Anyone who has spent time skiing in Australia in recent years would understand that the costs involved in pursuing the sport back home has been getting out of control for many years. These costs, along with better quality snow eventually pushed my ski adventures offshore. First to NZ, often to Japan, and more recently to Europe.
Six months ago, I’d decided that it was time for my first ski trip since early 2020. Japan was the first place that sprang to mind, especially since I’ve never had a bad trip there. Unfortunately, at the time it was unclear as to whether the Japanese government would loosen their tight Covid restrictions enough to make a ski trip possible. It was due to this reason that heading to Europe became the next best option.
Italy had been on my ski radar for many years, and it was soon decided that this would be the year to make it happen. Monterosa, in Italy’s Valle D’Aosta was chosen due to its spectacular scenery and vast skiable area.
Booking was easy, there were plenty of available Airbnb’s available, particularly in the small town of Champoluc. If you decide to head to this area with your own ski gear, you will want to find a place as close to the main gondola in town. This will save you walking far in uncomfortable ski boots.
Getting to Champoluc is pretty easy. First of all, you can catch a private shuttle from the airports at Milano or Torino. Here is a link to one company doing the trip.
If you want to avoid the expense of the private shuttle, catching public transport to Champoluc was easy enough. Details of this option are available in a previous blog post.
In Champoluc there were plenty of options for eating and drinking. A big, but expensive supermarket is located 30m from the bottom of the main gondola in town with smaller supermarkets available in other locations.
Purchasing lift tickets was easy and cheap, at least it’s cheap compared to prices paid in Australia. Prices are generally cheapest when purchased online. Annoyingly Monterosa has dynamic pricing, but we generally paid €46 for a half day or €53 for a full day’s ticket. You can purchase tickets at the ticket counter near the main gondola or at visitmonterosa.com
Another great benefit of skiing in this part of Italy is the cheap availability of ski insurance. For only 3 Euro/day on top of your lift pass price you can be covered for any accidents you may have on the slopes. This figure is potentially hundreds of dollars cheaper than purchasing ski cover with Australian travel insurance companies.
By Monterosa’s usual standards, 2023 has been a lean year when it comes to snowfall, and I’d had my concerns in the weeks leading up to our visit. Thankfully, the fact that it remains very cold on top of the mountain and the fact that Monterosa has vast snow making facilities mean that there was a perfect cover of snow on every run.
Monterosa is a collection of interconnected resorts, all skiable on one lift ticket. There were many areas that I enjoyed, but it must be said that Monterosa is not really suitable for beginners… Which is exactly what my partner, Natsasi is.
If you are staying in Champoluc and have beginners in your group, it is probably easiest to catch the free bus from Champoluc a couple of minutes up the road to Frachey. From there catch the funicular up onto the slopes. From here you can catch a covered quad chair to a long easy run.
There’s plenty of great places for more advanced skiers. My particular favorite was over at the Alagna resort, as high as you can get lifted. From here, it is a massive, almost 2000m vertical down into the picturesque town of Alagna.
Alagna is also a great place to stay, especially if you’re an expert skier. Ski shuttles are available from the two airports mentioned earlier, or if you’d prefer public transport, catch a train to Vercelli Railway Station and catch the number 50 bus to Alagna. Details can be found here:
Among the most enjoyable aspects of an Italian ski holiday is the après ski. No other country comes close. All over the mountain you can expect to see little stone bars and restaurants ready to warm you up. The quality and variety of food was outstanding, far higher standards than we’d get back home in Australia. What’s more it’s reasonably priced.
Of course, it’s the drinking that can be an incredibly fun part of the Italian ski experience too. I saw pop up cocktail bars pumping out cheap, promotional Aperol Spritz, cozy wine bars and rowdy beer bars. All cheap and fun.
Our time in Monterosa flew by all too quickly. Italy offers skiers a clear point of difference from other places I’ve skied. Hopefully we can ski here again in the next couple of years.