Via Lattea (Montgenèvre, France / Claviere, Italy): March 30, 2025

[ChrisC]

After spending a lot of time with FDA clearance, I had to go to Europe for EU CE clearance. It's essentially a truly accurate medical-grade device that I'm putting into fertility clinics and slowly into Under Armour smart clothing. But the junk science is Oura, Whoop, Apple, Garmin, etc. - they are way off. I seem to have five of them on me at any point - my temperature readings are 96- 102°F. Apple/Garmin are good at respiration rates.

It's more fun then screwing people over in FinTech via interest rates or not letting them withdrawl Paypal balances via policies.


I decided to ski with my UK family and friends. Milan is very easy to get to $ wise, and car rentals in late March are $25/day for an SUV. I did a bit of a ski safari before getting up to Cervinica.


Day 1: ViaLattea. This area is a bit underrated. However, I did not want to return to Sauze d'Oulox (they randomly close high-altitude lifts), and Mt Fraiteve needs a few more HS lifts.

So went to Montgenevre and Claviere. It compared well with major Southern Alps locations, such as Serre Chevalair, Les 2 Alpes, etc.

I must let everyone know that 2000 meters was the snow line for south-facing slopes and that the north did better. I did get The Retour d'est storms, which unexpectedly brought snow to Les Deux Alpes: 6-8", Serre Che: 0-4", Monterosa/Gressoney: 12", and Pila 10-20"


Montenevre/Claviere

I parked in Claviere and set off, primarily to Montgenvre. It was about 12/1 pm, so I only got to pick the highlights for four hours.

 

[Tony Crocker]

We had a full day there Feb. 2, 2023 and still did not get to the Rocher Rouge sector. I presume ChrisC did explore the off piste Secteur de l'Aigle.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

We had a full day there

Based on Tony's good-looking photos, I'll check out Montgenevre on my next visit to the region. It seems to be one of very few ski areas in the Alps that's right alongside a highway (at least two lanes in each direction) such as Loveland or Copper. Are there others?

 

[Sbooker]

Based on Tony's good-looking photos, I'll check out Montgenevre on my next visit to the region. It seems to be one of very few ski areas in the Alps that's right alongside a highway (at least two lanes in each direction) such as Loveland or Copper. Are there others?

Cham? Pretty sure the road either side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel is double lanes.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Montgenevre is on a mountain pass. There may be two lanes in each direction (and I'm not sure continuously) but that road is far from being like a US Interstate. Most major road arteries crossing the Alps do so via tunnels like Frejus not too far north of the Via Lattea. Brenner Pass in Austria is the only freeway-type road crossing the Alpine Divide above ground AFAIK.

 

[ChrisC]

Piste Map of the Via Lattea.

Montgenevre, France, and Claviere, Italy, are located on the right (western) side.

Montgenevre and Claviere Piste Map only
The boundaries of Domaine Grand Montegenvre vs. Domaine Monts de la Lune denote different types of lift passes.

Top 3D Map of Montgenevre and Claviere

Views to the
View attachment 46776View attachment 46777View attachment 46778

Chalvet Sector -Serre Chibaud Chondola.
Northside of Montgenevre. Faces south, so less snow at the base.

Montgenevre Resort sits between the north and south sectors.

Chalvet Chairlift. Both the lower older gondola and the upper slow chairlift are to be replaced be a single 10-passenger gondola with a mid-station.

Looking south to the Sector L'Aigle (peak on the left side) and Sector Gondran (far right upper bowl)

Close-up of Sector Gondrans

Summit of Serre Thibaud (2550m). A 360-degree view with beautiful E, S, and SW facing bowls/faces.

Forneous Surface Lidt to Chalver Summit (2630m). Lots of great off-piste, but some exposure issues.

NE-facing slopes down to the Rocher Rogue chairlift.

Looking back from the base of Rocher Rogue to the Serre Thibaud summit.

Some off-piste areas above Rocher Rogue

Looking over to the slopes of Claviere, Italy - Col Bercia. This connects to the other Italian Via Lattea resorts of Sauze, Sestriere, and Sansicario.

Ascending the Forneous Surface Lift after a few runs off the Rocher Rogue lift.

Eventually, I went up the old-school Clavet chairlift and skied the south-facing Chalvet piste. Needed to cross the road to get to the sectors on the south side.

To be continued for mid/late afternoon in the Sectors L'Aigle and Gondrans.

 

[ChrisC]

The south side of Montgenevre

I decided to skip the Gondrans sector (nice groomers in a mellow bowl) altogether due to time constraints and spend the afternoon on the upper mountain sectors of L'Aigle (Montgenevre) and Col Bercia (Claviere).

Riding the new Rocher de L'Aigle Gondola

Soureou piste and bowl

Lots of due north-facing lines. Surprisingly, due to altitude, exposure, and hidden entrances, there was still untracked, light snow after a minor storm the previous week.

Another bowl with interesting lines further up the Gondola line

Stopped to take a few photos of one chute when I figured out how to get there

Time to repeat

Vallon de la Doire
This is the longest off-piste/freeride zone in the sector: it's a giant bowl that extends down to the lower Brousset Lift. Located looker's left of gondola/skier's right upon exit.

After a couple of laps off the Gondola, I descended into Italy/Claviere on Piste 100. The upper 500 feet were quite good and could be skied off-piste.

There was a Lift in this zone to Col Saurel, but an unfortunate accident happened years ago, closing both the lift and piste for years. Unfortunate. And this is just one example of the drama of the Via Lattea, which is overall covered in the "Where to Ski France" book.

I had time for two laps off Claviere's highest lift, Sera Granet to Colle Bercia - nice cruising terrain, but it was getting a little soft.

Although I have not skied Via Lattea's Sestriere sector (the highest and most famous due to the 2006 Olympics), overall, the Via Lattea is a worthwhile, reasonably priced mega resort. However, it underachieves in a few areas compared to most, including snowmaking, links, lift infrastructure, and the lack of a central resort hub for all the action.

BTW: Unaware that it was an independent area of the Via Lattea, I had previously skied in Sansicario in 2023, after seeing a sign for an Olympic Downhill piste. It's a bit unclear where Sauze d'Oulx ends, and Sansicario begins.

Tony does a better job of documenting the boundaries in his write-ups.

 

[ChrisC]

Some details about the issue with the Montgenevre-Claviere avalanche closure incident:

The information below is not completely up to date - Piste 100 is now open again.

Yes, the closure of the Col Saurel chairlift and Piste 100 stemmed from an avalanche incident and a related lawsuit:

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What happened?​

Avalanche-triggered closure & judicial order​

• According to posts on SnowHeads, the Saurel chairlift in Clavière was shut down after a lawsuit following an on-piste avalanche incident reddit.com+7snowheads.com+7snowheads.com+7.
• The closure was officially enforced by a judicial order, not merely as a precautionary measure snowheads.com.

Fatal accident involved plot irregularities and asbestos​

• A fatality occurred in January 2015 on the slope below the Saurel lift during this avalanche incident pistehors.com+2snowheads.com+2youtube.com+2.
• Investigations uncovered that remedial earthworks done earlier didn’t align with the approved plans, and naturally occurring asbestos was also found on the slope snowheads.com.
• Those findings prompted the investigating judge to close the chairlift and Piste 100 officially.

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Why not just reopen?​

• The slope and lift weren’t simply shut due to poor conditions—they were closed by court order due to serious safety, legal, and infrastructure concerns snowbrains.com+4snowheads.com+4snowheads.com+4.
• Unless the site undergoes the required corrective work (to align the slope grading and remove asbestos), the closure will remain indefinitely.

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Summary Table​

Item	Status	Reason for closure
Saurel chairlift	Permanently off-service	Closed by judicial order after an avalanche and fatality
Piste 100 (Colletto Verde)	Closed	Same judicial inquest conditions as above

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What this means for skiers:​

• This alpine link connecting Clavière via Colletto Verde is unavailable for the foreseeable future, until both legal and remediation actions are completed.
• The closure is not temporary or weather‑related (e.g., no seasonal avalanche forecast triggered this).
• It's a legal and structural safety closure, tied to specific findings about slope work and hazardous materials.

 

[Sbooker]

@ChrisC @jamesdeluxe @Tony Crocker and other Europe regulars. I wasn’t going to go to Europe for skiing in 2026 because we’ll be there for hiking in September 2026 but I pulled the trigger on some good value flights to Milan for late March last night.
I will obviously wait to see what happens snow wise but I’m we’d like to go toward Briancon to check out Vars/Risoul and then move onto the Maurienne valley.
Anyway to the question. It’ll obviously be late season so low snow will be unlikely but we’ll have to go over the pass at Montgenevre. I usually get an all wheel drive car but do we think I need to go to the expense late season. (Noting that winter tyres out of Milan are unlikely).

 

[ChrisC]

Some details about the issue with the Montgenevre-Claviere avalanche closure incident:

 

[ChrisC]

Anyway to the question. It’ll obviously be late season so low snow will be unlikely but we’ll have to go over the pass at Montgenevre. I usually get an all wheel drive car but do we think I need to go to the expense late season. (Noting that winter tyres out of Milan are unlikely).

You can see the late March/early April resort snow levels in this region from my photos. Snow did not accumulate on the roadways below 1500m. That said, Montgenevre Pass during a big storm might be a bit 'white-knuckle' or worthy of a delay.


Montgenèvre (1,860 meters (6,102 feet)).
There are tunnels (around Claviere) and passing lanes, and it looks to be very well maintained. I don't recall how many signs or gates there are for closures, but I believe it's rare.

Conversely, Col du Lautaret (2,058 m (6,752 ft)) is a high mountain pass in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France and the highest French pass open to motor traffic in winter. Again, this pass often closes, and during my visit, it closed for 16-20 hours due to 4-8" of snow evening/overnight on April 1st & 2nd. I almost was stuck on the west side (i.e., I might have had to ski La Grave solo (the basic runs/lakechutes) or find a last-minute guide group or buddy). There are numerous signs and gates indicating closures and chain controls. This signage was not present at Montgenevre.

Frankly, you likely do not need all wheel drive in early Spring, but you can never be 100% sure. I would make reservations (non-prepay) and cancel depending on the weather outlook. At worst, you might experience a delay of half a day or 24 hours without all wheel drive.

Car reservations in Milan. They were some of the cheapest I have found for a major city, especially SUVs - more affordable than Spokane, WA (2 days at Denver/SLC = 7 days in Milan). By the end of March, SUVs were cheaper or the same price as Sedans; there was no savings to be had by downgrading. I assume there will be excess inventory of SUVs by mid-to-late March, so please check prices again a week before your trip departure.

 

[Sbooker]

You can see the late March/early April resort snow levels in this region from my photos. Snow did not accumulate on the roadways below 1500m. That said, Montgenevre Pass during a big storm might be a bit 'white-knuckle' or worthy of a delay.


Montgenèvre (1,860 meters (6,102 feet)).
There are tunnels (around Claviere) and passing lanes, and it looks to be very well maintained. I don't recall how many signs or gates there are for closures, but I believe it's rare.

Conversely, Col du Lautaret (2,058 m (6,752 ft)) is a high mountain pass in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France and the highest French pass open to motor traffic in winter. Again, this pass often closes, and during my visit, it closed for 16-20 hours due to 4-8" of snow evening/overnight on April 1st & 2nd. I almost was stuck on the west side (i.e., I might have had to ski La Grave solo (the basic runs/lakechutes) or find a last-minute guide group or buddy). There are numerous signs and gates indicating closures and chain controls. This signage was not present at Montgenevre.

Frankly, you likely do not need all wheel drive in early Spring, but you can never be 100% sure. I would make reservations (non-prepay) and cancel depending on the weather outlook. At worst, you might experience a delay of half a day or 24 hours without all wheel drive.

Car reservations in Milan. They were some of the cheapest I have found for a major city, especially SUVs - more affordable than Spokane, WA (2 days at Denver/SLC = 7 days in Milan). By the end of March, SUVs were cheaper or the same price as Sedans; there was no savings to be had by downgrading. I assume there will be excess inventory of SUVs by mid-to-late March, so please check prices again a week before your trip departure.

Thanks. I have driven both passes in a previous visit but it was January….