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Tuesday, 03 April 2007 |
Built by the Fiat car company in 1934, Sestriere is one of the earliest and still one of the highest purpose- built ski stations. Sitting on a sunny plateau, snow cover is guaranteed thanks to both altitude and one of the world's most extensive snow making operations. The Alpine World Championships were staged here in 1997 without the problems that besest Spain?s Sierra Nevada in ?95, where lack of snow meant the events had to be rescheduled for '96. The local ski area, well lift linked to Sauze d?Oulx is one of the most extensive in Italy. The area forms one end o the Milky Way circuit, with 400km (250 miles) of trails over the border to Montgenevre in France, via a generally rather tenuous low level link at Cesana Torinese, going first through Sansicario and after Cesana via Italy?s oldest ski resort, Claviere. It?s certainly worth making the excursion as it feels like ski touring, but with lifts all the way. The resort is not one of the world?s most attractive, made up almost entirely of concrete apartment blocks and hotels, most of them rectangular. But the Italian clientele manage to make the place feel chic and exciting. The architectural trade mark that makes you forget how dull the rest of it looks without it, is its large round tower. This which was duplicated with new smaller towers built as accommodation for athletes participating in the ?97 Championships. | Vertical Drop: | 4811 ft
| Half Pipes: | 1 | | Top Elevation: | 9321 ft | Snowmaking:
| 13% | Skiable Acres:
| 988 | Total:
| 13km | | Trails: | 214 | Restaurants:
| 29 | | Lifts: | 88 | | | Cable cars:
| 5 | | |
Source: www.goski.com |
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