AOSTA 'SKI AND SEE'

Petra Shepherd joined Travel Channel for its launch back in 1994. She looks after our research and works on all original productions. Petra’s one of the most recognisable faces in the travel industry and when she’s not on the canapé circuit promoting the channel, she spends every free moment travelling. She’s visited over 70 countries and prefers back packing to 5 * luxury, unless of course it’s in the name of research!

This month a misunderstanding leaves her stranded on a mountain with her skis...

What do you do if you love to ski but your partner doesn't? And what do you do if you're easily bored, exhaust the runs in a resort after a day but you've still got a week's skiing ahead of you ? Well, Crystal Holidays have come up with the ideal solution with their 'Ski and See' package. This package operates from the Italian town of Aosta, the so-called 'Rome of the Alps' and I went last January to try it out.

Aosta is a pleasant Roman town surrounded by snow-capped mountains, an easy one and three-quarter-hour drive from Geneva. The old centre is enclosed by Roman walls and contains many monuments, so plenty for the non-skier to see and do. The easily bored skier on the other hand can enjoy the nearby resort of Pila or with the flexibility of a hire car (included in the holiday price and a must if you want to do this type of trip), any of the other resorts in the Aosta Valley - Gressoney, Champoluc, Cervinia, Courmayer and La Thuile.

We stayed at the Hotel Europe, located on the edge of the pedestrian centre, offering easy access to all the exclusive boutiques, restaurants and bars. The non-skier therefore would not feel isolated whilst the skier would only have a 2-minute drive to the Aosta-Pila Gondola. The drive up to Pila from the Aosta Valley has to be one of the most spectacular in the Alps. As the road climbs and the valley drops away below, the imposing mountains of Monte Rosa (Europe's second highest mountain and the highest in Italy) and Mont Blanc come into view. Pila is a small resort though its 70 km of runs served by 13 lifts form one of the Aosta valley's largest ski areas. It's highest slope reaches 2700 m and has a snow park with half pipe, fun box, jump and slide for boarders.

Europe

The must-sees in Aosta include the cathedral. It's well worth checking out for its beautifully carved 15th century walnut-wood choir stalls and small museum housing a magnificent early 5th century ivory diptych. The museum is open all year round but closed on Mondays and costs 2.10 euros for adults and 0.75 euros for children under 6. If museums are your thing, then also check out the Archaeological Museum, which has a collection of coins spanning Ancient Greece to the period of the Savoy kings. The finest church, however, is Sant'Orso, renowned for its 11th century crypt and the wonderfully carved columns of its cloister (1133). If you're visiting in January, that's when the city holds the oldest continuous market in Europe, the Sant'Orso Fair, dating back to 1000; here, Aosta's woodworkers sell everything from ladders to fine sculpture. Also outstanding are the town's Roman remains. The Romans founded the town in 25 BC after the local tribe, the diehard Salassian Gauls, was auctioned off in a slave market. The Roman ruins include the city walls, Porta Praetoria (two parallel triple-arched gateways that formed the main entrance in Roman times), the Crypto-portico or colonnaded walkway, a Roman forum, theatre and a well-preserved roman bridge. The latter has been continuously in use since the 1st Century. Also of interest is Torre dei Fromage. Nothing to do with cheese, it's named after a family and hosts temporary art exhibitions.

I, however, was in ski mode and headed to the resorts of Gressoney and Champoluc on our first day. Gressoney is one of the most scenic resorts in the Aosta Valley with views of Mont Blanc, the Monte Rosa Glacier, the Matterhorn and the Gran Paradiso. The actual valley has several ski areas: Weissmatten, St.Jean, La Trinite and Stafal. Gressoney is a good resort for intermediate skiers who want to polish up their technique on the long and varied runs, whilst advanced skiers should head for the Monte Rosa area, now rated one of the best in Europe. From the Punta Jolanda chairlift the runs are interconnected and include a long black run down to Stafal.

Champoluc is linked with Gressoney and is a delightful, unspoilt village. There's lots of exhilarating skiing here through varied scenery; wide, open glades to runs through the trees

I'm an intermediate skier albeit a fair-weather one. When the snow's good and the sun's shining, I can shimmy down the slopes with ease and confidence. However, if the conditions are bad, it clouds over or in fact is actually snowing, I resort to snow ploughs and beginner status. The highlight of this short break for me was the Heli Skiing. It was a highlight mainly because I managed to get through it in one piece. I doubt I would have even attempted it. It's just that I misheard the guide and what I thought was going to be a "tourist heli ski" ie a scenic helicopter ride to the top of the mountain followed by a few minutes off-piste before joining a run down, was in fact something called "touring heli sking", and a challenging, exciting and for me very memorable full morning's off piste ski. This is the ultimate adventure for many skiers but sadly there are few opportunities in Europe to do it (most European countries ban it for environmental reasons). Italy is one of the exceptions and we tried it out during our second day's skiing in La Thuille.

The morning started with a 15-minute heli-copter ride to the top of the mountain. It goes without saying that the views along the way were awesome, or so my fellow passengers told me. For most of the journey my eyes were shut. As far I was concerned we were getting too close to the mountains and my imagination was in overdrive. Once the helicopter lands, you exit, crouch low beside it as the guide removes your skies. These are stored in a mesh like crate to the side of the helicopter. The helicopter departs and suddenly you're alone at the top of the mountain, with a guide of course, and an avalanche receiver around your neck. It's then downhill all the way. It helps if you're familiar with skiing off-piste and in powder (neither of which I am). The guides however took me down very slowly and wow, what an achievement at the end when you look back and see the mountain you've skied from top to bottom without touching a run. For the truly adventurous it's possible to heli ski from the top of the Ruitor Glacier (3,486 m) in La Thuille over the border to the village of Miroir (1,220m) in France.

After a hard day's skiing and having built up quite an appetite what better way to celebrate than a spot of fine dining. With a hire car, you're able to explore further afield and I highly recommend a restaurant called La Clusaz in San Bernardo, about a half hours drive from Aosta. It's well worth the trip for the mouth watering set menu of 7 traditional Aostan courses, including sirloin of venison with crispy artichokes, pan fried pig's trotter and sauted saffron rice. What's more La Clusaz has an extensive wine and grappa list. Luckily we visited on our last but one evening and our last day was not quite so challenging, skiing back in Pila, Aosta's most accessible resort.

The most attractive thing about this holiday is Aosta's position, encircled by the Alps and with easy access to the ski resorts of Mont Blanc. It offers a cultured and interesting break for the non-skier and as for me, well it was novel to be able to try out so many resorts in a short period of time and an even bigger thrill to be able to go heli-skiing. The guides may have had a different take on that however. In the heated exchanges between our Ski Rep and the Mountain Guide, the only words I understood were Signorita, Inglese and liability!

Crystal Ski offers short breaks to Aosta in Italy from a minimum stay of 3 nights and prices are from 535 euros per person based on 2 sharing.

To find out more about Crystal Ski visit

To find out more about sking in the Aosta Valley visit www.aostaskisnowboard.com

If you've visited Aosta, I'd like to HEAR FROM YOU

February 2006