PlanetSKI is Back on Snow
17th January 2022 | James Cove, Aosta, Italy.
Last modified on January 24th, 2022
We are in one of our favourite alpine bases, Aosta in Italy, until the end of February. We are finally back on snow and report on what it is like in these Covid-19 times. It followed a somewhat traumatic experience even to get here.
Update, Tuesday 18th January:
And so after almost two years away from the mountains it was time to put the skis back on.
I chose one of my favourite resorts in the Aosta Valley, La Thuile.
In fact one of my favourite resorts in the Alps.
If you have skied there and sampled its Italian charms you will know what I am talking about.
If you haven’t skied there then I advise you to do so at your earliest convenience.
It is an utter gem.
So, what was it like back on snow?
And after a few turns…
Skiing Under Covid-19 Measures
And what about the Covid-19 measures?
They are straight forward, efficient and actually enhance the day’s skiing.
A so-called super green pass is required to access the slopes and use the lifts.
There is a scanner at the bottom of all the main lifts and a person on hand to help out if required.
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
There are plenty of signs explaining the rules on the slopes.
Masks are required indoors, in lifts queues and in the lifts themselves.
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
One PlanetSKI reader, Heidi Orrell, has asked about the current covid-19 rules in the Aosta Valley.
“What is the situation in Valle Aosta just now re covid and restrictions? We were hoping to go soon but saw it has just gone into the orange zone which understood it meant only takeaway service in restaurants that also close at 6? So not lovely lunches out on the slopes? And essential shops shut?!”
I can report that her information is incorrect.
A mask is needed to walk to a table in a restaurant and lovely lunches on the slopes are in plentiful supply.
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
The same is true in the bars and restaurants in town.
All shops, essential or otherwise, remain open as far as I can see.
I have not studied the rules in detail since arriving, so they may have changed, but I can report that at the moment it is very normal.
On a point of detail an FFP2 mask is required in most settings, and to access ski lifts they are compulsory.
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
I will be studying the rules in detail shortly and will updating with a separate post on PlanetSKI on the reality of skiing on the slopes of the Aosta Valley under the current rules.
After my first day they seem very straight forward and with a chilly wind I actually wore my mask while skiing and on the button lifts simply to keep my face warm.
There is no off piste skiing to talk about, but the slopes are in excellent condition with the cold temperatures and a weak January sun preserving the snow well.
Across the Alps more snow is needed as we have reported in the PlanetSKI rolling snow report:
But the exact snow conditions in the Alps is rather missing the point in my opinion – the ‘experience’ of being out in the Alps at the moment is utterly brilliant, after the last two years.
To be quite frank not many people care about the exact snow conditions at the moment.
We are all simply so glad to be sliding around on the snow after the experiences of the pandemic.
Most people I have spoken to would describe the ‘experience’ of the conditions as “perfect” – and that is what matters.
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
La Thuile, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
More to follow…
Monday 17th January
Arriving in Aosta. Image © PlanetSKI
Make no mistake, pan-European ski travel in a car in Covid times is a stressful business.
First there was waiting for France to re-open its borders to the UK in order to plan ahead.
Then researching, obtaining and checking all the paperwork and taking a pre-departure test where a positive would mean plans going up in smoke.
There were several times when I wondered if it was worth all the stress.
Plus at the back of my mind was what would happen if I catch covid-19 in a foreign country, away from family and friends.
It is unlikely as I am double jabbed, boosted and recently recovered, but the thought kept popping up anyway.
There was the tension approaching the channel tunnel for a dawn departure across France and on to Italy.
Would all the paperwork be in order?
The channel tunnel. Image © PlanetSKI
The joy when the first hurdle had been overcome and boarding the train was a reality.
I was on my way.
The channel tunnel. Image © PlanetSKI
The weather was frosty and grey across much of France with the promise of a storm – it reflected my mood.
Crossing France. Image © PlanetSKI
The answer to my rhetorical question of whetter it was worth it all was ‘No’ when I had to do a lateral flow test at a motorway service station in France ahead of the Italian border.
My hand was shaking as I did the swabs.
If the result was positive I would have to turn back.
It was negative.
Often I had wished I had never even got the process underway.
Then there was arriving at the France/Italy border through the Mont Blanc tunnel late at night after a 10-hour drive across France.
Mont Blanc tunnel. Image © PlanetSKI
On the Italian side I was meet by border officials with gun carrying soldiers as back up.
I decided not to take a picture of the soldier standing at the end on my car bonnet.
I waved at him and he just stared back.
15-minutes passed while documents/passes/tests and passenger locator forms were checked and double-checked.
What would I do if I was not admitted?
As the border official walked back my heart was racing.
“Have a nice ski,” he said, as I was waved though.
I saw some familiar sign posts on the road down the valley and my answer changed from it not being worth the stress to a resounding decision that it was.
110%.
Arriving in the Aosta Valley. Image © PlanetSKI
I punched the air in triumph and let out a loud cheer.
By chance the song ‘Celebration’ by Cool and the Gang came over the sound system, and I sang along at the top of my voice.
“It’s a celebration,
Celebrate good times, come on Lets Celebrate,
Come on and celebrate tonight,
Celebrate good times, come on,
‘Cause everything’s gonna be all right,
Let’s celebrate!”
I couldn’t remember feeling so happy.
Regular and long-term readers will know PlanetSKI was based in Aosta for 3-months of the fateful season of 2019/20.
Only we made just 6 weeks as coronavirus spread and we were forced back to the UK.
Northern Italy was not the best place to be at the time.
Now we judge it the time to complete the final 6-weeks of our plan from two winters ago.
Living in the Aosta Valley was one of the finest times I have spent in the Alps with PlanetSKI.
It is quite simply one of the greatest ski locations on earth.
The accessible off piste meccas of Gressony and Alagna.
The joys of Courmayeur and La Thuile at the head of the valley.
La Thuille, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Pila that is linked to the city of Aosta itself with a gondola in town.
Aosta, Italy
And then the lesser-known resorts and utter gems of Crevacol and Torgnon.
Crevacol, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
Torgnon, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI
If one wants to go further afield the world-famous resorts of Verbier, Zermatt and Chamonix are about an hour away.
Here is a small flavour of why we love the place so much, posted from our earlier stay in the Aosta Valley that was cut short by Covid-19.
To say ‘we are looking forward to the next 6-weeks to continue our journey of exploration’ is perhaps the biggest understatement I have ever written.
I am back in my natural environment and can report the mountains look as beautiful is ever.
And the music of Cool and the Gang is on a loop going round and round in my head.
May it stay there for the next 6 weeks, and longer.
“It’s a celebration,
Celebrate good times, come on Lets Celebrate,
Come on and celebrate tonight,
Celebrate good times, come on,
‘Cause everything’s gonna be all right,
Let’s celebrate!”
I’ll be reporting back…….
James Cove, Aosta Valley Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
