On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 13:55:50 +0000, Andy Kirkland
wrote:

Anyone got any recommendations of what, where and who? We're also after
cheap/functional accommodation in the Aosta area for a couple of nights,
either in Aosta or any nearby ski resorts - any reccomendations.

Gressoney (MontaRosa ski area). No question. I stay at the Jolanda
Sport hotel, right next to the main lift in Gressoney la Trinité. A
2-star, I think, but not expensive and very good dinners.

- Off piste guiding in Courmayeur/Mont Blanc area

Check (well, almost). The MontaRosa area is probably better for this
anyway. Lots of amazing off-piste/touring skiing in the MontaRosa
area, heli-skiing on, e.g., the Letsch Glacier down into Zermatt,
thence via Cervinia where you can ski all the way back to Gressoney
(well, you need a lift down the road to the ski lift from the friendly
cafe owners above Champoluc).

- Cross country skiing somewhere

It's supposed to really good in Gressoney St. Jean, just a couple of
km down the road. A range of different routes from 2.5 to 8km in
length.

- Snow shoeing somewhere

There's also at least one specific, marked and cleared, winter walk in
St. Jean, and I'm sure there's a lot more possibilities than that if
you have map & compass.

- Val d'Isere for a day

??? It's _miles_ away by road. Four to five hours, via Chamonix or
Torino, as far as I can tell.

- Courmayeur for a day

That's much easier, of course. You might consider Cervinia, which is
just two valleys up, allowing access directly (by ski-lift) into
Zermatt.

I really can't rate the area highly enough and have no hesitation in
recommending it. I know others on here have been and all seem to agree
with my impressions.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
Ski Club of Great Britain - http://www.skiclub.co.uk
All opinions expressed are personal and in no way represent those of the Ski Club.