Sauze d'Oulx (Via Lattea)雪予報

Returned from a great long weekend's skiing in Sauze d'Oulx (Via Lattea) at the end of Jan 2016. The fact that the resort is a mere hour from Turin airport makes it perfect for a long weekend break. The lively bars are also a bonus and we had some top notch food to boot. I started going to Italy around three years ago after simply getting fed up with the queues, the expense and the long transfers to the big French resorts. Nothing has happened so far that would make me turn back. The skiing was great especially over on the Moncrons section of the resort, even though the snow was not as deep as it should be for the time of year. The sun shone, the beer was cheap and the locals were glad to see us! There are a few gripes I have with this resort though and they have mostly been mentioned before: the Moncron section is only served by drags, this is where all of the powder was but the borders with us weren't interested as they were so long and very steep. The beginners area in the village is not served by snow machines. We actually could not believe our eyes at the sight of people coming down sheer ice to avoid the steep walk downhill from lift base; a few canons would mean people could ski to the town. Mt. Fraiteve, the only way to ski out of Sauze (down to either Sestriere or Sansicario) is still served by a very slow 2-man lift which closes at any sign of wind. This is especially frustrating as only half the runs in Sauze d'Oulx (Via Lattea) were open so we became very limited when the wind picked up. Taxis are an absolute rip off and should be avoided at all costs; we paid €45 for two of us to go 12 mins from Cesana to Montgenevre. A final tip to anyone planning to ski from Sauze d'Oulx (Via Lattea) to Montgenevre: don't bother skiing, plan to catch the bus from Oulx (€3) which will drop you at the bottom of the lift in Cesana for around 09:00. Once you catch the lifts towards Claviere and navigate the way to Montgenevre, you will be skiing in France before 10:00. If you do the same on the way back (aiming to catch the 17:00 bus), you end up with an entire day between the lovely resorts of Claviere and Montgenevre instead of clock watching trying to catch the last lifts home. All in all and, would recommend everyone to give it a go; it won't disappoint!