 Poster: A snowHead
|
Hi,
I am good on blue slopes, but don't relly enjoy reds. The piste map of Sestriere looks like an awful lot of red runs, but I a told it is a good resort for beginers? What's the reality?
TIA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Italy doesn't have designated 'greens' so all of their slopes are blue/red/black. From my experience, their reds are more like French blues. With a little local help, you'll be fine!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Our first ever skiing trip was to Sestriere. Absolutely fantastic for beginners. On arrival we looked in amazement at the “steep” slope opposite our hotel and by the end of the week our group of beginners were all skiing down it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
There is no international or even national standard, apparently the colours are only relative to the other runs in the same resort. If people say it’s good, listen to them. Don’t judge a run by its colour, only by your own experience of it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Yes, a lot of reds and sharp blues in Sestriere and Sauze.
Pick your trails wisely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Sestriere may be ok for complete beginners, it’s got some nursery slopes and another one or two gentle blue runs. But I don’t think the OP falls into that category of beginner, from the sounds of it, and if looking for a resort with a good choice of blues then Sestriere isn’t it. It’s quite red heavy in general, as is much of the Milky Way towards the Sauze end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It sounds as though it might be a bit "challenging". But maybe it would be worth booking up some lessons? A local instructor will know the runs really well, and you can ask them to take you to some easier slopes first and help you cope with more challenging ones.
Everything is easier with an instructor!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| frank_bough wrote: |
Hi,
I am good on blue slopes, but don't relly enjoy reds. The piste map of Sestriere looks like an awful lot of red runs, but I a told it is a good resort for beginers? What's the reality?
TIA. |
I went to Sestriere when I had about 4 weeks of skiing under my belt. Whilst I enjoyed myself, I did feel somewhat limited in where I could ski. I took some lessons whilst there and happy to send you details of the instructor I had should you do end up going. He was great fun and good for that ‘blue progressing to reds’ level that you seem to be at. I definitely made progress in my week there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I went to Sestriere with rather more experience than @frank_bough, so my memory isn't perhaps quite how he would perceive things. However there didn't seem to be anything particularly daunting about the reds there; and in fact the red runs over the ridge on the Sansicario side would be excellent for developing confidence in someone for whom blue runs had previously been their happy place. The ideal of course would be to do them the first time following an instructor, and then consolidate your improved level on your own.
On the other hand the connection across and into Sauze d'Oulx did seem to include some runs that might not be enjoyable to someone less confident.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks all. Seems like it might be a challenging trip!
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
It rather depends on what
| Quote: |
| but don't relly (sic) enjoy reds |
means.
If its "I've only skied in France and got down the odd red but was happier on blues (and greens)", then you'll probably be OK especially if you are planning some lessons to help you improve.
If you've skied in Italy and or Austria and were crapping yourself on the reds there, then it will be more of the same in Sestriere.
There are mainly pretty wide, but you cant get around the resort without doing a few reds each day. Sansicario, accessed up (and down if you wish) via Mt Fraiteve is all reds.
The access into Sauze is either a black run or a narrow and usually rutted cat track, nominally blue but not for the faint hearted.
In Sestriere itself, you need a red off the Cit-roc & Garnel chairs and on Banchetta there is a blue round that winds down I guess, but most of that side is red.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I am perfectly happy to ski Italian and Austrian reds (with the odd black if the conditions are OK and I have seen it from the lift so I know what I'm letting myself in for). And I have skied in Via Lattea 5 times - always based in Sauze.
We head over to Sestriere for a day every time, but for some reason I haven't enjoyed it as much as Sauze and Sansicario. The wind has often been spicy at the top (I forget the name of the lift, but approximately in the area where there's a big yellow restaurant high up), which I don't particularly like, and I find the bottom of the runs have been quite choppy and busy, and whilst they've been perfectly doable, I just haven't enjoyed them.
Sansicario, on the other hand, I have enjoyed very much, and that's all red (with maybe a black?). It just seems much quieter. The (blue) run from the top of the Fraiteve gondola back to Sestriere is very enjoyable... but in 5 visits I've only seen that open once!
I think Sauze is 'kinder' than Sestriere - there are certainly some lovely reds there, and the ones with steeper bits are very wide and manageable. The big issue, as has been highlighted, that getting there from Sestriere involves a black (which I, as a non-black fan) will happily ski, or a hideous blue which you couldn't pay me to go down!
To cut a long story short, if you're looking for long cruisy blues, I wouldn't go to Via Lattea. I seem to remember Kitzbuhel having plenty of that kind of run (it's been a while since I've been though), and Saalbach certainly does.,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We visited Sestriere for the first time at Christmas and loved it - trip report here >>https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=171606&highlight=
There are a lot of reds but there's a bit of license used on some; the red that goes down beside the twin drag lifts isn't a red (for that section), more like a wide-wide blue and my daughter was happy just lapping that. Further up the mountain then there are some proper red sections that are steeper but they're sandwiched between a lot of flatter sections that are more like blues. I'd say the red higher up are red more because they're not massively wide.
head over the mountain above Sauze and Sansicario and the reds do get steeper for longer, although in many cases (especially above Sansicario) they're actually quite wide.
I think Sestriere is a decent shout for skiers and boarders who want to maybe explore some more challenging stuff but not be overwhelmed; the Borgatta/Banchetta area is great and my kids particular like it - my daughter in particular is a learner blue skier and it suited her down to the ground. Conditions were so-so when we went but I can imagine with good snow it's absolutely neat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
