PISTE MAP
SKI Area
- Courmayeur is home to 41km of pisted runs and over 100km of off-piste making it one of the most attractive Freeriding resorts in the world.
- Home to some superb skiing and some breathtaking views – be sure to take in all the views if you get a bluebird day!
- Like its neighbouring ski town the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel, Chamonix, it attracts lots of freeriders due to its great snow and unrivalled off piste routes.
- Part of the Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass which enables you to ski in other destinations such as Chamonix, Les Houches and Megeve to name but a few.
- Home to some great heli-skiing* for the most adventurous riders amongst us!
- Free lifts in Plan Chécrouit for beginners provide a great place to learn whilst not having to worry about lift pass prices.
Courmayeur is rivalled by few places for its long and legendary off-piste* lines and diverse terrain which has the ability to make even the less experienced off-piste skiers look and feel like pros! With a massive 100km of accessible off-piste* and even more options opened up by the possibility of heli-skiing, it is easy to see why many of the worlds top freeride professionals make the pilgrimage to Courmayeur each season to test their skills and refine there technique.
This is not to say that it is good for nothing else, far from it in fact. With dedicated free lifts over at Plan Chécrouit, it acts as a great area for those first-time skiers/snowboarders to fall in love with the sport with little worry over lift passes in case they don’t enjoy it. Intermediates will find some joy here as well – Courmayeur is a great place for a ski weekend away with the 41km of pisted runs, with some long sweeping blues, but the majority of runs being rather more relentless red runs. If you are an intermediate looking at doing a week here however you may find it more to your benefit buying a Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass, which will allow you to access other great resorts such as Chamonix and Megeve. This is great as it means you have a huge amount of skiing available to you on your holiday.
This resort is extremely well suited to the more advanced intermediate and expert skiers, though less confident intermediates and beginners will still be able to progress here and will still have a nice time and be able to enjoy the fine Italian hospitality and cuisine as well as the slopes!
Take a look below at our breakdown to find out more information relevant to your ability:
Advanced
Quite simply you will be spoilt for choice in Courmayeur – whilst there are only a few black runs actually on piste, your choice of off-piste* is what Courmayeur is really known for. Don’t be put off by this though, as the black runs in Courmayeur are serious black runs – this means they are steep and quite often have some challenging moguls on them.
Intermediates
If you are skiing around in the Mont Blanc area, then it would be a crime not to ski with some stunning views of the mountain itself in your peripheral vision. So, we suggest heading up over towards the Plan de la Gabba and testing yourself on the reds over here – you will struggle to find many pistes with better views than this! To make it even better, the runs are quite wide and open up towards the top, above the tree line. The Youla red run is also another belter, so make sure you have a play around over here!
Beginners
The main beginner area for Courmayeur is the Plan Chécrouit area. Either the Courmayeur cable car or the Dolonne gondola can access this area. Up in Plan Chécrouit, there is a free lift for the beginners and a couple of magic carpet areas as well. Once you have moved from these areas, some great runs to try are at the top of the Pra Neyron chairlift on the ‘Courba’ blue run either back towards Plan Chécrouit or you can take it towards blue number 2 (also known as the Val Veny blue) which has some spectacular views of Mont Blanc as you make your way back down to the valley.
Snowboarders
Courmayeur is a pretty playful resort for snowboarders, and with no real flat spots around the resort, you can keep charging for the duration of the trip without having to worry about unstrapping every 2 minutes! A great thing about Courmayeur is all of the side hits and tracks that you can follow that will keep you on your toes with the stoke level up at its limits! If that isn’t quite enough for you, then there is also the terrain park called Snow Park 26, which can be found by the Aretu chairlift. The park has beginner, intermediate and expert lines and also features an airbag so you can practice your spins. With few draglifts in the resort as well (only really in the beginner areas) there is not much to worry about, so get out there and let the shredding commence!
Off-Piste*
When you are out in Courmayeur and the snow is good, the off-piste feels limitless! One run in particular that catches many peoples attention is down the Toula glacier, which is considered by many to be an Alpine classic and is a run that should definitely be ticked off if you are heading on a powder trip to Courmayeur. One thing that is certain though, you will need a guide to show you the safest and best spots so you can really make the most of your time in Italy with Ski Weekends.
*Ski Weekends strongly advise that off-piste skiing should only be undertaken when in the company of a professional ski instructor or guide.
To find out more about skiing in Courmayeur feel free to contact one of our friendly Ski Experts on 023 8020 6971 or email sales@skiweekends.com