CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT La Thuile, Italy borders with La Rosière, France. You can ski between the two countries without any problems and you don’t need to show your passport. It’s a good idea to have lunch—and coffee—on the Italian side. A roman bridge near Gressoney. History runs deep in Aosta. Chalet Eden is a wonderful family-owned hotel right next to the mountain in La Thuile. Here, Stefano Jacquemod (middle) is flanked by his sons Mattia (left) and Stefano (right). All three are local ski instructors and run the hotel together. Chad Sayers breaks for lunch in La Thuile. HOSPITALITY IS ANOTHER of the region’s specialties. During my Telemark Championships visit—nominally an infiltration of the dirtiest of dirtbags from a dozen alpine countries — the town didn’t hesitate to roll out the red carpet. To begin, we were all invited to march in a parade. It wound along cobblestoned Via Roma, led by concertinas, cymbals and drums that echoed from stucco and brick facades as they had for the eight centuries of the town’s existence. Crowding balconies, villagers waved to the flag-carrying newcomers as if we were liberators. At an ancient church, the column dispersed into a plaza with views to the wrinkled feet of Monte Bianco, a kingly massif whose alabaster cape draped a corner of the sky. From a small stage, dignitaries welcomed the crowd to cheers and applause. Camaraderie flowed like warm syrup, and when the luminaries filed off, this manifested as frenzied bacchanalia. The townsfolk had laid out a feast—long tables set with mounds of regional meats and cheeses, fruits and vegetables, olives and breads. There was also wine, beer and, of course, grappa. Many of us had never seen such a volume of quality food—and all for free. With the mien of starving wolves, we fell upon what seemed our last sustenance. It wasn’t, of course. And most food consumed during the event was drawn from a similar citizen-mediated horn-of-plenty. The town clearly didn’t take its largesse lightly— whether feeding dirtbags or royalty. Royalty were indeed common callers in ages past, stretch-ing from the Romans to the jet-setting 1960s. These days, Courmayeur hosts a different sort: on weekends, Via Roma becomes a see-and-be-seen catwalk for Milano and Torino celebrities and fashionistas, many of them non-skiers. The up-side of this phenomenon is that demand for top dining, fabu-lous coffee and extraordinary wine has elevated Courmayeur’s local delicacies—long produced using artisanal methods in a challenging environment—to those of a gourmet destination, still willingly shared during free-smorgasbord Happy Hours with villagers, humble mountain guides and wide-eyed skiers. The rarified experience here extends to the skiing. What other mountain advertises 22 miles of piste plus 40 miles of off-Pizzeria Tunnel in Courmayeur, Italy might have the best pizza in the upper Aosta valley. Aostan gelato is made slower, kept colder, and surrounded by much larger mountains than traditional American ice cream. piste , actually inviting you to explore some of the world’s most outrageous skiing? It doesn’t much matter what you choose: both lift-served sectors—south-facing Plan Chécrouit and the north-facing forests of Val Veny—offer breathtaking views to Monte Bianco, whose blue-toothed glaciers feel within reach of your fingertips. And there’s more to consider—like the obstreperous neighbors. Few things differentiate France and Italy as starkly as comparing the working-man’s extreme-ski destination of Chamonix to ritzy, food-focused Courmayeur on the other side of the same massif. The towns not only embody two cultural solitudes, but geographic and skiing divides as well. While Chamonix floods annually with mountaineers and powder-hungry experts from around the world, there’s never a fight for untracked snow above laid-back Courmayeur. And yet, like the better-known Aguille du Midi, Cormayeur’s Punta Helbronner is a similarly classic steep-ski venue. The two ro-tating trams of the recently opened Monte Bianco Skyway—a de facto engineering eighth wonder of the world—deliver you to the 3,462-meter summit in just 15 minutes, with access to the Toula Glacier, Couloir Marbrées and other off-piste gems. While confused expressions like “posh soul” are still in-voked to describe it, Courmayeur has always been a place of colliding sensibilities. Famed mountaineer Auguste Argentier thought as much back in 1864: “A sweet, expressive, mighty, capricious, savage, fascinating natural environment which seems to say: stay here!” Which is to say that while Chamonix continues to get all the alpine press, the complex obverse of the Mont Blanc coin is well worth a look. Aosta, Italy 043
The Ski Journal Volume 13, Issue 3: Page 43
