Within the expansive Via Lattea / Milky Way ski area, Sestriere’s ski area is perfect for every level of skier and snowboarder. The resort’s high, north-facing slopes guarantee optimal snow conditions across its extensive 400km terrain, conencting Sestriere to Sauze d’Oulx, San Sicario, Claviere & Montgenèvre. Boasting a sizable nursery zone, Sestriere is particularly welcoming for beginners, providing an ideal starting point for those new to skiing. The Banchetta downhill, a venue for the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the Kandahar Slalom both offer a real challenge for more advanced skiers and snowboarders.

Sestriere’s skiing landscape caters comprehensively to all levels. The Mount Motta and Banchetta peaks present wide, open red runs, creating a perfect playground for intermediates. Blue 3 & 4 are the perfect runs for beginners to build confidence on ridiculously wide pistes. The Sestriere snow park, although not huge compared to Europe’s more famous parks, offers enough to keep the freestyle skiers and snowboarders entertained. And we haven’t even started to tell you about the rest of the ski area yet. Seamlessly connected to all of the Via Lattea / Milky Way ski resorts, you’ll love lapping the red runs in San Sicario, the quiet pistes of Claviere, Sauze d’Oulx’s natural powder bowl and the perfectly groomed pistes of the French resort, Montgenevre.

The most popular lift pass, and the one we’d recommend to almost everyone on a one week holiday, is the 6 day Via Lattea pass. With the Via Lattea pass, you get unlimited to all the Italian areas:

• Sestriere
• Sauze d’Oulx
• Cesana
• Claviere
• Sansicario
• Montgenèvre (in France)* – Access for up to 2 days with a 6 day Via Lattea lift pass

*Via Lattea lift passes purchased for less than 6 days do not include skiing in Montgenèvre.

The French border starts once you scan through the Col Boeuf Lift (Number 47 on the Piste Map), and although it’s still technically in Claviere, it will count as one of your days in France. There are several other lift passes that offer different combinations of access across the five areas, but if you’re staying in Sauze, it’s almost certainly the Via Lattea pass that you’ll want.

The other pass worth mentioning is the Via Lattea International, which gives you access to the whole ski area, including Montgenevre, every day. It is only available for 6 days and is around €50 more – but if we’re honest, there are very few people will make the most of this lift pass, as skiing 2-3 hours to Montgenèvre and back every day is quite a feat.

For the non-skiers in the group, walkers can purchase an ‘Ascent & Descent’ pass for €18. You can go up all three lifts in Sauze as a walker (Clotes, Sportinia & Jovenceaux), although you can’t come back down the Jovenceaux lift, and should instead come down the Sportinia lift. The other types of lift pass provide access to just a specific area and only a few chair lifts.

Lift passes can be purchased online through the Via Lattea website or directly at the cash desks at the bottom of the lifts. Lift pass prices vary depending on your age and whether it is high / low season – you can find the full price list here 

The Via Lattea ski area has 3 snow parks and one additional boarder cross. However, it’s worth noting that the parks are not always open and depend on the snow conditions and weather forecast.

Sauze d’Oulx
The Sauze park is accessed via the Rocce Nere lift (8), from the top of Sportinia (7). It’s got a rolling boarder cross, some smaller jumps and a couple of rails and obstacles that will give you an appetite for more. If you only want to lap the park, you can buy a cheaper, daily lift pass that gives you access to only the Jovenceaux, Rocce Nere and Sportinia lifts.

Montgenèvre
On the French side of the Via Lattea, Montgenèvre has the longest and best-maintained park, that caters to all levels of experience. Whether you’re trying your first jump or getting ready to send it, the park runs parallel to the green run, Sagnes, so you can make sure your mates get some great footage of you trying out tricks. It’s also incredibly easy to access, with a drag lift taking you from bottom to top. Check out a video of the Montgenèvre park here.

Additional Features & Details
There’s another boardercross on the right side of the Montgenèvre area, accessed via the Serre Tibaud lift (87) and plenty of other natural features throughouth the whole Via Lattea.

The Via Lattea area has some great opportunities for off piste skiing and boarding, when conditions allow.

As always, what’s better than fun? Safe fun. So, before heading off-piste, ensure you have the necessary safety equipment, including a transceiver, probe, and shovel, and if you don’t know what we’re talking about, get yourself a guide, so you can enjoy the off piste safely.

Sestriere has access to some excellent off piste skiing and snowboarding. On the higher lifts from Motta and Motta Rossa, you’ll find easily accessible, steep couliors. Up the Fratieve Gondola, there are plenty of off piste routes, but even experience guides warn against the terrain up here: it’s easy to get yourself into a lot of trouble if you don’t know exactly where the best lines are up there.

Out the back of Sestriere, towards Pragelato, you’ll find the Pitre d’Aigle, a firm favourite with those who prefer wide, open off piste that’s not too steep. Expect to get the skins on and hike from around an hour, but this one is well worth the effort. There are great options up at the Montgenevre pass, which is full of nice, open bowls that offer a decent challenge, but not the advanced skills necessary on the Fratieve side. Sauze d’Oulx doesn’t tend to hold the snow quite so well as Sestriere and Claviere, but if the snow pack is decent, there’s a great run through dense trees from Sportinia to Prariond.

Yes, that’s right. While you’re in Sestriere, you have the possibility to take a helicopter to a pristine, otherwise inaccessible mountain slope and make first tracks in balls-deep powder. Quite literally the stuff dreams are made of.

However, dreams don’t come cheap and it definitely won’t be for everyone. But, you get you a helicopter ride, a highly qualified alpine guide and the required avalanche safety equipment and there aren’t that many places that you can heli-ski anymore so… when in Rome? For full details check out the Pure Ski website here.