|
|
|
|
|
|
Latest Reviewed Products |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  4 of 5, "Excellent trip to Monterosa" 03/03/2008 @ 15:13:14 |
|
|
| Price Paid |
| £1200 including half board, lunch vouchers and lift pass. |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| Ski2. |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
Been looking through my Where to Ski and Snowboard book looking for somewhere different and came across the Monterosa Ski area. Described as a “hidden gem” which immediately got me interested. I have never really been interested in going boarding in Italy as I have always had the idea that Italy suffers from poor snow record, this is true for certain resorts but not the Monterosa, which has an excellent record.
Champoluc is just 90 mins from Turin or 2 hours from Milan. This is great compared to the slog to some French resorts from Geneva.
We stayed in Champoluc which is at the westerly end of the Monterosa area. Champoluc is a small and quiet resort favoured by the Milan and Turin weekend crowd and many of the properties in Champouc are second homes. There are only a handful of bars and restaurants (mainly found in the hotels). The village is small but is spread out along the valley floor and although our hotel was only 5 mins walk from the nearest lift, some hotels could be a long walk away. The mountain is accessed either by the gondola up a small hill from the village centre or by an old chair lift (replaced next year) from Frachey a 5 mins drive or bus ride away. We preferred going to Frachey as otherwise you can spend up to 45 mins getting to the more interesting areas. You can leave your board and boots in the “secured” ski deposit at the end of each day to save carrying. I say “secured” but it looked unsecured to me. I decided to take my new Zeppelin home to bed with me each and every day even though I was assured theft had never been a problem. I left my boots over night in the deposit.
The pistes above Frachey and over to Gressoney are long and generally wide Italian reds, with some fairly steep areas but nothing too difficult although beginners might struggle. We found these slopes in excellent shape (lots of snow plus topped up each night with the man made stuff) and very enjoyable and never busy in the week. On the Gressoney slopes the pistes are shorter but steeper and often tree lined with some excellent lines to be had between the pistes. These slopes were so quiet even at the weekend. The standard of Italian piste bashing is much better than my experience in France and even the blacks were thankfully mogul free. The offpiste conditions were mixed when we went as it had not snowed for 3 weeks so I was unable to experience the famous offpiste over at Alagne (mainly south facing). However I hope to test this out next year. There are plans to build a gondola up to the closest glacier above Gressoney (its 4 or 5 times the size of the Les Deux Alpes glacier), which I think will make this area world class. The only way up at present is by helicopter but I didn’t have the cash to do this. You can board in a day all the way to Zermatt and Cervinia across the Monterosa glaciers (guide required of course).
There are two very small board parks, one at Gressoney and one above Champoluc by the first Gondola. Neither was in great condition. The Gressoney park had one an ok sized kicker (which I had one quick go at but the landing was bumpy and I nearly stacked it) plus two rails and the Champoluc park looked to have a larger kicker and a small rail (but I decided not to bother given my previous experience!). There were very few boarders to be seen in the whole area and I never saw anyone using either park.
I should also say that Ski-2 were excellent. They picked us up from Turin airport and arranged ski hire for the mrs (they have their own hire equipment. The boards looked ok for hire boards, mainly beginner to intermediate Burton boards and looked to be no more than a year old). I would happily recommend using this company.
All in all a great week. If you want the resort to yourself and no aggressive French skiers then I would give this place a go.
|
|
| Strengths |
Quiet slopes and lift queues were never more than a couple of mins long.
Short transfer
Friendly locals
Great offpiste potential
|
|
| Hot Spots |
| The first bar off the gondola in Champoluc is great for beer after a long hard day. |
|
| Weaknesses |
It was expensive as the mrs insisted on a very nice hotel.
Quiet nightlife
Not great for beginners
|
|
| Similar Resorts Visited |
Risoul
Les Deux Alpes
Tignes
La Plagne
Les Arcs
Obergurgl
Jasper
Banff
Lake Louise
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 of 5 17/06/2005 @ 17:46:46 |
|
|
| Revision #1 (Last edited: 21/06/2005 @ 14:14:17) |
|
| Price Paid |
| £250 accommo (full board), £50 flights, £110 ish week's ski pass |
|
| Booked Trip Through |
| dealed direct |
|
| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
|
| Review Detail |
A different but enjoyable boarding holiday.
Pistes very quiet on weekdays, you regularly have the slopes to yourself. Busier on weekends but never seemed overcrowded.
We went in late January 05, when it hadn't snowed for about 25 days - although the pistes were in good knick given the conditions. Half way through the week the heavens opened and we were blessed with some fantastic final days boarding. If it snows on a weekday, areas of powder remain untracked for days.
There are some slow lifts, mainly out of Champoluc, which are a bit of a pain - however they serve long runs so the time on the lift acts as a good break if fitness is poor. If you have a car, you can drive further up the hill and get on at Frachey, which gets you across to the other valleys in the Monterosa region quicker.
Most of the runs are graded red, with some sections fairly steep (read reviews before that said there weren’t) and with long piste runs there is plenty of potential for popping off piste either side. We didn’t hire a guide as by the end of the week the pistes were so quiet and there was so much snow so it felt like we were off-piste anyway. I would definitely return to sample some proper off piste action.
"High" winds closed the lifts in Champoluc for one complete day - which was v annoying, especially because the wind at base level appeared minimal. We drove to Antagnod that day (15 mins away) but with only 3 or 4 runs, it was not memorable.
Locals speak Italian and French and it’s easier if someone in the group can do this, as English not widely spoken.
The choice of nightlife venues not extensive; there are a few bars and a couple of bar/club establishments but don't expect fireworks. Our hotel was full board, so we didn’t eat out. On the slopes, the mountain restaurants served a good choice food.
Getting there: We flew to Bergamo airport and a 2h30 drive by car to the resort. Would strongly recommend having snow chains as the last few miles to the resort are treacherous and clearing the roads isn’t a priority to the Italians.
Snowboard shops: no specialist board shops but there a few ski shops that rent snowboard gear. You won’t be able to hire an 'A1' board, so if you want top quality kit, you'll probably need to bring your own.
|
|
| Strengths |
Lack of punters on the slopes
Good value
Good variety of slopes
Excellent piste grooming
Good food
|
|
| Weaknesses |
High wind can close slopes
Limited nightlife, but if you are in a big group you make your own entertainment
Not great for learners, cos there nowhere to progress to after the learner slopes.
|
|
| Similar Resorts Visited |
Meribel
St Anton
Whistler
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|