08 October 2015

Spotlight On...Bardonecchia

Just an hour’s drive from Turin, close to the border with France lies one of the best ski resorts for schools – Bardonecchia.

Bardonecchia is a fantastic choice of resort for a school ski trip to Italy. This traditional Italian mountain village is less known than the resorts of the nearby Milky Way ski area, making it much quieter, with almost non-existent lift queues.

It also has a fantastic snow record, thanks to its high altitude and predominantly north-facing slopes. If you are planning an Italian ski trip for your school and want a quiet location where students can ski safely, this could be the resort for you.

In beautiful Piedmont, Bardonecchia is located in the Susa Valley, just 90 km from Turin. The Romans built a road here to link Italy with France, and this became known as the Via Francigena during the Medieval period. An important route for pilgrims on their way to Rome, the landscape is dotted with beautiful abbeys and churches. Thanks to this ancient road, the area retains good transport links, making it very easy to reach - another plus for school groups.

Bardonecchia itself has a long history as a much-loved resort, whilst still remaining under the radar of many British tourists. The resort played host to the very first Italian skiing championships here in 1909 and also hosted the snowboarding events during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

School groups who choose to ski at Bardonecchia will find a resort that boasts 110km of well-groomed, skiable pistes (35 of which are equipped with snow cannons), 21 lifts that are capable of carrying up to 30,000 people per hour. There are plenty of fantastic restaurants around for when hunger strikes and the après-ski options are excellent for school groups, with activities including snowtubing, ice skating, swimming and snowshoeing (ciaspole in the Piemontese dialect) all possible here.

If you have any snowboarders in your party, they are sure to love Bardonecchia’s superb snowpark, which is located in the Melezet area. The park consists of a number of zones, all named after animals and designed to suit every level of snowboarder. Whether your young snowboarders are into jibbing or freestyle, there will be something for them at this fantastic park. In addition, the Olympic half-pipe is still in situ and dominates the surrounding landscape. The freestyle runs are all lined with trees, to replicate the North American experience and there is also an area for complete beginners.

For the skiers in your party, there is also plenty to entertain at Bardonecchia. There are three main areas: Colomion – Les Arnauds and Melezet are well connected and offer skiers some exciting, wide runs that wind their way through the trees. The third skiing area, named Jaffreau, is just 5 minutes from the resort centre. Here you will predominantly find open runs that offer dramatic panoramic views across to the mountains that surround the area.

The town of Bardonecchia predates winter sports and so is not a purpose-built resort town, meaning it’s kept its traditional alpine character. It’s also a year-round resort, thanks to the exciting summer activities available in the area, so the leisure facilities here are excellent and, indeed, above standard for a resort of this size.

One of our most popular accommodation options in the area is, in fact, the same hotel in which the athletes stayed during the 2006 Winter Olympics and is just 250m from the lifts, making it incredibly convenient.

Overall, we think it’s hugely underrated. In fact, during the week, you’ll find the slopes almost deserted. It does get busier at the weekend, with mainly Italian visitors from Turin heading up to the slopes for the weekend.

This does, however, mean that your students will get to spend more time skiing and less time waiting in queues for the lifts. And you’ll find that the après-ski scene is less rowdy than in other resorts for this same reason.

The resort is best for beginners and intermediates and offers good progression from the beginners’ slopes to the intermediates. In fact, one of the best things about Bardonecchia is that you’ll return home from your school ski trip knowing that your students will have skied as much of the mountain as they’re capable of.

As an end-of-the-week treat, you could even challenge your students to race each other – at Plan del Sole there’s a racing piste with an automated timer!

If you are interested in arranging a school ski trip to Bardonecchia, or any of our other resorts in Italy, Europe or North America, please do not hesitate to contact us.

“Excellent all round trip, good location, excellent hotel. Friendly staff and an amazing rep!” St. James’ High School

“Excellent venue! Hotel is spacious, clean and very good for school parties. The ski instructors were fantastic and the slopes were empty. The weather was great, which was a bonus! Our students had a very good time!” Mount Grace School

“Excellent resort, well-organised hotel, rep was fantastic. All made good progress and keen to go again.” The Royal Liberty School