Italy
As well as offering favourites such as Avoriaz, Tignes, Val Thorens and St. Anton, flexiski have added some fabulous new resorts such as Andermatt and Crans Montana in Switzerland and Alpe d’Huez in France with three-night breaks available from £320pp.
Courmayeur in the Italian Alps is hosting a Family Easter Ski Week from 26 March to 2 April 2023 for children aged four to 13 years old.
The resort has partnered with Momentum Ski and UK-based children’s events company Archy Events to create a week-long programme based at the Hotel Pavillon, a family-run hotel situated in the village. The programme includes ski school and kids’ club and there is a large swimming pool and spa. Courmayeur is ideal for skiers and non-skiers with a wide range of activities, such as snowshoeing and fat biking.
British Racer Robert Holmes rounds-up the action from the English Alpine Championships held in Bormio recently
The English Alpine Championships is Snowsport England’s premier Alpine event when hundreds of the UK’s ski racers, along with their families, head to Bormio in Italy every year to compete – from children as young as eight right through to senior athletes.
Some of the Ladies Ski Club members after the Super G race
Members of The Ladies Ski club travelled to Cortina d’Ampezzo recently to compete in the 15th Amateur Inter-Club Championships (AICC).
The competition was hosted by the ski club SC18 and the event got off to a resounding start with a Super G race on a stunning piste below the Cinque Torri.
Val Gardena, part of Italy’s famous Sellaronda ski circuit in The Dolomites, has a selection of events, parties and special offers to close out the 2022/23 season.
The ‘Rock the Dolomites’ music festival runs from 18-26 March 2023. The programme includes blues, rock ‘n’ roll, rock, pop, reggae, indie and funk.
Courmayeur Mont Blanc is welcoming a star-studded line up of Michelin starred chefs and sommeliers this March (2023) for the second edition of ‘Peak of Taste’. Joining forces with local chefs, five internationally acclaimed chefs will create a series of events showcasing the very best of Aosta Valley’s produce and Northern Italy’s traditional cuisine.
The La Stüa de Michil restaurant at Hotel La Perla, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, in the Dolomiti Superski circuit village of Corvara in the Dolomites has regained its Michelin star.
The five major ski areas in the Aosta Valley have all seen upgrades this season.
In Breuil-Cervinia a new six seater ‘Gran Somett’a chairlift with protective dome has been added in Valtournenche. In Cervinia itself a new slope –Number 34 – now connects the town of Cielo Alto at the start of the Bardoney lifts, plus there is a new covered treadmill at the Cretaz pitch. Spring 2023 sees the opening of the highest cable crossing of the Alps in constant view of The Matterhorn. The Matterhorn glacier paradise cableway – Testa Grigia – will whisk passengers in comfort from Zermatt to Breuil-Cervinia. The one-hour panoramic ride travels over 4000m in altitude and have the biggest cable car drop in Europe.
PHOTO: Val di Fassa/Patricia Ramirez
Trentino, situated in the heart of the Italian Alps in northern Italy, has had a great start to the season with all lifts and slopes open, thanks to dropping temperatures and abundant snowfall.
Known for its UNESCO Dolomites, Trentino offers 800 kilometres of slopes, most of which are located between Dolomiti Superski(350km) and Skirama Dolomiti-Adamello Brento (almost 400km), served by 227 fast lifts.
New attractions and improvements await skiers and snowboarders visiting the Italian resort of Val Gardena this season. The area, which includes the villages of Ortisei, S. Cristina and Selva, has access to 500 km of slopes.
The Zermatt Cervinia World Cup Downhill race will start in Switzerland and finish in Italy
Ed Mannix of the Zermatt-based Matterhorn Chalets talks to Iain Martin about the World Cup Downhill races taking place in Zermatt and Cervinia in October and November – the first time in FIS history a cross border competition has taken place
The winter season may be over but the Italian resort of Livigno opens for the summer on 11 June with a whole host of activities to suit individuals, groups and families, whether you are looking for competitive activities or simply fresh air, long walks and enjoyable picnics in the beautiful mountains surrounded by nature.
Keen runners and cyclists can choose between four events taking place in Val Gardena this summer.
The Italian resort, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has three main villages – Ortisei (1,236 m), Santa Cristina (1,428 m) and Selva di Val Gardena (1,563 m) – in the heart of the Dolomites. Between them they offer more than 600km of bike trails.
Cervinia has announced plans to open for summer skiing on the weekend of 25-26 June and then daily from the following weekend from 2 July to 4 September 2022.
Skiers and snowboarders have summer access to the year-round ski slopes of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise above Zermatt.
The Südtirol Gardenissima, which claims to be the most demanding Giant Slalom in the world, is back. It returns to the slopes for the 24th time, along with the Gardenissima Kids race, on 2 and 3 April 2022.
Recent new snowfalls have covered the valleys of Trentino in northern Italy. The Western ski resorts such as Brentonico, Monte Bondone, Paganella, the Madonna di Campiglio-Folgarida-Marilleva ski area, Passo Tonale and the eastern side of Trentino: San Martino di Castrozza, Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa and Alpe Cimbra have all had new snow.
Courmayeur Mont Blanc will be hosting the 7th Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience from 17 to 20 March 2022.
The event, which is being run in collaboration with Grand Hotel Royal & Golf, was created by Momentum Ski’s Amin Momen and celebrity UK chef Heston Blumenthal. It has built up a reputation for attracting top chefs and this season’s line-up includes Michelin star chefs Tom Kerridge, Paul Ainsworth and renowned local-chef Paolo Griffa.
With covid travel restrictions now easing, more couples, friends, and families will be looking to go away together. But what do you do when there is a split between those who do ski and snowboard and those who don’t? Courmayeur Mont Blanc, in the Italian Alps has come up with some exciting suggestions.
New lifts will be among the improvements skiers and snowboarders will find in Cortina d’Ampezzo this season. The famous Italian resort in te Dolomites will open its lift system on 28 November 2020 and the last ski area on its piste map to close will be the Faloria on 5 May 2021, making once more Cortina the destination with the longest ski season in the Dolomites.
Skiers and snowboarders who love to visit Italy’s Alta Badia region during one of its food festivals, or just simply for great meals on the slopes, will be pleased to hear they are still on the menu this season with all the necessary measures needed to meet covid requirements.