ChrisC
Well-known member
I traveled from Monterosa to Aosta proper on Friday evening. It's a decent-sized city (population 33,000) with numerous Roman ruins: intact walls and towers, the Arch of Augustus, a theatre, and remnants of the amphitheatre and forum. You can cover most of these sites in a half-hour stroll.
There is a large pedestrian core with numerous restaurants, gelaterias, and wine bars. I stopped at a TripAdvisor-recommended Osteria Dell'Oca and had a Pizza Quattro Stagioni (4-Season Pizza: artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto, and olives - 8 Euros), Aosta wine (3 Euros for a quarter carafe), and dessert (3 Euros). Excellent value!
Overall, Aosta is very reasonable/affordable and makes a great base to check out all the Aosta Valley resorts, only about one hour away (Monterosa, Cervinia-Zermatt, La Thuile - Le Rosiere, Crevacol, Coumayeur, and Verbier or Chamonix are not much further.
Access to the Pila is a Gondola station near the train and freeway; it's not quite walking distance from the Aosta town core. I drove from my hotel parking to the Gondola - surprisingly, the resort's parking is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis on weekends. None of the American fees and reservations.
I was a little worried about crowding at Pila on a Saturday, given the 40-50cm/16-20 inches of new snow, but with the April calendar and warm temperatures, there were no lift lines, except maybe a 5-minute wait on the new gondola from 10-11 AM.
New Expansion: I did not realize this before skiing Pila on Saturday, but the resort is in the midst of a significant expansion: a brand-new 10-passenger multi-stage Gondola and a new summit restaurant. For Winter 24/25, only the top stage was open, which replaced the old Cous 1 fixed group chair. You can now complete quick 5-minute laps on incredible advanced-to-expert terrain, featuring seven groomed pistes and possibly four open bowls or faces. This is impressive terrain; it will not replace Verbier or Monterosa, but it gives La Thuile and/or Courmayeur fair competition, as everything is easily accessible and visible. (La Thuile has much more terrain, and Courmayeur has fantastic 4- 5k off-piste descents, but for intermediates or experts, Pila compares well. Definitely worth a day! A great mountain to stop at after flying into Milan, and heading to an Aosta resort, Chamonix, or Verbier.)
Expansion Details
Pila Piste Map
Note: Cous 1 is now a 10-passenger Gondola (upper, middle of map)
For Winter 25/26 - There will be a single Gondola with multiple mid-stations. Most of the other lifts are HS Quads/6-Packs, except for three lifts on the very right side.
New Lodge/Refuge at the Gondola Summit coming Winter 25/26: While not Alpine traditional, and more modern, I liked the vision.
Access Gondola from Aosta (near the Train Station) to Pila.
It is almost 3 miles long and takes 18 minutes.
Gondola crosses the major highway from Turin/Milan through the Aosta Valley to the Mont Blanc Tunnel/France. Interesting, modern structure protecting the highway from any gondola/skier debris.
Aosta Valley
Pila Base Area.
The upper mountain bowls, situated above the tree-lined slopes, are truly impressive.
However, at the base, currently, there is only an old, ill-positioned triple chair, and thankfully, an HS quad to the looker's left. Next year, a brand new gondola.
Summit of Chamole HS Quad looking towards Pila's bowls and summit (Piatta de Grevon at 2750m / 9025ft).
Panorama of Pila's Upper Bowls serviced by the Cous 1 Gondola and Cous 2 fixed chairlift.
Chatelaine-La Nouva 6-pack. Lots of nice groomed intermediate runs.
Cous 1 Gondola.
Pila received 40-50 cm / 16-20 inches from the recent storm. The Chamonix-based UK skiers I met at Monterosa said Thursday was amazing!
Even on Saturday, there was still good snow to be had; Pila's snow preservation is amazing, better than Monterosa's due to a pure north orientation.
This is Piste 28: a beautifully steep groomer in the bowl below Piatta de Grevon.
Italian ski-touring/off-piste skiers heading higher up Piatta de Grevon.
Cous 1 Panorama: Looking east to Pointe Valleta 3090m.
So much fun off-piste. Will have to go back to this bowl.
New Summit Lodge (Winter 25/26) under construction.
Cous 1: S/SW-facing views off the backside of Pila. Looking at Grivola 3,969m.
Piste 8: Tsa Creuisa. Pila's Cous 1 Gondola is really unique; it accesses seven different steep groomed pistes (five only served by the gondola), therefore, few other skiers/crowds are present. Given this large downhill slope capacity, Pila might have the best steep groomed pistes in Europe.
After two warmup laps, it's time to start picking out some north-facing off-piste lines. Still nice areas 2+ days after the Retour d'Est storm.
Looking north towards the St. Bernard Pass and Switzerland. The Crevacol ski area (skied February) is on this road in the upper snow-covered peaks on the left third.
Time for a run in the big bowl.
Another freeride lap off the Cous 1 Gondola. I felt very confident skiing under the Gazex Avlanche system.
The top 500-800 ft was still soft powder. Needed to retreat to the piste lower down.
Lots of lines to Looker's Left/Skier's Right in the shadows
To be continued - photo limits.
There is a large pedestrian core with numerous restaurants, gelaterias, and wine bars. I stopped at a TripAdvisor-recommended Osteria Dell'Oca and had a Pizza Quattro Stagioni (4-Season Pizza: artichokes, mushrooms, prosciutto, and olives - 8 Euros), Aosta wine (3 Euros for a quarter carafe), and dessert (3 Euros). Excellent value!
Overall, Aosta is very reasonable/affordable and makes a great base to check out all the Aosta Valley resorts, only about one hour away (Monterosa, Cervinia-Zermatt, La Thuile - Le Rosiere, Crevacol, Coumayeur, and Verbier or Chamonix are not much further.
Access to the Pila is a Gondola station near the train and freeway; it's not quite walking distance from the Aosta town core. I drove from my hotel parking to the Gondola - surprisingly, the resort's parking is free and available on a first-come, first-served basis on weekends. None of the American fees and reservations.
I was a little worried about crowding at Pila on a Saturday, given the 40-50cm/16-20 inches of new snow, but with the April calendar and warm temperatures, there were no lift lines, except maybe a 5-minute wait on the new gondola from 10-11 AM.
New Expansion: I did not realize this before skiing Pila on Saturday, but the resort is in the midst of a significant expansion: a brand-new 10-passenger multi-stage Gondola and a new summit restaurant. For Winter 24/25, only the top stage was open, which replaced the old Cous 1 fixed group chair. You can now complete quick 5-minute laps on incredible advanced-to-expert terrain, featuring seven groomed pistes and possibly four open bowls or faces. This is impressive terrain; it will not replace Verbier or Monterosa, but it gives La Thuile and/or Courmayeur fair competition, as everything is easily accessible and visible. (La Thuile has much more terrain, and Courmayeur has fantastic 4- 5k off-piste descents, but for intermediates or experts, Pila compares well. Definitely worth a day! A great mountain to stop at after flying into Milan, and heading to an Aosta resort, Chamonix, or Verbier.)
Expansion Details
The new Pila-Couis lift system
The construction of the new Pila - Couis gondola will allow reaching 2700 meters in just 15 minutes, leading to a panoramic refuge overlooking the Alps with views of the famous peaks over 4000 meters: Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Grivola, and Gran Paradiso.
domani.pila.it
Pila Piste Map
Note: Cous 1 is now a 10-passenger Gondola (upper, middle of map)
For Winter 25/26 - There will be a single Gondola with multiple mid-stations. Most of the other lifts are HS Quads/6-Packs, except for three lifts on the very right side.
New Lodge/Refuge at the Gondola Summit coming Winter 25/26: While not Alpine traditional, and more modern, I liked the vision.
Access Gondola from Aosta (near the Train Station) to Pila.
It is almost 3 miles long and takes 18 minutes.
Gondola crosses the major highway from Turin/Milan through the Aosta Valley to the Mont Blanc Tunnel/France. Interesting, modern structure protecting the highway from any gondola/skier debris.
Aosta Valley
Pila Base Area.
The upper mountain bowls, situated above the tree-lined slopes, are truly impressive.
However, at the base, currently, there is only an old, ill-positioned triple chair, and thankfully, an HS quad to the looker's left. Next year, a brand new gondola.
Summit of Chamole HS Quad looking towards Pila's bowls and summit (Piatta de Grevon at 2750m / 9025ft).
Panorama of Pila's Upper Bowls serviced by the Cous 1 Gondola and Cous 2 fixed chairlift.
Chatelaine-La Nouva 6-pack. Lots of nice groomed intermediate runs.
Cous 1 Gondola.
Pila received 40-50 cm / 16-20 inches from the recent storm. The Chamonix-based UK skiers I met at Monterosa said Thursday was amazing!
Even on Saturday, there was still good snow to be had; Pila's snow preservation is amazing, better than Monterosa's due to a pure north orientation.
This is Piste 28: a beautifully steep groomer in the bowl below Piatta de Grevon.
Italian ski-touring/off-piste skiers heading higher up Piatta de Grevon.
Cous 1 Panorama: Looking east to Pointe Valleta 3090m.
So much fun off-piste. Will have to go back to this bowl.
New Summit Lodge (Winter 25/26) under construction.
Cous 1: S/SW-facing views off the backside of Pila. Looking at Grivola 3,969m.
Piste 8: Tsa Creuisa. Pila's Cous 1 Gondola is really unique; it accesses seven different steep groomed pistes (five only served by the gondola), therefore, few other skiers/crowds are present. Given this large downhill slope capacity, Pila might have the best steep groomed pistes in Europe.
After two warmup laps, it's time to start picking out some north-facing off-piste lines. Still nice areas 2+ days after the Retour d'Est storm.
Looking north towards the St. Bernard Pass and Switzerland. The Crevacol ski area (skied February) is on this road in the upper snow-covered peaks on the left third.
Time for a run in the big bowl.
Another freeride lap off the Cous 1 Gondola. I felt very confident skiing under the Gazex Avlanche system.
The top 500-800 ft was still soft powder. Needed to retreat to the piste lower down.
Lots of lines to Looker's Left/Skier's Right in the shadows
To be continued - photo limits.
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