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  3 of 5, "madesimo - a local resort for local people" 28/02/2007 @ 15:03 |
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| Price Paid |
| n/a |
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| Booked Trip Through |
| n/a |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
madesimo is a relatively small resort, situated approximately 2.5 hours drive north of milan in the dolomites practically sitting on the swiss border. known primarily as a weekend resort for the milanese who head north in their droves for skiing fridays-sundays it nevertheless has a fair bit to offer the package punter.
madesimo town is at 1550m. consequently there was not a flake of snow on the ground in the resort, but snow making had made up the shortfall on the bottom of the runs at the main town area lifts. fortunately, the majority of the rest of the resort is at a more "snow-safe" 1800m plus. being a locals sort of a place, it's small. there are 32 marked pistes, the majority of which are short sections merging together as they head downhill. most of the decent runs are reds, the blues tend to have a fair bit of flat, although they are more wide and open which can be fun. the reds are not really technical, just steep. blacks are limited to short, steep, ungroomed icy death slides which only an idiot would call fun.
off piste was limited due to lack of snow at the time of my visit, but is available when snow cover allows at the top of the mountain, and in a rare luxury is served by a lift - a gondola which accesses a few reds over the back of the mountain can be used to access the snow field on the madesimo side.
the snow park isn't the greatest i've seen but does have a pipe, rails, kickers and the usual stuff to knock yourself about on. on a down side, you need a separate lift pass on top of your regular pass to use it which can bump the price up a bit.
there are plenty of places to eat, drink and mess about in the town, and it's well covered for shops, rental and servicing - olympic was the best one i went into, having the usual plethora of burton gear, but friendly staff and good prices make it worth a visit if you need owt.
madesimos real strength lies in it's location - since it's easy to fly into milan bergamo, hire a car, drive to the resort and get a weekend in and come home smug! if it's not to your taste, st moritz is only a further 1-1.5 hours drive away, and should provide you with all the prada clad snow fun you'll need there.
more info on http://www.skiareavalchiavenna.it |
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| Strengths |
location
cheap(ish) passes
local atmosphere
relaxed |
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| Hot Spots |
snow park - naturally
take the gondola over to the top of pizzo groppera and ride the reds down to rifugio val di lei - more isolated and the views are top |
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| Weaknesses |
limited in size
not particularly snow safe
limited resort - you'd run out of things to do if you went for a week |
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| Similar Resorts Visited |
| deux alpes, meribel |
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