Sestriere

Not just ski between the two towers

The history of Sestriere is tied to the image of its two towers raised, as wished by senator Giovanni Agnelli. Today it has become among the widest and best organized location for skiers because the sport is enjoyed from the first snow fall to the last sugary April snow.

One can go up and down hill constantly changing slopes, mountain sides and even nations, for the via Lattea borders with France and Montgegèvre.

The traditional slopes are the pleasant Banchetta, the slopy Sises, the candid Fraiteve, the three mounts of Passo, and the most exciting of all, the Rio Nero, which, as the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto once wrote, “Rio Nero is to skiers as the Olympus was to the Greeks”. The beginning of the slope is on Frainteve (2701 m) and along the same side one can ski down to Molliere, Cesena or Sansicario, an ancient yet brand new and well organized place with a mall and various surface lifts and cable-ways. It is from here that, having crossed a stream, you can reach the Monti della Luna (Mounts of the moon) in Sagna Longa and Colle Bercia (2300 m). From there one can go down to Clavière, or keep going up to Colletto Verde (2460 m) and also Monginèvre (1850 m). Backing up is a must to enjoy once more the long white ride.

Sauze d’Oulx is the third area of this vast run , home of Piero Gros, the main competitor of Gustavo Thoeni winner of the Olympic Gold and a World Cup.

Here too are many surface lifts and cable ways: towards the Pian del Sole, the Pian della Roccia, and the new Sportinia, up to Triplex (2507m), the Rocce Nere and the crest of Col Basset. From all these places you can reach the valley and the Borgata Sestriere in a fun and varied way. Great fun is also skiing back-country trails, especially when this means skiing through the scattered larches typical of this area.

Sestriere offers numerous leisure activities both for mountain lovers and not, during the winter and summer. In the winter, the town is the pivot point of the Via Lattea one of the three skiable domains in the Alps, it can be run entirely with a single ski-pass.

It includes the slopes and the lifts of Borgata Sestriere, Sestriere Colle, Grange Sises, Sansicario, Sauze d’Oulx, Cesana, Clavière and Monginevre in France.

The only great international skiing basin thanks to its link with Monginèvre. Even though all the centers of the Via Lattea (Borgata Sestriere, Sestriere Colle, Grangesises, Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario, Cesana Claviere and Montegenèvre) are equipped with their own lifts, the resort boasts the uniqueness of being able to offer the possibility to cruise from valley to valley, day after day, through ever changing natural landscapes along slopes that reach a maximum gradient of almost 2,000 meters.

Sestriere also offers a heliski service leaving skiers on the most renowned back-country trails: Col Basset, Dourmillouse, Ramiere, Rochers Charnier among others.

In Sestriere ski champions and tourists can also ski at night. In 1994, the first World Cup night slalom was won by Alberto Tomba right here. Since then, all competitions between the tight poles (including the World championships) have been carried out under the artificial lights. There are technical advantages to night skiing: lighting is uniform all along the slope and there are no reflections usually caused by the sun rays. The other main advantage is a much higher TV audience. The slope parallel to the Sestriere, named after Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, is equipped with 200 lights with a total power of 1,000Kw.

The slope is endowed with selective lighting: the first part , where the 4 place Cit Roc chair-lift reaches the starting area, the power (4 90 Watt lights for every post) is lower than that of the slope, while the finish area must not have the slightest shadow to allow spectators and operators to move freely around.

It is a wonderful slope for sports. The opening of a snowpark at Colle del Sestriere is great news for snowboarders. Set in a central position, next to the Cit Roc chair-lift and the Giovanni Alberto Agnelli slope, used for World cup skiing and snowboarding competition, it serves as training track for professionals and fun slope for tourists. A boarder cross and a half pipe will soon be set up as will a timing service managed by the Sporting Club Sestriere. The snowpark will host all competition snowboard disciplines.

If in winter Sestriere is a favourite destination for skiing, in the summer it is time for golfers. The “highest 18-putts in Europe” starts from a soft declivity at the hotel Principe di Piemonte and is equipped with a trial driving range with putting greens. The Club House is located near the hotel which acts as a golfers’ logistics headquarter.

Shopping       

You can find numerous sports stores able to satisfy even the most demanding shoppers, elegant boutiques with brand clothing, souvenir shops personalized with the name of the locality, wine stores and foodstuffs where you can find typical Piedmonts wines, liquors, cheeses and sweets.

Events           

Sport never stops in Sestriere: neither in summer nor in winter, neither day nor night with infinity sports activities livening all seasons.

From the International athletics meeting in the summer, to cycling with the Tour De France, to the great golf tournaments, soccer and tennis, to the alpine ski and the World Championship competitions, Sestriere offers the best Italian and European competition appointments.