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Resort Guide

Suitability	Resort height: 2050m
Families:		[Yes]
Glacier:		[Yes]
Beginners:		[3]
Intermediates:		[5]
Advanced:		[4]
Snowboarding:		[3]

One of Italy’s best known ski resorts, attracting three million visitors each season, Cervinia is lift-linked to Zermatt in Switzerland around the legendary Matterhorn mountain. The joint ski area is one of the world’s largest, with some 400km of shared piste between the two famous resorts and a third area, Cervinia’s neighbour Valtournenche. The link (which can be made by crossing the border aboard a high speed six-passenger chairlift) means Cervinia based guests have access to Europe’s highest ski area. It also offers one of the world’s biggest lift-served verticals of more than 2,000m on the Swiss side, and some of the longest runs - nearly 16km/10 miles on the Italian side. The high altitude of the upper runs means snow is guaranteed all season long - normally right down to resort level and Cervinia is open for summer skiing on the local glacier. The icing on the cake is that in recent years the resort has invested heavily in some new state-of-the-art high speed chair lifts and gondolas making moving around on the mountain faster, easier and more comfortable.

Cervinia, or Breuil Cervinia to give it its full name, was arguably the first resort especially built for skiers back in the 1930s. It has a long, illustrious history in winter sports and also something of a chic reputation – although there are plenty of accommodation, dining and other options for the less well heeled. It is named after Monte Cervinio, the Italian name for the Matterhorn.

Beginners

Beginners will carve their first turns on the wide, gentle slopes above the resort or up at 2555m on Plan Maison above. The ski school is one of the longest established in Italy, with more than 70 years experience. Private classes are available on request and the latest, easy to use, conveyor lifts are available for first-timers.

A special beginner’s lift ticket is available, the Primecurve Skipass. This allows access at a lower price on the Nuovo Baby Cretax conveyor lift, the Campetto chairlift in resort and the La Vielle ski lift in Plan Maison – on other words all the beginner lifts you need.

Intermediates

There are almost unlimited opportunities for intermediates who would be hard pressed to find anywhere better. The hundreds of kilometres of piste are mostly on fast wide sunny slopes. If you like to ski as far, as fast and for as long as you can each day you can also opt to enroll for the skipass competition whereby you load in details of how many kilometres of piste you clock up in a day on to the resort’s website to compare with other participants on the day, or month or all season. Prizes are awarded for the biggest achievers.

Cervinia opened a skicross course last winter. This is a spiralling downhill track in which – in competitions – four skiers race down together in knockout stages. Cervinia is a past host of the Italian Championships in this new ski discipline. However the course is open to all to have fun racing down with friends.

Advanced

One of the world’s classic ski areas, Cervinia’s reputation is largely based on its attraction to advanced skiers with seven steep blacks locally and many more over in Zermatt. Expect moguls, powder fields and limitless guided opportunities outside the marked trail network.

Heliskiing is popular here with the Societa Heliski one of the world’s leading operators able to take you to untouched peaks and virgin powder slopes. Ski mountaineering and ski touring led by the expert local guides are also popular.

If you fancy a different challenge, speed skiing could be for you. Cervinia’s name has been synonymous with this sport for more than 60 years since the first world record was set here in 1947 by Zeno Colo, thirty years later that record was again set at Cervinia at 195.975kph, now the record has passed 250kph.

Snowboarding

Cervinia’s ‘Indian Park’ claims to be Europe’s highest at just below 3,000m This means that the features can be created earlier in the resort’s long season and last longer in the colder air. The park is over 400m long and 100m wide and has different routes and hits for all levels of rider. There are three, six and 11 metre high kickers, as well as jumps which are increasingly large until you reach the biggest, the legendary ‘Decolletor’ a mere 18 metres high. Other attractions include two mega-walls, four metres high and six metres long. A number of events are staged in the park all through the winter and you have the option of purchasing an affordable ’Snow-surfers’ daily ski pass which gives access to the Plan Maison sector and Fornet chairlifts to access the snow park and boardercross course.

Other Activities and Facilities

Cervinia has a full range of fun on-snow activities including kite skiing (ski around a course wearing a harness and pulled along by a kite!); airboarding (a kind of high speed inflatable sledge); snow dinghies (descend a 280m ski slope in an inflatable boat, the largest taking eight passengers); mountain biking on snow, snow shoeing, ice climbing (all ability levels!) and snowmobiling. Parascending above is also popular and you shouldn’t miss a visit to Europe’s highest museum at 3,500m near the cable car station on Plateau Rosa, nor the glacier ice grotto, still higher at 3,883m, where you enter an ice cave of wonder 15 metres below the glacier and made even more impressive by the inclusion of some beautiful ice sculptures.

There’s lots to do in resort too including a natural ice rink and the Maison des Sports which has a gym and squash courts. Facilities include a post office, banks, library, two cash tills and more than 60 shops.

Après Ski and Dining Out

Cervinia is usually one of the livelier and busier apres-ski destinations in Italy. There are more than 30 restaurants, 15 bars and two night clubs to visit. The dining choices range from basic creperies and pizzarias to gourmet establishments. Local prodcue and regional wines are the norm in many of the restaurants – try a fondue using the local Fontina cheese or traditional meat grills with venison, goat and pork. Finish off with a chocolate fondue with fruit to dip.

There’s a similar range of night spots from sophisticated and refined lounges to buzzing bars and clubs. There are also dozens of evening activities on offer (See Facilities and Activities) and (after the New Year period) a free bus service takes you down to the casino in the valley below at St Vincent.

Families

Children aged from birth up to 10 can sign in for the modern and well-equipped non-ski Mini Club which is open from 9am to 5pm every day – it’s wise to book ahead. There are two snow play parks to enjoy as well, operated by the Cervinio Ski school and lino’s. The ski school accepts children in special classes (not always the norm in Italy) with a minimum age requirement of six and a maximum of nine in each class.

Piste Map for Cervinia

Accommodation in Cervinia

• Astoria - 3 star, half board
• Astoria - 3 star, half board
• Astoria - 3 star, half board
• Breuil - 3 star, half board
• Breuil - 3 star, half board
• Breuil - 3 star, half board
• Chateau des Dames - 2 star, half board
• Compagnoni - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Compagnoni - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Des Guides - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Des Guides - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Edelweiss - 3 star, half board
• Excelsior Planet - 4 star, half board
• Excelsior Planet - 4 star, half board
• Furggen - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Furggen - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Hotel Astoria - 3 star, half board
• Hotel Breuil - 3 star, half board
• Hotel Europa - 4 star, half board
• Hotel Excelsior Planet - 4 star, half board
• Hotel Furggen - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Hotel Marmore - 2 star, half board
• Hotel Serenella - 2 star, half board
• Jumeaux - 3 star, half board
• Jumeaux - 3 star, bed & breakfast
• Meynet - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Meynet - 2 star, half board
• Petit Palais - 4 star, catered
• Petit Palais - 4 star, catered
• Petit Palais - 4 star, catered
• Petit Palais - 4 star, catered
• Petit Palais - 4 star, catered
• Sertorelli - 4 star, half board
• Sertorelli - 4 star, half board
• Sporthotel Sertorelli - 4 star, half board
• Sporting - 2 star, bed & breakfast
• Sporting - 2 star, half board
• Valdotain - 4 star, half board

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