Montgenevre

[massistar]

So as the weather starts to finally take a turn away from scorching temperatures I'm turning my mind to skiing..

We're a group of 3 families, all good skiers/snowboarders with teens who love tricky slopes and snow parks.

Would love a big self catered chalet if possible and have seen a couple in Montgenevre but we've never been there before. Any advice or opinions?

I know Montgenèvre well. Sounds like it would be a good resort for you. If thinking of Easter be wary as the links to Italy close first week April, which hugely reduces the area. Not too expensive and if you have a car you can visit Briancon which is 15 mins drive down the road. We had a fab round of coffees (5 cappuccinos/lattes) in Feb on the Italian piste for less than €9. On another occasion a friend was taken ill on the piste and the pisteurs and doctors were lovely.

Thanks @Radiatorvalves ! Yes it's the Italian pistes that are the attraction as my DH is Italian. We usually ski the Dolomites but were looking for something different. Is there any accommodation you'd recommend?

If you're all good skiers who want high milage, you may be better served staying in one of the Italian resorts within the Milky Way. I love Montgenevre but only if you're happy to mostly stay on the local slopes. There's a couple of border cross courses, a natural gully run and a good mix of pistes, although more cruisy pistes with only a handful of challenges.

If you stayed in Sauze d'oulx or Sestriere, you'd have a much wider area to explore, with snow parks, some fab olympic downhill pistes and the amazing hot chocolates at the mountain huts.

I'd also suggest Serre Chevalier, similar landscape but better connected mountains, plenty of accommodation options.

Thanks @turtletum . That's good to know. We are all decent skiers who like nice, long reds with the odd challenging black. Sauze d'Oulx is the other option we were looking at. Will have a look at Serre Chevalier as well.

Hi there. I’m afraid I don’t have any accommodation recommendations - we have a place about an hour away down the valley and drive up occasionally. I think that if Italy is the attraction it might be better to stay in Sauze d’O or Sestrière. I’ve never managed to ski there from montgenevre as links can be shut. The piste map is a good read!

Sorry meant to mention Serre Che. The skiing is fantastic and much more challenging than montgenevre. You’ve also got the advantage of being near Briancon which is an interesting place to visit. Plus the fabulous baths at Monêtier les Bains.

This was years ago but there was a ski bus from Sestriere to Montgenevre and presumably VV. We stayed in Sestriere but skied a bit in Mongenevre.
I think in theory you can ski over too.

Also been to Serre Che and recommend highly. Nicer resort than Sestriere.

Montgenevre is a fantastic family resort. However it is mainly blues and easy reds. There are a few more challenging pistes on the Chalvet south facing side. However it is linked to Claviere which has a few long reds. If your teens want challenging runs they might prefer somewhere like Les Arcs (in particular Arc 2000)

Thanks all. Sounds like it might not be the resort for us. We've been in La Plagne but not Les Arcs. Might be an idea!

I’m really tempted by Montgenèvre but have heard the mountain restaurants and few and far between and terrible, is this really the case?

I’m not sure why it’s got such a reputation. I was at the restaurant by Gondrans chair recently (easy blues above resort) and there’s a nice restaurant there. I had a coffee and hot pain au choc for €4 on a sunny terrace.

On the other side of the valley there’s an amazing restaurant (quite fancy and you might need to book), however my favourite option is to get the new bubble up the Rocher de l’Aigle and ski over into Italy straight to a cafe /restaurant that does wonderful cappuccinos at a budget price. You can carry on down to Clavière for a selection of good restaurants.