ChrisC
Well-known member
We had to experince skiing Italian style one day. While Chamonix is very international - lots of Brits, French, Aussies, Germans, Italians, etc. - Courmayeur is very Italian.
Some key Italian ski characteristics:
There are no first tracks, just get up late.
If I get up late, I will simply push past you in line.
If you resist, my friend will simply step on your skis to let me by.
I will ski only in the sun, how else dcan I tan?
Powder?? I will not ski it unless it's the sun.
Some lifts will close for lunch.
At 2pm, it's time to get ready to go out. Both men and women need that much time to get into their fashionable winter outfits.
There is no ski wear in Courmayeur after 5pm.
Courmayeur is a beautiful ski town. Everything is well-preserved, proper and historical. The mountain is in a spectacular setting on the south side of Mont Blanc. It takes 30 minutes from Chamonix.
The skiing is mostly on groomed pistes. The mountain has two faces 1). a large east facing one towards town and 2). a northern one facing Mont Bianco (Mont Blanc). The steeper runs are on the north side where the snow was quite nice. The intermediate runs face east.
The Italians ski in the sun so the north-side runs and lifts were not busy.
The best part of the mountain was the cable car at the top. No one had skied the beautiful bowl at the top so it was all powder - cold and smokey! That's where we did most of our runs.
Overall, Courmayeur was a nice place to visit during the week. However, it is not essential skiing.
Some key Italian ski characteristics:
There are no first tracks, just get up late.
If I get up late, I will simply push past you in line.
If you resist, my friend will simply step on your skis to let me by.
I will ski only in the sun, how else dcan I tan?
Powder?? I will not ski it unless it's the sun.
Some lifts will close for lunch.
At 2pm, it's time to get ready to go out. Both men and women need that much time to get into their fashionable winter outfits.
There is no ski wear in Courmayeur after 5pm.
Courmayeur is a beautiful ski town. Everything is well-preserved, proper and historical. The mountain is in a spectacular setting on the south side of Mont Blanc. It takes 30 minutes from Chamonix.
The skiing is mostly on groomed pistes. The mountain has two faces 1). a large east facing one towards town and 2). a northern one facing Mont Bianco (Mont Blanc). The steeper runs are on the north side where the snow was quite nice. The intermediate runs face east.
The Italians ski in the sun so the north-side runs and lifts were not busy.
The best part of the mountain was the cable car at the top. No one had skied the beautiful bowl at the top so it was all powder - cold and smokey! That's where we did most of our runs.
Overall, Courmayeur was a nice place to visit during the week. However, it is not essential skiing.