Gressoney la Trinite

Gressoney is the centrally placed resort in the three-valley Monterosa ski area. It's even quieter than Champoluc, and rather more attractive: a traditional, neat little village, with cobbled streets and wooden buildings. Strangely, relatively few UK tour operators feature it; but that suits us, as it makes it more likely the area will retain its unique character. The main lifts into the ski area are clustered around Stafal at the head of the valley, but there is a chairlift on the edge of Gressoney La Trinité itself. Even further down the valley in the other direction is Gressoney St Jean, which has its own small area of slopes. The area suits intermediates who prefer long, undemanding cruises and don't mind repeating them. Experts come to the region for the splendid off-piste. The three-valley network of lifts and pistes is anything but small-scale. Champoluc at one end and Alagna at the other are 17km apart and it's around a four-hour trip by road if you miss the last lift. If you are planning daily excursions to Passo Salati to ski Alagna or to ride the Punta Indren cable car, Gressoney is the best place to start. Gressoney la Trinité is at the head of the long and beautiful Lys valley - a 40-minute drive from the Val d'Aosta. This is a resort of parts. The heart of the village is slightly away from the skiing, but there are skiers' satellites that have grown up at the lift bases. 500m away across the valley, at the base station of a slow chairlift into the local slopes, is a mini-resort almost as big as the village proper. The lifts for the other valleys go from a second lift base at Stafal, 5km away at the head of the valley (linked by a free but infrequent bus).