 Poster: A snowHead
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Folks I'm struggling to decide where to stay in Monterosa mid March or to go at all. I got cheap flights (mon-sat) for 4 days skiing out of Milan Linate. Monterosa area seems like the nearest decent ski area..
Also I like the sound of the area re italian food, laid back etc.
Problem is 3 fo the 5 of us are timid intermediates and I'm worried about access to slopes and easy enough blues
I hear Champoluc is where beginner / nursery slopes are but we dont need that but easy blues to progress too.
2 of the group are also confident intermediates so they should be fine regardless.
Researching online may we would be best taking a longer transfer to bormio or Madonna di Campiglio???
I have an offer of good deal on an apartment in Gressoney St Jean but this areas seems isolated.
If anyone has a suggestion of where we would best located I would appreciate it as its confusing looking at the various areas, links, lifts etc especially concerning ability of timid interemediates to access slopes and move around...
Thanks
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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 have an offer of good deal on an apartment in Gressoney St Jean but this areas seems isolated. |
I would not rule it out, I've stayed in St Jean a few times and skied the main monta rossa area, and as I recall it's a free bus. The small area local to St john might be a good place to warm up before the main area when you are comfortable on red's.
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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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Champoluc has no easily accessible blues - but you can go further up the valley a short distance to Frachey where theres a new fast funicular that takes you up to 3 linked blues.
In Champoluc the red run accessible from the second gondola that you take from Crest (the area the Gondola from Champoluc goes up to) is fairly wide and easy and has only one bit that kinda makes it red (a short deceptively steep bit where my 6yo nearly crashed into a snowblower) they've put a big yellow [!] sign there now! You should also be able to manage the red run from Crest back down to the bottom of the Gondola although it gets a bit icy on the way down. (My 6yo also managed this with Mr Kiwi, this was her second week on ski's.)
The good thing about Champoluc are that the pistes are practically deserted during the week but unfortunately on weekends do fill up with out-of-practice over confident locals from Turin and Milan... Timid intermediates should be careful about taking the Goat track which is a rather horrible red to access the only blue thats comes back down to Crest.
Actually Milan Linate is not that handy for Monterosa? We flew in/out of Malpensa and its 2 hrs from there, 90mins from Turin. Linate is on the other side of Milan, maybe someone else could suggest a better area to get to from there...?
We loved the Village of Champoluc and stayed at Relais des Glaciers. But I was learning to snowboard for the first time and was frustrated at not having any easy Blues to progress off the Nursery slopes onto.
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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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thanks David and Kiwi for replies.
Re resort choice it seems Linate isn't great for any resort but was our only choice..
Frachey seems like area to start with for easy blues
i was hoping for some long easy enough blues to build up the confidence and also 5 of us to ski a distance together
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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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Probably a day on the blues at Frachey would be enough to build confidence to tackle the reds i mentioned from the Crest in Champoluc. The good thing is the more confident intermediates can check those out for the others first! If my 6yo can do them am sure your timid intermediates will be able to! 
Have a great trip, its a lovely area.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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landers, TBO, the "reds" immediately above Crest (Ostaffa 1 & 2) aren't noticeably harder than the "blues" above Frachey.
And none of them are tough in any way at all. The Ostaffas have modest gradients, are wide and well groomed.
We have many friends, some timid, who've gone straight from the bunny moving carpets at Crest straight onto the telecabine.
I would not worry about it at all.
The "Goat" track mentioned has been much improved last year and the Belvedere run back to Crest much improved for this year.
Linate's fine, a little further, not the end of the world.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Fri 15-01-10 17:31; edited 1 time in total
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Kiwi, I'm one of the timid intermediate 
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