The Monterosa Ski is an Italian

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

, at the foot of

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

the second tallest mountain in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

, which links three valleys, located largely in the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

and the remainder in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Much of the area consists of easy and intermediate skiing, but the area around the Passo dei Salati and especially the steep slopes in

Alagna Valsesia Alagna Valsesia (Walser German: ''Im Land'', Piedmontese: ''Alagna'', Valsesiano: ''Lagna'') is a ''comune'' and small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy, a UNESCO World heritage site ...

are a major and very famous destination for freeride skiers and snow-boarders.

Description

The area takes its name from the huge and spectacular

massif as the heads of its three constituent valleys are located within this group. These valleys are the

Val d'Ayas Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...

and the

Lys Valley Lys or LYS may refer to: Places *Les Lys, a Premier cru vineyard in Chablis * Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport, France (by IATA code) * Lys (department), a ''département'' during the First French Empire, now in Belgium * Lys (Dora Baltea), a stream ...

, located within the

, and

in the Valsesia Valley, in Piedmont. The connections between the valleys are at the Bettaforca Pass (Ayas and Lys), and the Passo dei Salati (Lys and Valsesia). These connections are susceptible to closure in the case of high winds. Since 2010, most of the lift system is open in summer for mountain bikers and hikers. One can reach Frachey ( Ayas), then

and back within the same day using only the lifts.

Ski Pistes and Lifts

There are approximately 180 km of ski slopes (almost all equipped with snow-making), from the most simple to the more technical (19 blue runs, 41 red runs and 6 black runs, including, in

Gressoney-Saint-Jean Gressoney-Saint-Jean (Gressoney wae, Greschòney Zer Chilchu; frp, Gressonèy-Sèn-Dzan; german: Kressenau Sankt Johann) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy. Geography The town is situated in a valley forme ...

, the most difficult of the whole Aosta Valley), and 38 lifts that start at a minimum altitude of 1212 m above sea level

and reach up to 3275 m s.l.m. at Indren Peak. The overall uplift capacity of the lift system is about 50,000 people per hour. The

part of the district is world-famous for its many off-piste skiing and ski mountaineering like Balma and Malfatta. The ski area is operated jointly by two companies: Monterosa S.p.A. and MONTEROSA 2000 S.p.A. (of Alagna). They operatate a diverse range of ski lifts:

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...

funifor An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''gondolas'', or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employ ...

(

Funifor Pianalunga - Passo dei Salati An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''gondolas'', or open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more cables. Aerial lift systems are frequently employ ...

), cable car, ski lift, treadmill and chairlift (two-seater, three-seater, fixed-grip quad chairlift or automatic) are the different types of plants lifts that make up the district.

Constituent Resorts

The individual villages and hamlets that are resorts within the ski area are : * Ayas - Antagnod * Ayas -

Champoluc Champoluc is a village in the commune of Ayas, in the province of Aosta Valley, Northern Italy. The area is known as a centre for hiking, mountaineering and skiing, particularly around the Monte Rosa Massif. Geography It is one of the 3 mai ...

* Brusson *

Gressoney-La-Trinité Gressoney-La-Trinité (Gressoney wae, Greschòney Drifaltigkeit or ; frp, Gressonèy-La-Trinità) is a town or '' commune'' and renowned alpine resort at the foot of Monte Rosa in the Val de Gressoney, which is part of the Aosta Valley region of ...

Of these only Champoluc, Gressoney-La-Trinité and Alagna are directly connected by ski lifts and routes. This interconnected area forms the largest part of the available skiing. The Alpe di Mera was part of the Monterosa Ski for the seasons 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.

References

External links

Official website

Description

Ski Pistes and Lifts

Constituent Resorts

References

External links

Further reading