Monterosa Ski Resort

Barely known internationally, Monterosa Ski is Italy’s biggest ski region, with more vertical drop and acreage than many central Alpine ski domains. Spanning three valleys and several village resorts it’s a charming taste of Italy that caters well for piste skiers, with big mountain skiing thrown in for the brave.

Our Rating:

Advanced		****
Intermediate		****
Beginner		**

Monte Rosa 4633m, the ‘pink mountain’, is actually many mountains and they’re only pink at sunrise and sunset. So much for the name. It is also the Alps’ biggest, iciest lump of rock - its highpoint may be nearly two hundred metres lower than Mont Blanc’s 4807m summit, but it’s part of a massif made up of multiple 4000 metre peaks that stretch from the Monte Moro above Macugnaga in the east to within a snowball’s throw of the Matterhorn to the west, over 16km away if you follow the ridge line (stout shoes and packed lunch recommended). You only drop below 4000 metres on two occasions, with over twenty named glaciers descending to either side. The skiing potential on its lower flanks is huge: the Swiss resorts of Zermatt and Saas Fee flirt with the ridges and glaciers that fan out to the north; to the south, three Italian valleys – Ayas (Champoluc), Gressoney and Valsesia (Alagna) reach toward the heights, combining to make the Monterosa ski region.

The Monte Rosa’s three valleys are comparable to the Trois Vallees in France in terms of the physical relationship of the main resorts. But they could hardly offer a more different ski experience: there’s ‘only’ around 200km of piste, with minimal development of resort facilities and skilifts, while during the week in low season skiers are almost outnumbered by lift company workers. The crowds come at weekends and on Italian holidays, from nearby Milan and Turin. Much of the terrain remains undeveloped and perfect for off piste skiing, for which the area is known to a discerning few; Alagna is legendary for advanced off piste itineraries but the area as a whole has a lot to offer deep snow skiers at every level. At the other end of the spectrum, for families and intermediates it’s a relaxed area of friendly terrain in magnificent scenery.

The villages of Champoluc, in the Ayas Valley, the furthest west of the three, and Gressoney in the central valley of the same name, are the best known ski resorts. In a region where even the busiest villages seem sleepy, the isolation of Alagna and the limited nature of its pistes make it a die-hard off piste destination, though it is easy to reach from the west of Milan and should become more popular with the recently improved lift-link to the rest of the ski region. None of the valleys offer much in the way of night-life, but the villages maintain an authenticity and charm lacking in more developed resorts.

Though the flavour is resolutely up-market Italian, the valleys have a cosmopolitan background, having been settled hundreds of years ago by people migrating south from Germany and Switzerland. Pockets of a Germanic language can still be found, and the architecture is more Swiss then Italian, with stone roofed barns of weathered timber dotting the hillsides. French is also spoken by many – a legacy of the entire Aosta valley having been part of the Savoie a couple of centuries ago. Despite the broad ranging influences, the local cuisine is a distinctive variation on the Alpine cheese and dried meat theme. Much better than it sounds is the thinly sliced, herb flavoured lard; more of an acquired taste is a version of fondue - fonduta - while the local cabbage soup is nothing of the sort, with a knife and fork required to tackle it.

Even with competition from Courmayeur - an hour away at the head of the Aosta Valley - and other major Italian resorts like Cervinia (even closer as the crow flies), it remains surprising that the area hasn’t gained a bigger international following. With Gressoney little over an hour from Turin airport it deserves more attention from skiers looking for skiing first, and après-ski second. And if you want to heliski, it’s one of the best value opportunities, with the most extensive options, of the few that remain in the Alps.

Monterosa at a glance

On the mountain

Ski area

Any skier of intermediate level and above should consider the Monterosa ski region as a whole rather than as three separate valleys, regardless of which resort you are based in. Looked at on the map, these valleys can – very broadly - be seen as beginner, intermediate and advanced, from left to right. more...

Lift system

The Monterosa ski pass covers all the lifts across the three valleys, including several small resorts not lift-connected to the main domain. A one week Aosta Valley lift pass (hands-free) includes a day’s skiing at the neighbouring ski resorts of Pila and La Thuile further up the Aosta valley.
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Ski schools & guiding

All Monterosa ski villages have good ski and snowboard schools with English speaking instructors. Group and private lessons are available in both skiing and boarding. Some schools offer telemark skiing and most offer guiding services.
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Advanced

None of the pistes in Monterosa – even the few black runs – pose much challenge to advanced skiers, unless you like to go at warp speed. Advanced skiers can choose from 17km of black runs with some testing sections and mogul fields, but the main attraction for advanced skiers is the superb off-piste and heli-ski potential. more...

Intermediate

The Monterosa area has 120km of red runs, as well as some long blues, and confident skiers who are phased only by truly black runs can relax and enjoy the whole of the domain. more...

Beginner

Champoluc is the obvious place and is rightly popular with families; novices begin at the dedicated lift and nursery slope at Crest. It’s sunny from mid-morning onwards, high enough to have good snow and there are plenty of cafes on hand, with terraces. more...

Boarding & freestyle

Monterosa has a new snow park at Gabiet but Monterosa's main attractions for boarders are wide un-crowded pistes and extensive off piste.
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Mountain restaurants

There are plenty of good bars and restaurants throughout the Monterosa ski area serving good food with splendid mountain views, fine Italian espressos and cappuccinos everywhere and lots of local grappa including ‘Mother-in-laws milk’ which tastes better than it sounds.
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