Skiing and feasting in Ccourmayeur
Get up at a reasonable hour and head out of the chalet by 0900. Through the Mt Blanc tunnel and into Italy. Park at the Val Veny cable car, which is just a few hundred yards from the tunnel exit and less than 30 mins' drive from the chalet. Handily, a day in Courmayeur is included in most Chamonix week ski passes.
Different world on this side of Mt Blanc
Look up at Mt Blanc from this side - looks completely different. Much rockier, more jagged, more cliffs. Not much blanc about it at all - it's mostly brown rock and dirty grey glaciers.
Ride up the cable car and put skis/boards on at the top. Great view back down to Courmayeur town and off down the Aosta Valley. We may only be a few km from Chamonix, but it does look noticeably different - the houses are built more from stone (less wood) and, as spring advances, it looks/feels more 'southern'. There's also quite a lot of the Milan/Turin fur coat brigade on show.
Set off on a fairly gentle traverse through the trees, before swinging down a nice cruisy run to Zerotta, set right beneath the glaciers. You feel like the mountain is about to step out on top of you. Amazing.
Hop on speedy 4-man chair back up to the ridge that separates the 2 main ski areas in Courmayeur. From there, either head off down the front side to catch the bubble and chairlifts further up the mountain. Or take your pick from blue, red and black runs back down thro' the trees to Zerotta.
Great terrain for bad weather days
We love this part of the mountain. It's brilliant in bad weather, 'cos you're always below the treeline and can see where you're going. The pistes are well looked after and quite friendly if that's what you're after. But you can also rip it down, nipping in and out of the trees, pinging some nice jumps. It keeps the snow quite well, facing northwest. And the best bit is when you get to lunchtime...
Lunch at Giorgio's restaurant...
Giorgio runs the restaurant on the right-hand side as you come back down to Zerotta. In a resort that has a ridiculous number of great places to eat on the mountain, we keep coming back here. He's hilarious fun - a true character. Grub is hearty mountain fare - great trays of local cured hams, salamis and 'lard' (delicious strips of melt-in-your-mouth ham fat) to start, 'stinco' (pork shank) and deep warming wild boar or venison stews with polenta for main - sod pudding, you won't have any room left. Wash it down with a few glasses of the Aosta staple red - Petit Rouge - and round it off with a short, sharp espresso and a gulp of Giorgio's grappa or genepi. Bloody fantastico!
Head back out into the fresh mountain air, feeling wonderfully fuelled and warmed. Talk about a glow in the belly and on the cheeks.
Hop back onto the 4-man chair and then down over the other side of the ridge to catch the bubble. At the top of this lift, squeeze into the world's smallest cable car - something that looks like a relic from a '60s Bond film - up towards the Cresta d'Arp. It's a 2-stage lift, but the top bit isn't open often. I haven't skied them yet, but there are some great off-piste itineraries from both the mid and top station - make sure you have a guide and the proper kit.
From the mid-station, traverse right off the piste (if you're happy off-piste, that is). Keep going and going - as far around as you like. When you're ready, turn and burn straight down the fall line, there's often great powder up here. Choose to either head back over the ridge in the direction of Zerotta for more lovely skiing through the trees. Or zoom down the big broad blue/red pistes back to the bottom of the bubble.
A great day out
Courmayeur isn't the world's biggest resort and those reared on cruising the endless motorway blues and reds of the French mega-resorts might find themselves short of new pistes to add to their "been there, done that run" list. But it's a great spot with something for all abilities, lots of tree skiing (ideal on bad weather days) and some of the best restaurants and views in the Alps. Which all sounds pretty bloody grand in my book...