WINTER IN THE AOSTA VALLEY
Winter Sports
Welcome to the ski paradise: between downhill and snowboard lifts, cross-country trails, alpine skiing and free-ride trails, the Aosta Valley offers countless scenarios for winter sports lovers. With the high-altitude landscapes framed by the amazing 3000 and 4000 meter peaks, sport becomes emotion and meets the authentic and outstanding beauty of nature.
Among the most famous areas, those of Courmayeur, La Thuile, Cogne, Pila, Cervinia and Gressoney offer cutting-edge facilities and offer breathtaking views for a ski experience truly not to miss.
Pila Snowland
A few kilometers from the town of Aosta, Pila is one of the most panoramic and most advanced ski areas in the valley. 70 kilometers of trails that reach 2700 meters above sea level, 4 black runs, 21 red runs, 4 blue runs and numerous routes for snowboarding, freestyle and telemark attract skiers from all over Europe every year. The locality of Pila lies on a balcony over the Alps: walking along the snow-covered slopes, the gaze opens up over all 4000 meters of the valley: from Mont Blanc to the Gran Combin, from the Gran Paradiso to the Grivola to Mont Emilius, from the Matterhorn to the Monte Rosa. More than 400 cannons guarantee perfect artificial snow every year, the systems are modern and the tracks are cared for down to the last detail: Pila's slopes are also known for their technical quality and exceptional maintenance work. The ski resort is connected to the town of Aosta by a fast cable car, which allows you to easily reach the slopes in about twenty minutes.
The emotions of snowshoeing
The splendid Aosta Valley winter landscape also offers countless natural routes for snowshoe lovers, among the enchanting woods and the gentle sunny slopes of the highest mountains in the Alps. The choice of itineraries is wide and varied, capable of satisfying any level of difficulty and of training. Even the less experienced will be able to venture along the simplest routes, which do not require particular technical skills, they will be able to experience the thrill of walking on the snow and admire the majesty of the winter landscape. Organizing a snowshoe hike is very simple: in every tourist resort it is possible to rent snowshoes and poles at very reasonable prices. A fun activity, within everyone's reach, which allows you to immerse yourself in the majesty of the snowy landscape and admire the most beautiful landscapes of the Aosta Valley.
Espace San Bernardo
La Thuile offers an international ski area that embraces the Italian and French sides of the Alps and offers a suggestive view of the Mont Blanc chain and the overhanging Rutor glacier. More than 150 kilometers of downhill ski slopes and over 38 modern lifts for all tastes, from the more demanding Franco Berthod slope to the easier San Bernardo slope, connect the stations of La Thuile in Valle d'Aosta and La Rosière , in Savoy. The Belvedere chairlift leads to an altitude of 2650 meters, where you can admire the 360° panoramic view of the surrounding peaks. At an altitude of 2800 meters is the highest point of the area, Mont Valaisan: the altitude allows guaranteed compacted snow to enjoy a long winter season.
Courmayeur Montblanc
The Courmayeur Mont Blanc area is one of the largest in the Aosta Valley, skiing here is an experience not to be missed. The slopes are directly under the Mont Blanc massif with its majestic peaks and the beauty that makes it world famous. If, instead of skiing, you simply want to enjoy nature, there are many walks that can be easily covered on snowshoes, from Val Ferret to Val Vèny, magical places where you can discover the winter landscape in the silence of unspoiled nature. With the Skyway you can instead have a coffee admiring the peak of Mont Blanc right in front of your eyes, an exceptional complement to the fantastic activities offered.
Cross country skiing in Cogne
Valle di Cogne is the undisputed kingdom of Aosta Valley cross-country skiing and boasts a vast skiable domain of 80 kilometers of loops that wind through the heart of the Gran Paradiso Park, among fir woods and ancient traditional villages. The variety of slopes makes it possible to satisfy any technical level, with easy and medium-intensity trails. The enchanting beauty of the surrounding landscape and the technical quality of the itineraries have made Cogne famous for all Nordic ski lovers, attracting international athletes to its slopes who challenge each other every year, in the month of February, in the famous Marcia Gran Paradiso. It is a spectacular cross-country skiing competition that offers two races, the Classic and the Skating, of 40 and 25 kilometers respectively.
Valtournenche, Cervinia Zermatt
Skiing all year round at the foot of one of the most fascinating and mysterious mountains in the Alps is a possible experience: the Valtournenche-Cervinia-Zermatt ski area offers tracks which, thanks to the high altitude of the Plateau Rosa and Furggen glaciers, guarantee compact snow even in the middle of August along the 26 kilometers of summer ski slopes. The view of Matterhorn is amazing: the rock pyramid, one of the giants of the Alps range, stands out imposingly in the sky, dominating the Breuil basin together with the magnificent 3000 and 4000 meters of the valley. The skiable domain develops in three valleys of two countries, Italy and Switzerland, and reaches the 3883 meters of the Piccolo Cervino. More than 100 kilometers of slopes and over 50 ultra-modern lifts that connect the Aosta Valley stations with the Swiss ones make the offer varied and capable of satisfying any technical level. One of the most evocative and most loved slopes by skiers is the splendid Pista del Ventina: it starts from the 3500 meters of the Plateau Rosa, a balcony over the Alps that opens the view to the giants of the Alps - Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso - to reach the intermediate station of Cime Bianche Laghi ending near the town of Cervinia.
Monte Rosa Ski
With an area that unites the Valle d'Aosta resorts of Gressoney-La-Trinité, Champoluc in the Val d'Ayas and the Piedmont resort of Alagna, Monterosa Ski is a candidate to be one of the largest skiable domains in the Alps. The landscape dominated by the magnificence of Monte Rosa massif offers unique panoramas of rare beauty. 150 kilometers of slopes with 42 modern ski lifts that reach a height of 3260 meters at Punta Indren, offer a variety of tracks that satisfy even the most expert skiers and snowboard enthusiasts. Among the most popular slopes, the Jolanda is a black slope that reaches a slope of about 70%. Monterosa Ski also offers the thrills of downhill at night on the Leonardo David Speciale international slope and the thrills of off-piste in the Monterosa Freeride Paradise.