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.
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