Courmayeur Ski Resort advanced

Courmayeur / Advanced

The pistes of Courmayeur will disappoint the advanced skier, but the off-piste, partly on the Mont Blanc itself, more than makes up for this.

There is very little on the piste to interest the advanced skier in Courmayeur. None of the reds are particularly challenging and three of the four blacks dropping into Val Veny are very short and unremarkable. The same cannot be said of the off-piste, as many days-trippers from Chamonix will testify.

Courmayeur off-piste
There is some excellent tree-lined powder off the side of the blue Val Veny path, leading down to the Entreves cable car; similarly under the Zerotta chairlift and between the two. Higher up in the main ski area, you can drop into Val Veny by heading skier's left from the side of Aretu or by dropping down under the Cresta Youla cable car.

The other off-piste in this area is mainly accessed from Cresta d’Arp, the top of the resort, and there are dedicated itineraries far from the pistes. Either head skier's right round the back of the main range through Arp Vielle to Val Veny, a wonderfully scenic and long descent that sometimes involves a short walk at the end. Alternatively, hang a left and come down the Dolonne channel, from the main ski area by a high ridge, with 4,921 ft (1,500 m) of vertical.

Ski Mont Blanc
When there are good conditions on the Mont Blanc flank, the terrain here is magnificent. It is steep, sometimes treacherous, always testing and there is the added psychological edge of knowing you're skiing on the side of the highest mountain in western Europe. There are many different routes down: the 7 miles (12 km) long descent down the Toula Glacier, the gullies and couloirs with an average 40° pitch of the Marbrée and Mont Fréty glaciers and the appropriately named Canalla dell Chesso, or ‘toilet couloir’, are just a few.