Sestrière

Sestrière, Italy

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Sestrière

Built by the owners of the Fiat car company in 1934 and owned by them for 70 years, Sestriere is one of the earliest and still one of the highest purpose- built ski stations. Sitting on a sunny plateau, snow cover is guaranteed thanks to both altitude and one of the world's most extensive snow making operations. Before hosting downhill events in the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Alpine World Championships were staged here in 1997, and the Men's World Cup races take place here every December.

Summary

The Italian ski resort of Sestrière is in the Italian Alps at an altitude of 2,040m, with 400km of marked runs.

Sestrière is part of the Milky Way ski area with access to 933km of downhill skiing, with 598 marked pistes, served by a total of 175 ski lifts. In addition to the skiing in Sestrière itself (400km of pisted ski runs), the appropriate ski Lift Pass will allow you to ski or snowboard in the other Milky Way ski resorts of Clavière, Sansicario, Sauze d'Oulx and Montgenèvre.

The ski resort itself is at 2,040m, so skiing or boarding back to the resort is usually possible. With ski lifts as high as 2,840m, skiing and snowboarding is assured throughout the season.

Ski Area Stats

Sestrière Overview

One of the world's pioneering ski areas, and certainly Italy's, Sestrière was built by the Fiat car company in 1934. The mountain-top Possetto hotel first opened through the winter a decade earlier and more lifts and hotels opened before 1934. It was one of the earliest and still one of the highest purpose- built ski stations and was established in Valsusa, an area on the French border where downhill skiing was first taught in Italy by a Swiss engineer, Alfredo Kind.

Today the resort where those lessons took place a century ago, the border village of Clavière, is linked by lift to Sestrière itself in the huge Milky Way. Also connected are its nearest neighbour, Sauze d'Oulx and a dozen small centres on the way over to Montgenèvre over the border in France. Sitting on a sunny plateau, snow cover is guaranteed thanks to both altitude and one of the world's most extensive snow making operations. At the time of its creation it was one of the first resorts in the world with modern hotels and a ski lift system where it was possible to take a family on a relatively economic ski trip - the model copied by the French purpose built centres of thirty years later.

Although a very hi tec and modern ski centre, Sestrière is located in an area of great history and culture, dating back to neolithic sites, but rich in Roman and later remains. Of more interest mid-winter however are the excellent sports, leisure and off-slope facilities this resort offers as well as an excellent lift system and snow conditions made some of the world's best by a combination of altitude and one of the world's largest snow making installations - 900 snow guns in strength. No wonder the resort was selected to stage the Alpine World Championships in 1997 and the 2006 Winter Olympics when it was host to some of the Alpine ski competitions.

The resort has a long history of ski racing from the first Kandahar contests of the 1930s through to the world Championships, nearly 100 international world contests have been staged. The list of great racers who have won here over the decades is astonishing and includes Jean-Claude Killy, Ingemar Stenmark, Pirmin Zurbriggen to name but a few. Alberto Tomba won his first ever World Cup race at Sestrière. The World Championship race runs on the Kandahar Slalom and Kandahar Banchetta are open for good recreational downhillers to enjoy.

 Notable Ski Runs

The most difficult run is the 'Kandahar Banchetta', which is 3km in length.

Skiing

The central point of a vast trail network which extends over to Sauze d'Oulx and has a more tenuous connection via Sansicario, Cesana and Claviere over to Montgenèvre, Sestrière's skiing has been well designed from the start. The vast snowy bowl, largely above the tree line, gave the planners a blank sheet to play with.

Beginners runs fan out above the ski school meeting point in the resort' centre and a special lift tickets given relevant limited lift access for beginners only is also available.

Intermediates will enjoy Sestrières skiing the most, using the two main local areas of Banchetta and Sises. There are runs of all kinds from short steep moguls to long wide motorway cruisers. It's easy to get over to the pleasant wooded trails above neighbouring Sauze d'Oulx. The trails over to Montgenèvre can be tackled by intermediate skiers via blues and reds. It is an exciting trip as you have the feeling of travelling from village to village. A full day should be allowed and some sectors, notably around the village of Cesana may not have adequate snow cover except at the height of the season.

Experts have fewer trails just for them but heli-skiing is popular in the area. Runs in the Amphitaeatro bowl and the blacks at the top of Sises and Motta are also highly regarded.

A run good skiers should not miss in Sestriere is Mount Sises (which also gives access to excellent off piste from the slopes of Valle Ripa and Vallone del Chisonetto). This is the World Cup and World Championships giant slalom run. You reach the top (2600m) with the four passenger chair-lift Cit Roc and then a ski-lift. The run is steep but wide in the highest part then flatter around the Mount Alpette and becoming once again quite vertical under the chair lift where the old ski lift once passed.

In Sestriere its possibile to ski at night on the floodlit run where many ski champions have battled it out in World Cup competitions

There are a variety of pistes to suit all levels of skier ability, from Beginner to Expert.

Snowboarding

Although Sestrière now has a snowpark, its lack of special facilities for snowboarders such as and a half pipe, surprises many. This is partly because of the resort's international significance and partly because it's high altitude and excellent snow conditions would appear to make it easier to create terrain features like half pipes here and for the resort to be able to fanfare early season openings. Snowboarders are welcome however, and have access to skiing on all slopes. With a large number of chair lifts it's a good resort for getting up the mountains. Several of the ski school's teachers are trained to teach 'boarding.

Aprés Ski

The resort is known for its cosmopolitan but also lively nightlife - especially at weekends when the relatively sophisticated crowds from Turin and Milan arrive en masse. There are two piano bars and the Tabatha discothèque.

For a lively evening there's live music and karaoke some nights at Dreamers bar and the Brahms Pub has a reputation for its range of imported Irish beers.