Italy

Snow Travel Articles

Italy

Italyintropic In the northeast, the Dolomites with their distinctive craggy peaks offer hundred of kilometres of linked slopes. Over in the west, tucked under Mont Blanc, are the choice resorts of the Aosta Valley. Both areas offer that unique, Italian, laid-back vibe where enjoying a good lunch is as important as the skiing. Not as crowded as the major French and Austrian resorts and generally not as expensive. And what makes the area unforgettable is the fabulous food. Being further south means less snow towards the end of the season. And some of the resorts built in the Seventies are possibly the ugliest things in the whole of Italy.

Claviere

Italy’s ultimo resort

Claviere, the tiny Piedmontese village at the skinny end of the Franco-Italian ski superarea the Via Lattea, or Milky Way, is where it seems 1980s skiwear goes to die. One-pieces in combinations of jade green, salmon pink, Cadbury’s purple with fuchsia and yellow fluoro details, pepper the uncrowded slopes and sun terraces. It’s like Wham! never split up.

Sud Tirol Skiing

2 süds to the story

Italy’s South Tyrol region is rich in resorts bizarrely little-known to Brits – though under-the-radar celeb holidaymakers Tom Cruise, Elle MacPherson and George Clooney know better. Two Snow writers check out the region, one with her skis, the other with his appetite.

Telemarking in Cervinia, Italy

Heavens door

Europe’s most spectacular peaks soar to left and right but on a telemarking tour out of Cervinia, Italy, it’s not the scenery that has Kevin Wolff gasping for breath

Destination of the month

Lying at the heart of the massive Three Valleys ski area, Méribel is one of the most popular resorts in the Alps. It has 200 lifts and 600km of well groomed pistes and is ideal for intermediates – but like all the big resorts, caters for the less experienced extremely well. Boarders and free skiers have two parks and access to five more in the other Three Valleys resorts. The main village kept a rustic chalet feel during the building boom of the Seventies and many of the traditional buildings have been recently refurbished to the highest standards. The resorts is famous for its high spirited après scene.