In March 2000 we returned to one of our favourity places, Gressoney in the Italian Aosta valley. Just over the border from Zermatt, Gressoney is next to Alagna, one of the best off piste ski areas in the Alps.

Although we managed a real cheap basic holiday, overall we splashed out.

The Ryan Air flight cost an incredible £65.00 return! The same cost as the taxi from Turin to the hotel.

Since we have stayed at the hotel before, a simple e-mail to Carlo (ski guide and son of hotel owner) produced an Excel spreadsheet in Italian with the tariff, so we booked everything direct.  

Well, although the air transport was cheap to get to Italy, we used the local helicopter to get around the mountains to the off piste. ....the only way to travel.

One day we took a car to the top of the Aosta valley and took a helicopter to ski into France, had lunch and skied back via the lift systems of La Rosière and La Thuile.

The weather was wonderful. Lots of blue skies and great views. The skiing was a cross between spring snow and mountaineering!	On another day, we took a 5 mins helicopter ride to the top of a glacier and skied towards Zermatt. This is Ann waiting for the guide to find the route through the seracs (big blocks of ice on/in the glacier).
Here's one of our guides, Carlo (yes we had two that day!), off looking for the route: Yes he did cross the snow bridge! But we didn’t.	The view back was breath-taking:

After being roped down 50m ice cliffs, we arrived at the end of this glacier and joined the next one towards Zermatt. We enjoyed a too relaxed and late lunch at Zermatt and took the lift to the Klein-Matterhorn and skied into Cervinia to get the taxi back to Gressoney!

Click here for pictures of our 2002 skiing holidays

Click here for pictures of our 2003 skiing holidays