Pila
You know a good praline? Or that one slice
of cake (just ONE) you love so much? That's what I think of when I speak about
skiing in Pila, Aosta
Valley, and I cannot
think of any comparison which could be more appropriate. A small pleasure to
treat yourself with sometimes, that is difficult to renounce …
Pila has been created for skiing, and it shows. Forget about an Alpine-style
village (or rather just forget about the village), forget the après-ski and the
night life, but be prepared to beautiful and perfectly groomed slopes. Of all
the ski areas that I visited, in fact, Pila wins the Oscar for track
maintenance: if you are looking for runs as smooth as a table with perfect
snow, this is the place. Unfortunately, the ski area is smaller than that of
nearby competitors, but well worth a visit. Here you can see the dedication to
the sport of skiing, not just in the maintenance of runs, but also in the
organization and attention to customers. The renewed cable car Pila-Aosta also
allows a quick and easy access directly from the city of Aosta (which means that
the area is about one hour's drive from Turin and about two from Milan), making
Pila one of the closest resorts to large cities of northern Italy.
Alternatively, you can reach Pila by car.
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| No-frills skiing in Pila |
Ski area
Despite its small size, Pila offers many
high-technical and well-exposed tracks. It was really difficult to choose the
four tracks that you will see below. As is usual for the towns of Aosta Valley,
here you will find unique landscapes, with views ranging from Mont
Blanc, to Mont Rose and Matterhorn.
12 lifts and 70
kilometers of slopes (declared ...).
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| In violet my suggestions |
Du Bois (track 2) This beautiful track, that runs into
the woods, starts from the arrival of the Chamolé chair lift. Sections with
medium gradients are followed by lighter ones. An ideal run if you want to
enjoy alternating large curves at speed with tight ones. The last part is narrower
and you could also find a more packed or iced snow ... so beware!
Leissé (13)
Another very wide red track which allows
you to diversify, opting for one of the many variants. As for Du Bois, its
width and the excellent quality of snow (and this applies to all) allow you to
test yourself on higher speeds (I recommend ... safely! Especially the last
part, where the track converges with those for beginners).
Lo Goil (19)
In the upper part of the ski area. After getting over
a slow and cold chair-lift run, launch yourself into the outstanding first
part, and then let your skis go in the large central plateau before entering
the woods at the end (where you can stop and relax in a small hut-restaurant).
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| Le Goil central part: give power to your skis! |
Platta de Grevon (27) One of the latest developments in
the area. At the arrival of the lift Couis 1, take the magic carpet on your
left to reach the start of this track. Take your time to enjoy the wonderful
landscape in front of you and then jump in this black track. Facing north, it
is almost always in the shade and has really interesting gradients. At the end
of this track, you can continue on one of the runs leading down to the village,
thus having the opportunity to cover almost 1000 meters in
altitude.
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| Breathtaking view |
Ski pass
UPDATE 2014
Surely Pila does not offer a great value for
money (if you compare kilometers of slopes and prices). However, considering
the proximity and quality of the slopes, the price is certainly appropriate for
what this resort has to offer.
For the 2013/2014 season, the daily pass costs €37. The 6-day ski pass (two of
which can be spent in other resorts in the Aosta Valley)
€164,50.
Skitrotter Tips
- Especially if you plan a one-day trip, I suggest you
to buy the ticket online (you will need the Aosta Valley
ski card ... check on the official website), thus avoiding long queues at
checkouts.
- If you plan to stay several days by purchasing a
multi-day ticket, the ideal is to have a car to take advantage of the
opportunity provided by these tickets to ski also at other stations (see above)
of the Aosta Valley. Unfortunately, there are no
convenient public transport links ...
- If you like free riding, you will find what you need,
especially starting from the arrival of the chair Couis 1.
- Have fun with your children ... in the village Park Tube ...
Info
Pila, Aosta, Aosta Valley
(All the distances below are from Aosta;
from Pila just add 20 km)
From Italy, from Turin (116 km) motorway A5 to Aosta, Aosta Est exit,
then follow directions for Aosta-Pila cable car
From Milan (185 km)
motorway A4 to Santhia, then E26 to Ivrea and A5 until Aosta Est, directions to
Aosta-Pila cable car
From France, from Grenoble (255 km) A41 to Allonzier la Caille,
A410 and A40 to Chamonix, A5 to Aosta Est,
then follow directions to Aosta-Pila cable car
By train, station of Aosta.
Airports
Turin Caselle (110 km)
Milan Malpensa (178 km)
Neighbourhood
La Thuile
(40 Km)
Courmayeur
(40 km)
Breuil –
Cervinia (57 km)
Champoluc –
MonterosaSki (64 km)
Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa
More Info
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on Facebook, on email skitrotter@gmail.com
