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WIZZ MAGAZINE
Drive forabout90minutes southwest through
theAostaValley fromCerviniaandyouwill
reachLaThuile. It’sanothermultinational
ski destination,with theFrench resortofLa
Rosièreaneasymorning’s skiingawayon the
other sideof thevalley. If the snow is sketchy
inLaThuile, thechancesare it’ll begood in
sunnyLaRosière, andviceversa,whichmeans
excellent skiing isprettymuchguaranteed.
LaThuileandLaRosière shareabout 160km
ofpistesbetween them. LaThuilehaswide,
open slopesabove the tree lineandmore
sheltered terrain lowerdownamong the trees,
while the runs tend tobe steeper thanLa
Rosière.BlackNumber3 isagoodexample–
thereare fewgroomed runs inLaRosière that
willmatch this steep littlenumber,whichat
times tilts35°,making itoneof the steepest
pistes in theAostaValley.
A fewblastsdownBlackNumber3 ishungry
work, andagreatplace to relaxand refuel
isMaisonCarrel (
maisoncarrel.com
).This
friendly, unpretentiousmountain restauranton
the lower slopesof 2,379mGranTesta serves
heart-warming ItalianandFrench fare.Check
out the
taglieremistodi salumi valdastani
,
anexcellent selectionofdriedbeef, venison,
pork, ham, bloodsausage, blackbreadand–
particularly tasty–honeychestnuts. It goes
beautifullywithabottleofL’AtouéyoTorrette
Superieur, a lovely red from thenearby
AymavillesValley.
A last titbit aboutMaisonCarrel: the
proprietor,GiorgioCarrell, isadirect
descendantof Jean-AntoineCarrel, thefirst
man toclimb theMatterhorn from the Italian
side in1865.
Sunnyslopesand
fine food inLaThuile
PHOTO BYGETTY
