Sauze d'Oulx, Part 2

Previously on Travels with Timmy... I'm stuck halfway up a snowy mountain in northern Italy, about a kilometre from the village of Sestriere which I can't see thanks to the near white-out conditions.  What to do?  Well, I probably should trudge back up the road I just skied down, and then try to find a route to the village and most importantly the gondola station.  But no... I have a compass, looking east I can see some more or less open ground sloping downhill, and I have skis on!  Over the top I go then, and slowly edge down the slope.  It certainly doesn't feel dangerous, rather the snow is so deep that I struggle to move at all... but then after only thirty metres or so, the fog closes in and I suddenly realise I am still moving, but can't see where I'm going or how fast... a panicked attempt to turn and I'm in the snow, with one ski off.  Oops.

It is at least a pretty area to get lost in.

Well, some luck at least, poking around in the snow I manage to find my ski.  The white stuff is waist deep however, and there is no way I am getting the thing back on.  Instead I proceed to wade, scramble, and slither my way down the slope - it is a very slow process indeed.  It's a considerable relief when I'm able to see far enough ahead to realise there is a road below me, although it still takes a while to reach it.  In all, I probably spend an hour or so getting down that slope and then walking along the road to the gondola, not really what I'd hoped to be doing today.  All good exercise I suppose, and things pick up in the afternoon as the weather clears a little.  Rather more lively in town come evening too - although I can't find any live music barring the karaoke in Paddy McGinty's.  Manage to slip over onto my backside a couple of times on the way down the hill, no bones broken though - that really would be embarrassing.

Maybe I should have gone with the train + taxi option.

Saturday, and I set out beneath cloudy skies, but it isn't actually snowing, maybe I can get to France today?  Or maybe not, I've stupidly left my wallet in the hotel so have to ski back down to get it.  Well, I still manage a decent day on the slopes, around the San Sicario area.  Interesting to see remnants of the 2006 Winter Olympics here, the bobsled track among other things.  All looking a bit forlorn and abandoned just eight years later mind.  Of course the weather doesn't hold, and I make my way back towards Sauze through more heavy snow.  I'm planning on some top Italian food tonight, after a fairly uninspiring dinner at the hotel last night.  Getting into town though it seems much of Turin has decamped to the Alps and every restaurant is packed - I end up with one of those 'selection of pizza slices' places.  And it is the best reheated pizza slice ever.  Better still is live music from the rather awesome Black Rose at Il Lampione.

Blue sky over Monte Fraiteve.

My last day in Italy, and a tiny problem in that there is so much snow on the road that I cannot get the car up the hill away from the hotel.  The nice people there let me leave my car behind and go skiing, assuring me that the roads will improve as long as it doesn't snow.  Of course, the moment I step back outside the white stuff starts falling again... I'm feeling a little bit down as I take the lift up, looking at a day of horrid skiing conditions and then who knows what problems getting back to Turin.  Then as I get towards the top of Monte Fraiteve, the high point above Sauze leading over to the next valley, I suddenly emerge from the clouds and see blue sky.  Time to stop worrying about the car then, and indeed I have a fine day of skiing, even crossing the border into France - funny, I have crossed international borders on skis a few times now, but never on foot.  A slight pity that when I get to France my lift pass doesn't work, turns out I should have bought an international one.  Easy enough to turn around and ski back though, and thankfully on my return to the village the roads are pretty much clear of snow.  Good thing as I still have a bit of trouble finding my way back to the airport... not to mention the fantastically annoying Italian fuel stations.

At the French border.

So, what's my verdict on Sauze d'Oulx?  Pretty positive really, there's a lot of good skiing here and it is a nice little village with a decent apres-ski scene.  I don't think I'd recommend the place to a novice, unless you fancy taking the chairlift back down, but if you're happy with lots of long reds and a few blacks then it's all good.  Cheap as chips also, in particular flying to Turin costs a lot less than, say, Geneva.  I think I picked an excellent hotel too, I would go back - although I'd be sure to bring some suitable boots for climbing up that hill to the centre.  Right then, where am I off to next?  Ah yes, Slovenia again next month :)

Photos to go with this post can be found here.

Sauze d'Oulx, Part 1

It is winter once again, time for skiing then.  I did go to Morzine on the coach again last month, nothing really new to write about there though.  Now I am off to Sauze d'Oulx in the Italian Alps for a few days, I've never been here before so it should be interesting.  Hopefully a little easier to get to than Morzine as well... after a night at the Holiday Inn, Stansted (surprisingly decent food) I get an early flight to Turin, pick up my hire car and head out onto the Autostrada.  Navigating through Italy is a little tricky, I miss one turn and end up in Turin rather than heading towards the Alps, but still I get to Sauze easily enough.  Turns out to not be the best place to drive about - it is essentially built on the side of a mountain, so there is a maze of very steep cobbled streets covered with snow, which my front wheel drive fiesta doesn't enjoy much.  It all adds to the fun of locating the ski hire shop, and then my hotel right back at the bottom of the village.

The scenic Via Lattea.

Still, I am on the slopes by 2pm, and it is certainly nice to be able to ski straight from the Hotel Edelweiss down to the Jouvenceau lift - which is very long indeed, that seems to be a feature here, long lifts and long runs as well, for instance the Gran Pista which leads back to the hotel is fully two and a half kilometres.  Seems to be mostly reds too, probably not the best resort for beginners.  I have fun though, the weather is good and there is an awful lot of snow.  Rather miss my boots though - I only took hand luggage to avoid delay at the airport and Ryanair charges, the hire ones do not feel very comfortable.  Back to the hotel for a beer or two, plus some freshly baked snacks which proves to be a daily thing - very convivial.

Taking a breather.

Of course I have to check out the night-life of Sauze d'Oulx (pronounced something like 'Sohzy Doo' it seems) - sadly this does mean a fifteen minute slog up the slippery hill from the hotel.  Apparently Sauze has a reputation as the 'Magaluf of the Alps', can't say there is much sign of this on a Thursday night, the first few bars I look into are pretty empty, though I at least manage to get a decent pizza.  Eventually I find the party at Enoteca Il Lampione, where there is beer and live music.  Still not convinced it is much like Magaluf, not that I would know.

Sauze as seen from the Gran Pista.

Friday morning and time for a full day of skiing - unfortunately the weather has turned for the worse, there is a lot of snow coming down.  Not only is visibility very poor, but in fact there is so much powder that I'm finding it hard work to ski.  Still, maybe if I move to a different valley - Sauze is part of a large ski area, the Via Lattea - 'Milky Way' - which is comparable to Portes du Soleil in size, indeed you can ski into France - maybe tomorrow.  For now I head towards Sestriere in the hope of finding better weather there.  No such luck though... and worse is to come as I try to ski down into the village.  If the weather hadn't been so grim I'd have checked my map, and noticed that you can't ski all the way down.  I follow a sign labelled Sestriere but the piste dwindles away to nothing with the village still below, OK, following some tracks takes me through some hairy off-piste action and I at least get to a road.  But it is level, and perpendicular to the gondola cables that stretch off into the fog below me, so, I push along in the hope that the road will turn downhill and I'll be able to ski down it - sure is enough snow.  Sadly, while it does start to slope downwards, it also turns away from the village and slowly turns into more of a bridleway than a road.  Eventually I find myself at the edge of some woods with no real idea of where to go...

Photos to go with this post can be found here.