Surrounded by the highest alpine mountains Aosta valley is situated in Nothern Italy, bordering with France and Switzerland.
The group of 4000 peaks offers spectacular conditions for heliski, and off-piste skiing in deep snow or ice of glaciers.
At the bottom of the highest European mountain - Mont Blanc there is located ski resort La Thuile connected with French La Rosiere.
for a long time the resort has been named Espace San Bernardo, after the well known Little San Bernard Pass.
The pass covered with the snow during winter, and nearby peaks of Monte Belvedere and Col de Fourclaz feature the best panoramic view in the whole area.
Close to La Thuile, near the entrance to the tunnel Monte Bianco there is the beginning of another famous ski resort Courmayeur.
Besides well mantained net of downhill runs, Courmayeur bursts numerous opportunities for off-piste skiing , both on the Italian side following Val Veny back to Courmayeur, and down the slopes of Vallee Blanche leading to Torino refugee in another famous resort Chamonix, on the French side.
The high location of the slopes, with many of ski lift stations at the altitude far above 3000 in the shade of 'the real mountain' Matterhorn ( 4478 m ) makes Cervinia the resort with the longest skiing season in whole Italy. The ski resort is connected via Plateau Rosa with Swiss Zermatt, featuring Theodulgletscher.
The biggest ski resort in the Velley is Monterosa Ski with over 200 km of runs on the slopes of Monte Rosa mountain range.
The length of the runs demands good time coordination, as the way back could be longer than expected.
Part of the ski area including glacier Lys is also over 3000 m a.s.l. , and accomodation is provided by the dosen of picturesque small villages preserving the local tradition.
The main municioalities here are Gressoney, Alagna Valsesia, Champoluc and Antagnod.
Tourists, who prefer more urban areas, can spent their winter vacations in main region town Aosta wihc has the cable lift leading directly to the beginning of the slopes of Pila,
relatively small resort, but with artificial snow support, and the highest run piatta di Grevon strating from the altitude of 2 752 m.
Other popular ski resorts in Valle d' Aosta include St.Barthelemy, Champorcher, and the paradise of Cross-country skiing Valle di Cogne.
