 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
We are a family with 2 adults, both strong intermediate and twins aged 8 also intermediate, we only normally go skiing 1 week a year plus couple days in Scotland. Normally book a package last minute and take the kids out of school. This year thought we would try and book direct so found nice, good value hotel nr Alagna (flying into Milan Malpensa) from where we can ski the Monterosa region over Christmas. Having never been there before, would like some advice:
Is there enough there to keep us happy for 8 ski days (prob have a day off mid week), or should we change the hotel booking and do say 5 days in Cervinia or La Thuile and 5 in Alagna?
The latter will cost us more, but may be able to swing it. When I booked it initially I thought we would be able to day trip to other Aosta resorts for variety but I now realise that from Alagna by road its just too far for the day.
Should add we are not really high mileage piste bashers any more and have only been to one other Italian resort so far - Sestriere.
Thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skiash, soumds like you'll have enough to do. Monterosa is a little one dimensional in my opinion, compared to somewhere like the PDS but we have a family home in Cahmpoluc and seem to amuse ourselves for about 10 days a year....
Some nice lunch spots above Alagna, and the main bowl can be rather excellent as an introduction to off piste.
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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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As it happen I did exactly that this year in January except Monterosa/Cervina was part of the 2-week trip.
We stayed in
Gstaad/Lenk for 4 nights
Gressoney/Champoluc/Alagna for 3 nights
Pila/Cervinia/Zermatt for 4 night
Saas Fee for 3 nights.
From my experience Alagna is a wrong choice if you want to ski outside Monterosa. I say this because Monterosa has 3 valleys of Champoluc, Gressoney and Alagna. However only Cervinia, Champoluc and Gressoney are parallel valleys at high level linked by a common low level motorway A5 on the Aosta Valley floor. Therefore if you stay in Greesoney you can come out 22 miles out of the valley to Donnas at the main artery road A5, travel 15 miles west to Chatilon at which you can go into another valley of Cervinia which is 18 miles away. Thus the distance between Greesoney and Cervinia is 57 miles in total and this will take at least 1.5 hours but more likely 2 hours.
By staying in Alagna which has no parallel road with Cervinia the distance is a massive 118 miles and can take half a day.
Alagna has a lot of character as it is the most difficult to get to by road transport so the buildings are really in the last centuries. Greesoney is long and narrow so can be quiet for apres (don't expect much if you ski Italy). Champoluc is perhaps the most modern and has more facilities.
The main problem with Alagna is there is only one run down from Gressoney side and it is black but skiers not comfortable with it can use the modern cable car for the decent. It isn't very challenging but it is a black run though.
Monterosa has a lot to offer as it is fully linked between Champoluc, Gressoey and Alagna with deserted runs and modern facilities. I took a video in one of the runs. Between the start to finish there was no one before or behind me in the entire run.
Cervinia is the one I would recommend anybody who has not been there. This because it is linked to Zermatt and one can get cable cars all the way to the Swiss border without clipping on the skis. Cervinia/Zermatt is unbeatable for any skiing experience. One can ski anywhere in the world but this place will always remain one of the favourites in anybody's memory.
If Cervinia/Zermatt is in premium division (combined 346km piste) then Monterosa (with 180km piste) is the first division. La Thuile, combined with the French side La Rosiere offering 140km piste) can only be described as the 2nd division. They are all nice resorts to try but if you have to miss some then take your pick.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Sun 2-09-12 18:02; edited 1 time in total
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Hmmm,
I can't recall and can't frankly be bothered checking but the run from Punta whichever it is into Alagna is at worst typical blue.
Maybe red. Ish.
Certainly not a black, but it is quite long...
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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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The piste map show all three colours.
The blue one is V4, twin a places, descends from Passo Salati at the highest point of 2971m and terminates to a top 1/3 station (a brand new installation and so is the cable car) call Cimalagna. Thereafter the only route down to the mid level is by the new cable car.
The black run is V3 and the only route from Passo Salati to a mid level station Planalunga at 2046m. There is a red run V2 runs off the side of Planalinga accessible by the lift 32 to Bocchetta Delle pisse possibly for some nice off piste area. From the mid station Planalunga to the valley bottom at Alagna Valsesia 1212m there is only one red run v1.
Thus anyone wanting to come down from top of Passp Salati, which straddling the ridge between Gressoney and Alagna, back to Alagna must ski the black run V3. The alternative is to use the cable car.
The above are the 4 runs in the entire side of Alagna which making staying in there a bit of a bore for going up and coming down the same route everyday for 10 days, I would have thought.
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Thanks for the comments, and detail about both the Alagna runs and Cervinia. I had another look around yesterday and because we are going over Christmas the accom is all booking up like crazy and prices seem to be rising, who knew you had to book so far in advance!? Consequently, I cant really find anything I fancy (in budget) at the other resorts so will have to stick with what I've booked. Will definitely look into going to Cervinia another time. I do take the point about going down to Alagna via one route all the time or cable car but we have done this elsewhere, and don't really mind it, so should be ok.
One other question though Saikee if I may - do you know where the kids ski school meeting point would be? Mid mountain at Alagna? Or would it be feasible to book them into the Gressony one? I ask because normally its for 3 hours, which means we cant go too far afield as we need to be able to get back on time to collect them, which can be quite limiting.
Getting quite excited now, hope the snow is good.
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Don't know about ski school at all. However there is a beginner area called Wold at the Alagna Valley that has baby snow park (No. 35) , two drag lifts (No. 33 & 34) and a blue run V7 which I think could be where the school would meet. On the piste map it is a short distance from the village and should be accessible by the ski buses.
The top of Alagna side between Passo Salati at the top and the lower top 1/3 station Cimalagna has a blue run V4 and V5 as it twin at some places. The entire Gressoney valley, bottom at 1818m level, that linked with Champoluc and Alagna has only "red" runs! You have to leave Gressoney to go out of the valley to Bieltschoke at 1348m level to get to a beginner area. You could ride gondolas and cable cars from Alagna all the way to the bottom level of Greesoney and the first half of the side to Champoluc but going to there does require chairlifts and skiing a few red runs.
I found Alagna has one face shielding from the sun (the black run area) whereas Gressoney and Champoluc are quite sunny. It is a great place to be!
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saikee, Hmmm, ok you might be technically correct, but there's only one pitch that gets anywhere close to black. Rest is very straightforward.
It is quite long though.
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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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under a new name,
I have never said the black one is hard. The information I gave is based on piste map which I always keep a few spares and from my personal experience with the terrain. I was mindful the OP may be going with the children and hence the consideration of going over a black run as a family. Skiers who have done various red runs in the Alpine generally do not have a problem with a groomed Italian black and this is one of them. It is long though and does not have a lot a sunshine.
Mind you some 8 years old can possible ski down this black in a straight line at the end of a 10 days trip.
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If you decide on Gressoney as the centre to ski the area from, make sure it is G La Trinite not G St Jean which is not linked to the main skiing.
Alagna "one dimensional"? Is the one dimension the huge amount of off piste? For some reason nobody has said that Alagna is one of the great off piste areas of the world. When I first went there it had no pistes so as an old school off piste skier I tend to feel the one piste down the main valley spoilt it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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