expect.
Transport
Flawless out. We had an 06.20 flight with BA from Gatwick to Turin, we stayed overnight at Bloc hotel in the south terminal so it was all very easy despite an unreasonably early start. There were only about 50 people on the flight, we took off and landed 15 minutes early. We had booked a transfer minibus through James at sauzeonline.com, our taxi driver was there waiting at Turin airport for us and we were dropped at our apartment around 11am (where we were allowed in straight away). After a bit of faffing we were on the slopes before midday. Coming back home, the minibus arrived bang on time and got us to to Turin airport well in time. We had a few BA issues with not being allowed to fly over France due to knock on effects of their national strike, but otherwise it was ok.
Accommodation
Anemone apartments, 36 Via Clotes. It was a 3 bedroom apartment, we all really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Location was great, just a short way up Via Clotes from the Clotes lift, and even with sketchy snow conditions lower down it was practically ski in ski out all week. The large lounge / diner was a great social area, it was short walk into resort of an evening but the walk back was flipping steep, a bit of a struggle! Would definitely recommend it though, a great place to stay, plenty of room and we were all happy. The downside was there were 3 toilets but only one with bath/shower, but we worked it out with a bit of planning!
On-slope
Day 1 (afternoon only due to flying out that morning). Generally just finding our feet so we stayed to Sauze slopes only. Generally all in good nick, could do with more snow but all very skiable. Did a few laps of Sportinia, the highlight was when we went down to Jouvenceaux on Gran Piste Alta which was a treat, a really lovely run. Red 2000 was also excellent through the trees. Had a beer in La Sosta (top of Clotes lift) then skied home feeling very encouraged for the week ahead.
Day 2. We quickly made our way over to Sansicario for a few runs down the Olympic black and the cross-cross of lovely reds over that way. Sansicario is my favourite pisted part of Via Lattea and it didn’t disappoint one bit, there are some lovely red runs there which are wide and generally very quiet so a great opportunity to get the wide carves going. Need some snow!
Day 3. A day in Sestriere. In general, conditions were a bit better than Sauze though perhaps not much in it. I’m not particularly a fan of Sestriere over Sauze but it’s still very nice to give it a go and do something different and try some different pistes. Definitely need some new snow.
Day 4. Got an early morning minibus over to Montgenevre for first lifts. We’ve skied over and back from Sauze before but it’s a hike and we think this is a much better way to make the most of the ski area over there. It was 80 euros for a minibus so between a few people it’s no biggie. Very impressed with Montgenevre, the snow quality was SO much better than anywhere else on the other side of Cesana (Sauze, Sansicario and Sestriere). We started out with a couple of laps of (pisted) black Les Rhodos which was absolutely glorious first thing in the morning, then we did laps of the fabulous reds at the top right of the piste map including the boarder cross which was fun. Heading back, we found Claviere a bit disappointing, too many flat spots which our two boarders in particular got frustrated with. The ski down to to Cesana was absolutely disgustingly bad. We knew we had to download on one chair but we should have downloaded the second chair too, the red run down was closed and the blue was intolerably bad, so flat and slushy, just an incredible effort to get down. A shame to put a bad spot on such a fantastic morning. Making our way back, the contrast of snow conditions in Sansicario then Sauze was very stark. Very much need some snow in Sauze!
Day 5. We got some snow! Only about 10cm but it made such a big difference. Had a very nice morning mucking about in the gentle off piste to the sides of blue Boulevard, then we found the sweet spot of the whole holiday, doing laps of off-piste to the bountiful sides of the top of red 12. Absolutely glorious stuff, completely deserted and just wonderful. Had lunch, did a few more laps of red 12, watched a great band in Sportinia then headed home with the biggest smiles ever.
Day 6. Pretty bad. High winds shut the higher runs, the lower runs really are struggling. We didn’t get out early and by lunchtime we had had enough, it was a slushfest and not all that enjoyable. It needs to get cold, temps hitting way too far above freezing at resort level, the main run into Sauze is extremely brown and slushy with lots if bare patches exposing the grassy meadows underneath.
Day 7. Lots of precipitation overnight. Unfortunately it was extremely wet due to high temps. Low down and in resort it absolutely tipped it down with rain. Higher up, the wind got stronger and the upper lifts/slopes were shut again. The highest pistes we could actually get to had about 15cms of fresh but it was ever so wet and sticky, even with my fat boy skis on it was really heavy going. On piste, it was slushy from our very first run which was almost first lifts. Had some early lunch and called it a day at 1230. The run down into Sauze was disgusting, brown areas everywhere and I’m not sure how they’ll keep it open for much longer unless temperatures plummet. Sad to see.
In general, a really enjoyable week. The last two days were a bit of a dampener, but overall we loved it. It tipped it down overnight and there were clear skies when we left very early this morning, so with lower winds today I’m sure the upper slopes would have been incredible. The lower slopes will be a big problem though.
Mountain pit stops
We like Orso Bianco in Sportinia and we had a couple of great lunches in there, it gets very busy though. The pasta dishes our group has were all really good there, the ravioli I had was excellent and the lasagna too. We had wanted to go to Clot Bourget but, unless you fancy a bit of a walk, it’s only accessible via a drag lift which our boarders didn’t fancy and even as a skier I found wasn’t great (lots of stoppages, quite steep, very lumpy, the run down off it wasn’t up to much). We didn’t make it to Ciao Pais either unfortunately, it’s proven to be a complete winner in the past so disappointed to miss that, but looked pretty quiet when skiing past it. La Sosta is a great spot to sit in the sun and have a beer before heading home, Capanna Kind in Sportinia had a live band called The Soup Trio during the late afternoon and they were brilliant (we’d seen them before on a previous trip, very much recommended). The terrace of Riffugio Martin is also a lovely spot on a clear day for a late morning coffee spot.
Resort bars and eateries
Il Lampione wine bar in the old town is our favourite, we had dinner there one night which was very nice indeed, the antipasti platter was very impressive and the main courses were really good. L’Assietta is good for food, it gets a bit rowdy outside but it’s fun enough inside, good pizzas and the burgers looked top notch. Caffe Della Seggiovia is a bar but does nice antipasti platters and, while busy, is a nice ‘quieter’ spot to some of the mayhem that Sauze can offer. Miravalino provided a nice evening for dinner while watching the rugby, let’s not talk about the result for England though. We didn’t have it ourselves but the Tomahawk steak looked delicious, the steaks our lot had were really good and I enjoyed my carbonara. We found a cocktail bar we’d not been to before, I can’t find the name of it online but it’s close to Il Lampione, just up towards town and in a little square, it was very good indeed, we had a nice chilled out hour or two in there on one late afternoon after coming off the slopes early. And on the one occasion we went there, the pizza window called “Pizza House” near the main square was as good as ever after a few early evening beers in town and some much-needed sustenance for the uphill walk home!
Overall
A very enjoyable week, the slopes were incredibly quiet and aside from the usual Sportinia choke point plus the crap 2-man chair to Fratieve, we barely queued for anything. Sauze is definitely due a lift upgrade though, too many surface lifts and slow chairs. Really good value for money though, woukd encourage anyone who hasn’t been to give it a try.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Some good info there — thanks
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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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Was there 4-11 March and agree on conditions. Good first half of the week but disappointed the Sportinia lift was off due to wind in Friday as the slopes below were in terrible shape meaning the resort was effectively shut. Went over to Montgenevre which was a lot better due to the extra height and they had more lifts on, well worth including it on the pass. Sestriere conditions were also better during the week. Sauze is still good value though and great for food and drink.
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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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Il Lampione - is that still going? Last went there in 1978! 
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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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Thanks a lot Dav for all that information!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Spot on review. Always enjoyed my trips to Sauze. It's great value with access to a very decently large and varied ski area. In Sauze there is nice skiing over the Moncrons side - but I am just not bothered dealiong with the drag lifts - so never ski there....The 2 man chair to Fratieve is a nightmare. But san Sicario is a gem.
The old town is quite pretty. Great pasta at Sugos. Stand on the table type-ish apres ski at Ghost.
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