Category: Pila Ski in the Sky

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Our White Christmas in the Aosta Valley skiing in Pila

Our White Christmas in the Aosta Valley skiing in Pila. Photo: The-Ski-Guru

Just got back from a sixteen-day holiday for our annual white Christmas in the Aosta Valley skiing in Pila and enjoying all what the Aosta Valley has to offer.

Having a home in the small town of Morgex, the heart of the valley of Monte Bianco, called the Valdigne of Monte Bianco, allows us to go many times in the year to this beautiful spot-on earth.

Chaumont in the morning. Photo: The-Ski-Guru
Chaumont in the morning. Photo: The-Ski-Guru

The Drive to and From the Mountains. Our White Christmas in the Aosta Valley skiing in Pila.

We drive from south-east London each time, taking our dog and the kids (now teenagers) with us. Skiing is a holiday that everyone wants to come to, and I hope this keeps on happening for years to come, as I do enjoy our time together as a family. And skiing is the best thing that can get us all together!

As soon as school has closed for the holidays, we left on an early morning to Folkestone, the Eurotunnel site this side of the channel. I prefer taking the Eurotunnel over the ferry, as it is super easy. You just get your car on the rail and in 35’ you are on Calais, ready to drive on the continent. Plus, your trip is not cancelled for bad weather!

You can drive all the way to Morgex, in the Aosta Valley in one day. (11 hours).  We are just 10 minutes down of Courmayeur. Courmayeur is located just after crossing the Mont Blanc Tunnel. But for me, driving all in one day is not agreeable!  We always take two days to go and two days to come back.

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Pila has opened its new cable car Couis 1- Platta de Grevon

Pila has opened its new cablecar Couis 1- Platta de Grevon. Photo: Pila sPa.

After an intense year of work, on 14th December Pila has opened to the public the 10-seater cable car section from Couis 1 to Platta de Grevon.

This is one part of the full project that will be opened next year, from Pila all the way to Platta de Grevon. The part that has just opened has replaced an old double chairlift from the 80s, offering a new fast way to get to the top of the mountain. When one arrives, there is a new skiweg piste that will unite the two sides of the mountain, offering visitors more time to ski or snowboard at the resort.

Going up the new lift from Couis 1 to Platta de Grevon allows you to have magnificent views of the 4000s m peaks... as the Cervino or Matterhorn. Photo: Pila sPa.Pila has opened its new cablecar Couis 1- Platta de Grevon
Going up the new lift from Couis 1 to Platta de Grevon allows you to have magnificent views of the 4000s m peaks… as the Cervino or Matterhorn. Photo: Pila sPa. Pila has opened its new cablecar Couis 1- Platta de Grevon

In only 4’30” the new cable car will take all mountain lovers up to 2,700 meters. During the journey, you can see spectacular views of all 4000 meters peaks of the entire alpine arc.

Amazing views of the Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc), the Cervino (Matterhorn), the Monte Rosa, the Grivola and the Gran Paradiso can be seen from the top. You can also view in the distance the valley where the city of Aosta is, known by connoisseurs as the Rome of the Alps.

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The Settimana Bianca for the Italians has got more expensive as per Il Corriere/Altroconsumo

Starting to ski, by La Baraka. This past season (23-24) it was closed. For me it was the best bar, more when Freddy was in charge (a rockabilly kind of guy with great music and hot chocolates!) Food was great too. Lovely terrace. Hopefully this is re-opened by the 24-25 ski season. Just off the top of Chamolé lift (by piste 2).

Sky-high prices for ski weeks- here are the costs to go for the Settimana Bianca in nine ski resorts, as per an article published at Il Corriere della Sera with AltroConsumo.

Italians tend to go skiing on their Settimana Bianca in two different weeks. First week is for the New Year’s Eve week and the second week is during Carnival.

My youngest with my husband after his ski lesson in Madonna di Campiglio. 7 things that can help you when taking kids skiing.
My youngest with my husband after his ski lesson in Madonna di Campiglio.

Between travel, accommodation and ski pass. New Year’s week is more expensive than Carnival week, like 40% more.

Prices for New Years have increased 14% in respect with last. And the year before, the prices already have increased by 20%. For Carnival Week, rates have increased by 5%

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Pila has postponed its opening of the ski season to Saturday 6th December.

Pila has postponed its opening of the ski season to Saturday 6th December. Photo: Webcam Pila.it

Pila has postponed its opening of the ski season to Saturday 6th December. It was supposed to open this weekend, but they don’t have enough snow for it. Even though when you see at the webcams, it does not look so bad. Actually, it looks pretty good!

Pila, as it is mostly on grassy fields, do not need as much snow to open as, for example, Courmayeur does (as its terrain is more on high mountain which is rockier! You need snow to cover those rocks!). You can read a more detailed explanation of how much snow ski resorts need to open on this past post of mine.

The new ski map of Pila with its cable car replacing the old double Couis 1 on the top, and the skiweg connection from the top of Couis 1 to Couis 2. Courtesy: Pila Spa.
The new ski map of Pila with its cable car replacing the old double Couis 1 on the top, and the skiweg connection from the top of Couis 1 to Couis 2. Courtesy: Pila Spa.

The latest snowstorms have hit Pila, but not as much snow has fallen there, as it has on the Mont Blanc area and on the Cervino. Cervnia is opening more terrain this weekend, as well as Courmayeur.

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Pila is ready for the coming winter ski season 2024-25

Pila is ready for the coming winter season 2024-25. Photo: Pila Spa.

Pila is ready for this coming winter season 2024-25 with lots of news. From a new cablecar to new pistes- read more below.

Starting to ski, by La Baraka. This past season (23-24) it was closed. For me it was the best bar, more when Freddy was in charge (a rockabilly kind of guy with great music and hot chocolates!) Food was great too. Lovely terrace. Hopefully this is re-opened by the 24-25 ski season. Just off the top of Chamolé lift (by piste 2).
Starting to ski, by La Baraka. This past season (23-24) it was closed. For me it was the best bar, more when Freddy was in charge (a rockabilly kind of guy with great music and hot chocolates!) Food was great too. Lovely terrace. Hopefully this is re-opened by the 24-25 ski season. Just off the top of Chamolé lift (by piste 2). 

Pila is our beloved family resort, located at 1800 m above sea level, with easy access to the city of Aosta (the Rome of the Alps). There is a cablecar that takes you up from a parking lot next to the train station in Aosta, to the base area of Pila in 18 minutes. As Pila is on a basin (or conca, as said in Italian), it is protected of winds (compared to Cervinia and La Thuile), and its pistes have northern exposure, which keeps the snow for longer time. Also, due to Pila being on a grassy mountain, you do not need too much snow for skiing on this mountain. This is a vantage of a mountain like this. Mountains that are on more rocky terrain-(like those closer to the higher Alps), need a deeper base for making it operative for to skiers and boarders.

Pila has also very good snowmaking that helps those areas where there is more tracking by skiers and boarders, making it possible remain open until after Easter.

I have written a detailed guide to Pila with where to stay here.

The ski area has 4 black, 22 red and 5 blue runs which makes 70km of trails. The terrain goes from 1,540 to 2,750 m above sea level. It has 14 lifts, including chairlifts, cable cars and a funicular.

Rendering of new Valley Station for Pila in Pila 1800 m. This part will be ready for the 25-26 ski season. Courtesy Pila SPA.
Rendering of new Valley Station for Pila in Pila 1800 m. This part will be ready for the 25-26 ski season. Courtesy Pila SPA. Pila is ready for the coming winter season 2024-25

Pila is preparing for the 2024-25 ski season with lots of news. They will open a new 10-seater “Couis 1” cable car. This will be for this season on the second section of the Pila-Couis master plan for the resort. This second section will change the old double chairlift Cuois 1 for the new cable car and will allow to reach an altitude of 2,700 meters in just 15’ (and 4 1/2 minutes for the Couis 1 section only!)

Up there you can have panoramic views of the most iconic peaks in the Alps, including Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco), the Matterhorn (Cervino), Monte Rosa, Grivola and Gran Paradiso. A new panoramic restaurant in the shape of a star will be signalising each of these peaks. This restaurant, called “Stella del Couis” will not be finished by this ski season (but yes for the 2025-26 ski season), and the construction will be stopped during the winter.

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The Must-Read Guide to Pila, Aosta Valley

Skiing on top of Piste 2 in Pila, with inversion in the bottom. Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Must-Read Guide to Pila, Aosta Valley

Why Visit – The Must-Read Guide to Pila, Aosta Valley

This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

Pila is a resort that I’ve got to know by chance. I’ve drove with my family to Ollomont, a tiny ski resort at the end of the road of the Valpelline Valley, north of Aosta for the first ski holiday of my little one that was three. (My eldest went once to ski in Portillo before!)

Nice and warm day in Pila, snow became corn snow overnight- still nice! Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Must-Read Guide to Pila, Aosta Valley
Nice and warm day in Pila, snow became corn snow overnight- still nice! Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Must-Read Guide to Pila, Aosta Valley

As the ski area of Ollomont was too small (even though at first, I’ve thought it was ideal), and it did not have ski instructor nor skis or boots for my little boys, I had to go elsewhere. Somebody told us to go either to Pila in Aosta, or Crévacol, by the Grand Saint Bernard Pass. We went to Aosta, and the next was history.

We have been going ever since there, even though now we do not stay at the bottom of the main cable car, but in our home in Morgex (30’ away).

My youngest learnt to ski there, and my two boys love the resort, so we keep on going back for more. Even though I am more nearby La Thuile and Courmayeur, we tend to go to Pila, as it is a very easy-to-deal with and family-friendly ski area.

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Our Christmas holidays in the mountains with the kids and our dog! Courmayeur, Aosta.

The boys waiting for the funicular of Val Veny to take us back to Courmayeur. Photo: The-Ski-Guru.

Our Christmas holidays in the mountains with the kids and our dog! Courmayeur, Aosta.

This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

So now that we are happy homeowners of a lovely flat in the mountains, we’ll be there on every possible occasion. To do it cheap and more environmentally friendly, we drive with a full car going through the Eurotunnel and sleeping over in Chaumont on our way up, staying at the Ibis Chaumont Centre Gare, and in Reims coming back.

And as leaving your dog in care in the UK is super expensive, more in Christmas, we decided to take him with us and try our ski holiday with a dog! We have already travelled with him when we went to equip the flat in October, and I’ve realised, that if Ozzy had his sleeping crate, he is fine. That is his safe place. So, I’ve ordered one in Amazon to be delivered in Italy. That made the trick.

We arrived in Morgex with some foul weather. Still so pretty that we went out every day! Our Christmas holidays in the mountains with the kids and our dog! Courmayeur, Aosta.
We arrived in Morgex with some foul weather. Still so pretty that we went out every day! Our Christmas holidays in the mountains with the kids and our dog! Courmayeur, Aosta.

When we go and stay over in a hotel, there is no way that Ozzy will stay happy at a hotel room, even with his best filled bone. He starts crying first and the noise turns into a bark- therefore that is not an option! We have learnt to go to eat in two halves. Usually my husband and my eldest take Ozzy for a walk and I have a quick dinner with my youngest, and then we go to the room and stay with Ozzy while they have dinner. Same in the morning for breakfast. It is not ideal, but that seems to work fine for us.

The trip to the mountains is always amazing. I was expecting it to be much busier, as we’ve left the day after school broke up, on 21st December. I was glad to see that the route was pretty empty, even if France was having transport strikes at the time.

We arrived in our home in Morgex, just 10’ down the road from Courmayeur, in the Aosta Valley, with good light and with time to bring all the goodies we were bringing to the flat to finish decorating it. As the car was really full, we will need to bring more boxes in our next February trip.

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Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta

The outside of the apartment in Morgex that we've finished buying. My experience of buying a home in the Italian Alps.

Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne (Il Cuore della Valdigne) to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta for your ski or summer holiday.

This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

The Aosta Valley is magnificent from wherever you look at it. Great mountains, from the Mont Blanc, Monte Cervino (Matterhorn) and Monterosa, to glaciers, rivers, hot springs, lakes, you name it.

Living room at Il Cuore della Valdigne. Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta.
Living room at Il Cuore della Valdigne. Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta.

Having a holiday there is the best way to disconnect from everyday worries, the rat race and why all of us who love the mountains, want to at least, do once a year.

Il Cuore della Valdigne is a beautiful stone and wood apartment in the middle of the Valdigne, the valley of the Mont Blanc, what in my opinion, has the nicest vistas of the Aosta Valley and one of the nicest of the Alps.

Being in the middle of Morgex, just 10’ outside Courmayeur, 3 minutes from the Pré Saint Didier terme (natural hot springs) and 20’ from La Thuile, and to the other side, 25’ to Aosta and the gondola of Pila, the chalet is located in a great strategic location for going skiing, cross country skiing (in Arpy, Val Ferret or Cogne), mountain biking, snow shoeing, winter walking, white water rafting and relaxing in the hot springs.

Living room at Il Cuore della Valdigne. Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta.
Living room at Il Cuore della Valdigne. Stay at the Heart of the Valdigne to ski in Courmayeur, La Thuile and Pila/Aosta.

The apartment has two bedrooms and two bathrooms with showers in two floors, a living room with a double-sided chimney that also opens to the dining room. The wooden kitchen with the slate kitchen top is a delight, with all you need if you fancy doing a big meal. If you don’t, no worries, you are a stone throw away from many bars and restaurants in Morgex: Mont Blanc Café, Café de l’Archet, La Locanda, Trattoria da Bepe, and if you fancy something much more deluxe, the renown Casa Quinson, all within two blocks from the apartment.

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Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday

On the way to Lago Chamolé with the family. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.

Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday

Last season we’ve had a holiday in the mountains, staying in Courmayeur. We tend to go to the Aosta Valley every winter, and we’ve passed by Aosta coming back from Lake Como a couple of times, but we never went up the mountain up from Aosta. My kids are very keen of Pila, as it is the very first resort where my youngest learnt how to ski, and the first European resort where my oldest skied. Pila is just on top of the city of Aosta, the capital of the Aosta Valley, in the border of Italy with France to the West and Switzerland to the North.

On top of the gondola from Aosta parking lot to the base area of Pila. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.
On top of the gondola from Aosta parking lot to the base area of Pila. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.

This week we have chosen to stay in Courmayeur was a bit unsettled, you had nice weather in the morning and torrential rain in the afternoon, so we needed to choose the gap when to go up in order not to get soaked!

We went in the morning, Pila is 30’ through the motorway from Courmayeur, and 40-45’ if coming through the scenic national route. We went through the nice route and left the car in the parking lot of Pila by the train station in Aosta.

On top of the Chamolé chairlift. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.
On top of the Chamolé chairlift. Our family hike in Pila during the past summer holiday.

My kids were really excited, and so were my husband and myself, to get into the 18’ Leitner gondola ride up the mountain. It is weird to see all the mountain without snow, and weirder to see the landing of the gondola full of grass and nicely piquet fencing to direct the ‘pietons’ up or down the mountain.

We’ve started by going down to the start of the Chamolé chairlift. Walking down it seemed much shorter than going on skis – which I find weird, but I guess that not having to pass by all those ‘Interskiers’- (as we call the kids that come with Interski to Pila in the winter) who barricade the exit of the gondola, makes it a smoother walk down.

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The Half Term Family Ski Holiday that did not result as planned

My youngest son at Maison Vielle- with the majestic Mont Blanc behind. Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Half Term Family Ski Holiday that did not result as planned.

The Half Term Family Ski Holiday that did not result as planned

Our Family Half Term ski holiday is always decided one year in advance. Pretty much we always go to the Aosta Valley, as my youngest boy does not want to change location. I see it with my family, and I’ve seen it with many people over the years (even with myself when I’ve started skiing while much younger!)

You go to one resort, you get familiarised with it, and you don’t want to change! All is easy, and just changing to another resort, makes it too challenging. I see it as using an old pair of jeans, that you don’t want to change for something else!

So, we were set to leave the Friday before the half term- as my husband is the sole driver (for me it was too difficult changing sides of the road when I’ve moved from Argentina to the UK, that I daren’t do it again!)

Getting up early pays off - usually. Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Half Term Family Ski Holiday that did not result as planned.
Getting up early pays off – usually. Photo: The-Ski-Guru. The Half Term Family Ski Holiday that did not result as planned.

Our car has been acting funny since September, when the Turbo went off. Then it started revving between 2nd and 3rd gears and we’ve took it twice to the mechanics. The first time we were said it was solved, but it was not, and I’ve took the car back in the garage two weeks before leaving. I did not have the car until the Wednesday of the week we were leaving – we were leaving at 4 AM on the Friday of that week and I was already very nervous about it and seeing if we could rent a car in the UK to cross to the continent.

Apparently, you can do so with Hertz and Avis, but obviously these cars do not bring roof rack, nor winter tyres or chains. So, I was budgeting all that just in case. My husband was saying that if we did not have our car back, we were staying and cancelling the trip, and my kids and me were completely distraught at the thought of it.

The car came out off the garage so then we were going to be ready to go. The night after taking our dog to some friends to look after him, my husband told me that the revving was still there, but that I should not worry. He was sure that this was not going to be anything.

Off we went with our skis, helmets, ski boots, all the paraphernalia you take when you go skiing. We set out in good time and at the Eurotunnel we were given a crossing one hour earlier, so we had time only to go to the bathroom and pick up some coffee and croissants to eat in the car.

We had a very good driving. Last year there was snow from home all the way to Folkestone and from Calais all the way to Italy. This time all the roads were clean, and the weather was beautiful, pretty warm too. This was not the best snow year for the Alps – (Austria and Eastern Switzerland got lots of snow, as well as other Eastern European countries like Romania), but for France, Italy and Western Switzerland the snow was ok, but just.

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