GRESSONEY, ITALY

With plenty of snow, this is a great resort. Managed 210km in a week, despite snow and wind (according to the on-line ski-pass usage recording site). Not great for beginners or party animals. Excellent off-piste skiing when conditions are right. There are few and long chair lifts, but correspondingly long vertical drops - up to 1.7km on the Alagna side, so long pistes. A bit keen to close links in marginally windy conditions through the week, but we noticed that all was open for the Turin rush on a fine Saturday, although winds were higher than on some weekdays when they closed the links. Mountain restaurants are on the cheap side - 6-7 euros for a huge plate of pasta, 3.50 for a very decent Panini and 4.00 for a large beer as an example. I recommend the Morgenrot below the Bedemie chairlift, and the Ostafa at the top of Champoluc. Gressoney - quiet! One lively-ish bar, but not a resort for nightlife. Hotel Residence is a family-run hotel with a great art collection, friendly staff, clean rooms. Room 106 is not so warm unless they've now fixed the draught excluder. Basic health suite, but everything worked and not busy. It has comfortable bar area, excellent food and reasonable wine list from 14 to silly money euros. The 14 euro wines, as recommended by the owner/manager, were more than good enough at the end of a long day's skiing. Best of all, 20 yards walk from boot room to lift, ski back to the door! Best things are the 1st run of the day was a black. It felt pale grey by the end of the week! Bombadinos, off-piste moguls and the Crystal rep (Sarah). Worst things - Closed links, -19 degrees plus wind-chill - brrrr!

Angie Charles