Cervinia - any good?

Mel C wrote:Just wondering.....there seems to be a consensus of opinion that Cervinia is good for beginners but how about for slightly timid intermediates? There seems to be alot more red than blue on the piste map. My ski partner is technically sound but can get freaked by steep sections on pistes, the wider the piste the less the problem. Any views would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mel C

Mel, don't worry, Cervinia is super easy a beginners paradise in fact. Wide open gentle. I think the map makers stick in a lot of "reds" to broaden the appeal. If this was Chamonix or Andermatt they would grade these reds "green"!!! It'll be perfect for your partner.

tonyo74 wrote:Looking at Cervinia this year, party of 5 with 2 newbies so need something good for beginners and intermediates. Like the idea of being able to have some time in Zermatt. The Hotel Astoria looks to be closest to the cable station, and resonable reviews/price, however does anybody know how close it is to ski school meeting point? Can't seem to find out anywhere. General advise, tips and opinions on this resort/hotel would be appreciated.

Did post this earlier, hope I'm not repeating myself:=
Cervinia is great for beginners. Ski schools are found in two places. At the bottom of the main runs into town, right on the edge of the village, (town side of the little river).There are two ski schools. The "official" ski school sometimes requires you to book lessons the night before, specialy in high season. The other meeting place is in the lift station building at the Mid Station - Plan Maison. For newbys dont be alarmed, the terrain is awesome for beginners.
The link to Zermatt is sometimes closed by winds. Return journey should be timed to pick up last lift back before it closes!! Astoria is not too shabby and close to ski lifts. Best departure point up mountain is the chair lift close to village centre, the cable car is a bit of a harsh walk first thing in am!! Especially for beginners and party animal nursing a sore head!!!
Stretch

Agreed, although I have never skied Cervinia, but I have skied a lot in Italy and most of their slopes are over graded.

Stretch wrote:Re boarders/ drag lifts. Glacier section is quite flat (prob. no good for boarders anyway) however you can easily avoid those by using the Trokener Stegg cable car (Klein Matterhorn). In any event in the bowl there are a few good long hi speed detachable chairs as well as good runs down into Zermatt. From Schwarzee to Furi.

Here's a shot of that quite flat glacier section above Plateau Rosa, from September 2007.

Hi there,
We went to Cervinia last April and it was brilliant.
Snow was excellent - much better than Zermatt which was pretty green!

Ski school usually meets at the top of the gondola (Plan Maison), although on the first day, it meets at the bottom Cretaz chair lifts. Getting to/from the gondola is a bit of a pain,as there are loads of steps, which are not easy in ski boots.
My advice is, unless you are beginners, get the chair lift up (2 lifts), then ski down to the top of the gondola. This is pretty easy going except for a short steep part at the top of the second chairlift.
For info, we stayed at the Excelsior Planet, which was excellent and a 2 minute walk to the chair lifts.
Another issue about staying near the gondola is that, from memory, the only route down to there is via a tricky red, which could get icy and slushy if snow conditions not too good. Blues go all the way down to the bottom of the chairlifts.

Anyway, whatever you choose, you will have a great time. Going over to Zermatt is brilliant, and getting the gondola up to Klein Matterhorn (almost 4000 metres) and skiing down from there is fantastic !

ALSO - for Mel C - Cervinia is great for "timid" intermediates. Pistes are very wide, and some reds are just slightly harder blues ! Very easy just to traverse across and pick your moment to turn (I do it ALL the time !!).

ALSO - unless the gondola up to Klein Matterhorn is out of action (high winds), you won;t need to use any draglifts, at least not in Cervinia.

Have fun !

Tony

Mel C wrote:Just wondering.....there seems to be a consensus of opinion that Cervinia is good for beginners but how about for slightly timid intermediates? There seems to be alot more red than blue on the piste map. My ski partner is technically sound but can get freaked by steep sections on pistes, the wider the piste the less the problem. Any views would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mel C

I would say Cervinia is absolutely ideal for "timid" intermediates. I went to Zermatt last year and spent a couple of days over the border in Cervinia with the less experienced skiers in my group (who'd been 2-3 times before). They loved Cervinia, it has lots of wide cruising pistes, really flattering on the technique, great for practising carving. There is the odd steep bit near the top, but they're all pretty wide (and you've got to learn to do them some time!). The ski area is well put together too, so you can get around easily, unlike Zermatt which is more fragmented.

Don't be freaked out by the piste map - from memory Italy, like Switzerland, has no green slopes, so reds there would often be blues in France....

Hi All,
Am going to Cervinia on the 23 Jan and am looking for recommendations for places to eat & drink; Seems the Chalet Etole on the mountain is good & also the dragon pub ; can anyone advise a few more places + any that may offer 'happy hour' for a tad of apres.
Thanks
FB

Frostbite - Chalet Etoile is amazing for grub. Make sure you go at some point. It can get quite busy though so its worth popping in during the morning and booking a table for lunch.

Cervinia, as everyone has said, is great for beginners and intermediates. Lots of runs, that don't get that busy, and are all wide open (no tree runs in Cervinia really). You can ski all the way down to the village at the end of the day as well which is great.

More pistes available over in Zermatt, with some nice tree runs over there. I would say its worth getting the area pass but possibly not for beginners.

Overall, nice big mountain with plenty to keep you amused. Not that much apres ski to be honest as a lot of hotels seem to be half board and a lot of people seem t stay in their hotels in the evening. Having said that, there are some decent pubs, and a good club. Can't remember the names but you will find them on or just off, the main street