Courmayeur Ski Resort Italy
Courmayeur ski resort in the famed Aosta valley Italy is perfectly located on the sunny side of the Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) massif. Courmayeur is a beautiful, refined town with an adventurous, big mountain spirit.
Excellent lift access from near the centre of Courmayeur provides both family-friendly & action-packed skiing & snowboarding within minutes of leaving your accommodation. The ski terrain combines 1,550m vertical descents from the main ski resort area and huge, challenging off-piste descents of over 2,150m vertical from Punta Helbronner on the flanks of Monte Bianco.
Pros & Cons for Courmayeur Ski Resort
Pros
- Set amongst the most breathtaking mountains in Europe.
- Reliable snow quality & quantity (for Italy!), particularly on the colder north-aspects.
- A refined, but relaxed, friendly, and adventurous town.
- Fantastic larch forest tree skiing on north-facing slopes.
- Diverse ski opportunities including Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco!).
- Long skiable vertical of 1,550m in the resort.
- Superb off-piste and backcountry routes accessible via the ski lifts.
- Amazing place to undertake some ski touring.
- Delicious food and fun après; both on & off the ski hill.
- Wonderful shopping; from high-end to outdoorsy.
Cons
- Minimal transitional beginner terrain.
- Ski resort is relatively small when compared to others nearby.
- Upper cable cars (& some chairlifts) in the resort are ancient & have limited capacity, leading to line-ups on powder days.
- Social media has played a part in skyrocketing numbers of freeriders on the Skyway Monte Bianco on powder days.
- Long flat exit from freeride descents into Val Veny from d'Arp.
Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)
- Whilst not necessarily busy on weekends, the local skiers do have a superhuman ability to track out the best off-piste areas in the resort early on a weekend powder day - don’t sleep in!
- Easy to get to by motorway from both Italy and France.
- The glaciers on the Italian side of Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco are rapidly disappearing, get here sooner rather than later.
Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain
It is difficult to characterise the skiing & snowboarding at Courmayeur, other than to say it is diverse, but not huge (unless one counts the freeride terrain on Monte Bianco). With only 42km of piste trails, it is one of Europe's most well-known 'small' ski resorts. Two small but adequate learn-to-ski areas exist, including the main one at Plan Checrouit, at the top of the Dolonne gondola & Courmayeur cable car. The mainly intermediate piste trails cover all aspects & include a 1,550m skiable vertical top to bottom valley run (the top little bit is advanced though but who cares!). Advanced skiers & snowboarders can ski piste, alpine powder & larch forest, all in the same run! Experts can play in the extensive off-piste routes or the most extreme terrain imaginable on Monte Bianco.
Access to the resort is via three lifts - cable car from Courmayeur itself, an efficient gondola from the Dolonne base across the valley & the older Val Veny cable car (the sneaky way up!) from Entreves located a few km up the valley. Once in the resort numerous chairs, gondolas & cable cars efficiently move everyone up the hill. The two uppermost cable cars (Youla & d'Arp) in the resort are positively ancient and date from 1961 & 1963 respectively. Luckily (or not!) they are usually only utilised by powder hunters & sightseers. The resort's plan to replace the vintage 26-person Col Chécrouit-Cresta di Youla and 15-person Cresta di Youla-Cresta d'Arp cable cars with a single 100-person cable car hasn’t come to fruition yet, which is perhaps a good thing for freeriders.
For detailed information on terrain, ski lifts, lift passes & ratings, see our Courmayeur Skiing & Snowboarding page.
Monte Bianco Skiing & Snowboarding
The Skyway Monte Bianco is the world's best ski lift! With a good guide & safe snow conditions, some of the spectacular terrain on Monte Bianco is skiable by solid intermediate skiers & snowboarders. The classic descents on the Toula Glacier on the Italian side & the Valle Blanche on the French side are both accessible from Punta Helbronner at the top of the lift. There are many more challenging routes for the more adventurous. Numbers of freeriders have increased markedly here in recent years, increasing the competition for fresh lines & also the avalanche danger due to inconsiderate ‘risk-takers’ setting off slides above unsuspecting parties below. Take care! You can buy a separate lift ticket to ski here or get a combined Courmayeur + Skyway Monte Bianco day ticket that covers both areas in the same day.
For detailed information on ski routes & lifts, see our Monte Bianco Skiing page.
Where is Courmayeur Italy?
Courmayeur is located 150km north of Turin in the Valle d’Aosta, Italy. The town and ski resort are on the ‘sunny side’ of Monte Bianco 35km west of Aosta and 22km southeast of Chamonix via the Mont Blanc tunnel.
Closest international gateway airports are Turin (TRN), Milan (MXP) or Geneva (GVA). Turin airport is available to Europe or UK based Powderhounds. Those from further afield are best to use Milan Malpensa or Geneva in Switzerland.
Transport options to Courmayeur from wither airport include car rental, private transfers and public train/bus combinations.
For detailed information on the best way to get there, see our Travel to Courmayeur page.
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Courmayeur Accommodation
Courmayeur is known as a stylish town akin to Cortina d’Ampezzo, but just like its Dolomites analogue, that doesn’t mean it is only for those with cash to splash. The town itself has a charming, historic town centre that is a pleasure to explore after skiing. Courmayeur hotels, apartments & guesthouses have as much variety as just about anywhere in the world & can easily cater to any budget. The
Search & Book all Courmayeur ski accommodation.
Courmayeur accommodation is split between 4 main areas, all with their own lift access to the resort. A couple of fabulous ‘ski-in’ hotels at Plan Checrouit are convenient & worth a stay for a true ski resort experience. The Super G Hotel is the absolute pick of them with its pumping après session, huge views & modern facilities. Does get quiet after hours though.
The main town of Courmayeur has superb hotels in & near the old town including the 5 star Grand Hotel Royal E Golf, well placed Hotel Courmayeur & best value Hotel Walser. A few options close to the cable car include the village's best apartments, the Au Coeur Des Neiges & SPA, plus the well placed Hotel Triolet.
Across the river at Dolonne, there are several hotels & guesthouses a short walk from the gondola base. Old stone buildings are characteristics of the wonderful Hotel Lo Campagnar & Hotel Dolonne. The village of Dolonne is a 10 to 15min walk to the main town centre.
Only 3km up the valley toward Monte Bianco, Courmayeur’s other base area, Entreves & La Palud has numerous quality 2 & 3 star hotel options including the excellent Hotel La Grange & Hotel Funivia. Entreves is also at the base of the Skyway Monte Bianco, but also has access to the Courmayeur ski resort via the Val Veny cable car.
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Ski Rentals, Lessons & Guiding
Ski rentals are available in all of the Courmayeur village areas; however, the most convenient location is up on the mountain at Plan Chécrouit. Search & book ski or snowboard rentals with our partners in Courmayeur at Plan Chécrouit Courmayeur Ski & Snowbaord Rental page.
On or off-piste ski or snowboard lessons & mountain guiding can make all the difference to a stay at Courmayeur/Monte Bianco. For more info & options, compare, search & book via our Courmayeur Ski Lessons & Guiding page.
Other Activities
For non-resort skiers, Courmayeur has numerous extracurricular activities. Cross-country skiing, scenic cable car rides (on both Courmayeur and Monte Bianco), shopping and dining will fill in your days. The aprés ski fun kicks in most nights, particularly in the cobbled old town and several quality restaurants are worthy of culinary exploration. The nearby village of Pre St Didier has a beautiful pool & spa complex open to the public.
For skiers and snowboarders, the ski mountaineering & heli-ski opportunities near Courmayeur are world class.
Nearby Ski Resorts
At the head of the Aosta Valley, Courmayeur is an easy day trip to the excellent La Thuile, Pila and Crevacol. Other Valle d’Aosta ski resorts further down valley make the area and super-fun ‘ski safari’ location and include Cervinia Valtournenche & Monterosa.
The French Chamonix ski areas are close via a short bus or car drive. If driving, the cost of the Mont Blanc Tunnel may come as a shock.
Reviews
The Powderhounds reviewed Courmayeur several seasons ago & are long overdue for another visit. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews!
See how Courmayeur compares to the rest of the Italian ski resorts on the Italy ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.
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