Freeride Guide at Monte Rosa

Monterosa Ski was built for off-piste. The piste network is deliberately small, the lifts go where the good skiing is, and Alagna in particular gives descents of 1,500 vertical metres and more on north-facing terrain that holds cold snow for weeks.

Three valleys — Alagna, Gressoney and Champoluc — face different directions and are linked by lifts, so a guide picks in the morning based on where the wind put the snow overnight. That flexibility is the whole reason to hire one here.

Alagna and Gressoney are amazing resorts. Long, steep, sustained lines from the Punta Indren cable car down toward the valley, most of them lightly tracked because the length puts people off. Champoluc is the sunniest and comes into its own in spring, when timing corn snow right gives the best skiing of the season.

Book several days and a guide can follow the conditions across the whole area. Request a guide, tell them your level and your dates, and they will build the days around the snow conditions.

Monterosa Ski connects Alagna in the Valsesia, Gressoney in the Lys valley, and Champoluc in the Val d'Ayas, on the southern flank of the Monte Rosa massif. The three valleys face different directions, which makes the area resilient to varied conditions.

Alagna and Gressoney connect to become the freeride centre. The Punta Indren cable car reaches around 3,275 m and opens onto long north-facing descents, some glaciated, running well over 1,500 vertical metres to the valley.

Champoluc is sunnier and lower, coming into condition as spring corn later in the season. Cervinia and the other Aosta Valley resorts are within reach for a change of aspect.

The season runs December to April, with the high Alagna lines staying cold considerably later than the lower terrain.