Piedmont:
Skiing in Piedmont

Skiing in Piedmont: an experience not to be missed.

There are many adjectives that could be used to describe the mountains of Piedmont in the winter: from “white galaxy” to “skiers’ paradise” or “a sight unrivalled in the whole world”.

Skiing in Piedmont means being able to chose from about fifty resorts and over 1300 kilometers of skiing slopes, which wind through a pristine, pollution-free, natural environment where both beginners and expert skiers can enjoy themselves and never get bored.

Sestriere - Photo © Nilly Oren

One of the landmarks of alpine ski in Piedmont, highly regarded also at an international level, is the Val di Susa (Susa Valley) with the Comprensorio della Via Lattea (Milky Way District) that comprises renowned skiing resorts such as Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx, Cesana Torinese-Sansicario-Monti della Luna, Claviere, which connects with Monginevro (France). Other landmarks are: Pragelato, which is linked to the Milky Way District via a modern cableway, and Bardonecchia.

The “Riserva Bianca” (White Reserve) is also an interesting tourist resort, and its Skiing-Area is equipped with around thirty ski-lift facilities with about eighty kilometers of slopes, that start from Limone Piedmont, Limone 1400 and Limonetto.

In the Provincia “Granda”: the Cuneo province, Artesina and Prato Nevoso stand out, which are part of the “Mondolì Ski” skiing District.

Capanna Margherita Alagna
Photo © deuxseptcentimeters

In East Piedmont, the word ‘skiing’ is linked to Alagna, with its ski-lift facilities that scale the mountain as far as Punta Indren at the foot of Monte Rosa, as well as to Macugnaga, the resorts of the Val d’Ossola (Ossola Valley), and Bielmonte, where we can find one of the few Italian centers for speed skiing.

To round off what Piedmont can offer to sport-loving winter tourists are hundreds of courses for ski tourism and for cross-country skiing: slopes that glide through woods and plains, surrounded by an amazing natural environment and by silence that reigns supreme, where mountains such as Monviso and Monte Argentera stand out in all their magnificence.

The Valle Stura (Stura Valley) is a cross-country skiing paradise in Piedmont; here the international champion Stefania Belmondo was born. The Val Vigezzo (Vigezzo Valley), Val Formazza (Formazza Valley) and Pragelato, in Val Chisone (Chisone Valley), on which slopes the greatest ski champions faced each other during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games of Torino.

Mountains and snow are a winning combination, especially if you add to them the warm welcome of the hotels’ facilities, the cultural events and the many bars and restaurants where you can enjoy your evening before another day on the slopes.

Courtesy of Piedmontfeel.org

© 1997-2010 Enrico Massetti
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