Ski holidays in Champoluc

Food & Drink

Champoluc offers some fabulous authentic Italian restaurants serving classic and contemporary food. One of the great things about the Monterosa ski area is that the lovely food isn’t restricted to the town of Champoluc; the mountain restaurants are also delicious and serve unique a la carte menus. You’ll find bars with live music, delicious wines and cocktails, but the atmosphere remains a lot calmer and more relaxed than other alpine resorts.

Shopping

Champoluc offers the usual sporting goods stores, a few souvenir shops and one supermarket in the small village. Please note: there is no weekly market. If you are interested in a shopping trip, then a day excursion to the nearby cities of Milan and Turin, or even the nearby town of Aosta is bound to be more successful. Popular souvenirs to take back home include hand-carved wooden clogs!

Spa & Relaxation

The MonterosaSPA is the perfect place to relax after a day on the slopes. There are a range of different pools, steam rooms and saunas to enjoy as well as various treatments and massages available. To visit the spa, you need to book in advance - this is best to organise by asking the staff in your hotel. To get there walk up through the centre of town, past the main ski lift heading up towards Frachey and you will find it situated on the left next to the pharmacy.

Ski touring

Guided ski tours will take you through the untouched back country of the Monterosa area with a trained expert who knows exactly where the best runs are, where the fresh powder lies and is trained to make sure that you are having the best ski touring experience possible.

Your ski touring adventure is bookable locally so consult with your representative or with our reservations team before you go.

Snowshoeing

As they always say- if you can walk, you can snowshoe! One of the more relaxing of the winter sports and a great way to taking the beauty and majesty of the rugged Italian Alps is to go for a leisurely walk through them, aided with snowshoes. You can decide on how difficult your walking programme will be, with a variety of different options for different abilities.

Enjoy a guided tour of the Monterosa ski area, away from the hustle and bustle of the ski slopes. Snowshoe excursions are bookable locally, so ask your Inghams reps and reservations team for some advice on how and where to book.

Heli-skiing/boarding

The helicopter assisted backcountry skiing in the Monterosa region is well documented and highly praised by many travel journalists internationally. Thanks to the resort being relatively quiet during the week but yet still snow-sure because of the Monterosa glacier, it remains a fantastic destination for off-piste and backcountry heliskiing.

Heliskiing sits on many bucket lists for the advanced and seasoned skier, and there is no better place to do it! A helicopter, along with a professional guide will drop you at the top of the mountain and from there you can ski and snowboard down untouched back country areas.

Heliskiing excursions are available in Champoluc if you book locally, and they are some of the cheaper heliskiing excursions available in the Alps. Chat with your Inghams rep or our reservations team about heliskiing options.

NB: Check with your insurance policy that you are allowed to take part in such excursions.

Heli-sightseeing

If you’re not sure about being dropped off at the top of the mountain by a helicopter, but still wouldn’t mind the thrill of flying over the snow-crested peaks, then perhaps a birds-eye view tour of the Monterosa ski area from the safety of the helicopter is much more up your street.

Tours and guides of the mountain are available to book locally, so chat with your Inghams rep or our reservations team before you go.

Ice skating

There is a large outdoor ice skating rink in the small town of Champoluc, that is open during the winter months for skating and fun. You can hire skates at a local price and enjoy some time on the ice. It makes a fabulous family activity to enjoy in the evening when you’ve hung up your skis and boots for the day.

Cross-Country skiing

The Aosta Valley has been regarded as a ‘ski paradise’. While the classical definition of skiing refers to classic downhill/Alpine skiing, cross country skiing is still extremely popular and there are some brilliant routes in and around Champoluc which you can take at a leisurely pace. Catering for a variety of tastes and levels, you can enjoy the unspoiled beauty of the Monterosa ski area and Champoluc when it’s not rushing past you!

It is best to enjoy cross country skiing with a guide who knows the most beautiful trails in the area and will introduce new cross-country skiers to the sport. This activity is only bookable locally, so chat with our Inghams reservation teams, or your in-resort rep if you are interested.

Lift Passes

Tuition

Private tuition for adults is available to pre-book. All bookings are on request and will be confirmed once availability has been checked with the ski school, so we recommend booking early. Lessons usually take place in the morning but timings will be confirmed. Please call us for a quote and clarify what day(s) you would like lessons on. Guests of the same ability can request a lesson together for up to 4 people. 

Levels of tuition:

• Beginner - never skied before
• Level 1 - advanced beginner; can control speed, snowplough and change direction on gentle slopes 
• Level 2 - low intermediate, snowplough turns and start to ski parallel
• Level 3 - good intermediate, parallel turns 
• Advanced - fully confident on all slopes, looking to improve technique

For children, we have teamed up with our sister company Esprit Ski who offer a range of exclusive ski classes just for children travelling with Esprit and Inghams. The meeting place is at the Hotel de Champoluc.

Spritelets for 3-4 year olds and based at the area at the top of the Crest gondola. An Esprit ranger will stay with the group to help the instructor. Supervised lunch and afternoon Snow Club at the hotel can be pre-booked.

Sprite Beginners for 5-9 year olds and new to the sport. They start at the beginners area at the top of the Crest gondola and the progress on to blue runs during the week. An Esprit ranger is with the group in the Snow Garden Beginners area. Lunch and afternoon Snow Club can be added on.

Sprite Improvers Xtra for 6-10 year olds. This is a full day class with lunch included for children who can snowplough on blue runs and are confident on all lifts.

Sprite Intermediates Xtra for 7-12 year olds and a full day class with lunch for children who are starting to parallel ski.

The Xtra classes are full days with morning and afternoon sessions and lunch at a mountain restaurant. An Esprit Ranger meets the groups at lunchtime to ensure that all catering requests are dealt with.

Prices

Spritelets and Beginners: £350 (5 mornings Monday to Friday)

Improvers and Intermediates Xtra: £599 (5 days Monday to Friday)

Snow Club and Supervised lunch: £329 (6 afternoons Monday to Saturday)

There is a signing-in and signing-out policy for the children between parents and our staff. Children can be dropped off from 9am and picked up at 4.30pm from the hotel.

Prices and supplements are correct at the time of publishing. Up to date prices will be confirmed at the time of booking.

Ski Guiding

Enjoy a stress-free tour of the local ski area and get your bearings on the first morning day of your holiday with a local qualified guide. Get insight into the best runs and places to ski on the mountain as well as some useful pointers along the way to improve technique. Groups are up to 12 people and you must be at an intermediate level, confident and capable of skiing red runs. For just £20 per person, you can enjoy almost 3 hours of guiding. For more information and to book, please call our Reservations team. 

Prices and supplements are correct at the time of publishing. Up-to-date prices will be confirmed at the time of booking