Montgenevre

Montgenevre is a pleasant, compact village, with an old centre pedestrianised centre, with narrow streets. The main road skirts the edge of town via a tunnel. Everything is within walking distance of the small number of shops, bars & restaurants in town.

Montgenevre ski resort is the ‘French Connection’ of the massive Via Lattea (Milky Way) interlinked skiing region. A large ski resort in its own right, Montgenèvre ski area has the benefit of an easy ski down the valley and then over the border to Claviere in Italy and the other resorts of the Via Lattea. To get your bearings you can actually walk from Montgenevre to Claviere over the Italy/France border. Thats how close the resorts are.

Montgenevre’s high-altitude base at 1850m (same as Val d’Isere) ensures great snow quality all season long and the diverse terrain ensures skiers and boarders of all abilities are well catered for. Probably best suited to families and those who want fabulous skiing, but don’t want a vibrant apres ski scene, though that aspect is certainly available in Sauze d’Oulx on the Italian side of the Via Lattea ski area.

When deciding on the Via Lattea and the other resorts which are all in Italy, Montgenevre is often overlooked being in France, yet it offers THE best variety of piste options for all ski abilities in the area, with terrific beginner slopes opposite the village. The lift system is also modern & efficient which cannot be said of the the rest of the Via Lattea area. For the more advanced or confident intermediate there is also extensive off-piste freeride terrain, with untracked powder for days, which is unusual in France, though boarders may find a few long traverses.

There are also some excellent mountain restaurants and there is plenty of ski-in ski-out accommodation available at reasonable prices with good value ski passes. Montgenevre too has good transport facilities via the TGV train station at Oulx, Italy or the train station in Briançon France, all reachable from London via Paris, or if flying then best via Milan Malpensa or Turin airports.

The resort provides the Via Lattea’s best combination of on-piste runs for novices, progressing beginners & intermediates. Split into three (or four depending on your view) sectors, Montgenevre’s ski terrain covers all aspects. The sunny south-aspect Secteur du Chalvet, has glorious, generally treeless open slopes plus some steeper variety on the shaded backside of Serre Thibaud. Across the road the north-aspect Gondrans Sector has a full range of trails, but less for advanced riders. Many are sheltered & tree lined for easy cruising in poor visibility. The wide slopes immediately opposite the village are covered with novice & child friendly runs & novice trails drop down from many of the upper lifts as well.

Toward the Italian border, the third sector, l’Aigle, is the wildest. Steeper on-piste plus complex alpine freeride terrain lead to what we would call the fourth sector – Claviere. Included in the local lift pass, Claviere has long cruising piste trails for beginners & intermediates, with some again through the trees.

The Montgenèvre off-piste has so many awesome & easily achievable options: the fluted spurs coming off the perfect Le Chalvet ridge; the backside of Serre Thibaud; the couloirs, bowls & trees from the high border crossing at the Roche de l’Aigle, loads of larch & pine forest tree-skiing ……… the list goes on.

Montgenevre has three different day pass lift ticket options. The local option is the Grand Montgenèvre ski pass, which is excellent value. It includes all the French ski lifts & several Claviere ski lifts on the Italian side up to Colle Bercia. For a few extra euros, a Monts de la Lune (Moon Mountains or Monti della Luna) ski pass can be purchased. The pass is valid for all the lifts in Montgenevre & Claviere all the way down to the crossing, Cesana Torinese.

To ski beyond Claviere from Montgenèvre, a Via Lattea International Pass is required. The pass is valid on all lifts & the 400km of ski pistes stretching across the valley from Cesana -Sansicario to Sestriere & Sauze d’Oulx.

Aside from the major ski areas of the Via Lattea (Cesana-Sansicario, Sauze d’Oulx & Sestriere), the nearby ski resort of Serre Chevalier is fantastic & included in multi-day Montgenevre lift passes. Further afield in Italy but still relatively close is Bardonecchia and in France, legendary La Grave. For many people though Montgenevre is their perfect resort and it does attract a lot of repeat visitors.