Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25256
OFF-PISTE OR HEll italy: ALAGNA Vast off-piste terrain. Vertical drops of 10,000 feet. Five ski areas that link four valleys and two countries. Heli-ski options. Incredible northern Italian food, Euro-alpinist culture, and cheap, cheap prices in a charming, completely "undiscovered" 13th century village ... The list goes on, but these are the key reasons why the backcountry skiing cognoscenti have chosen Alagna, Italy, as their current "it" destination. If you crave a ski experience that is exotic-the t antidote to corporate commercialism -then you'll love Alagna. It's decidedly boutique and all about quirky, alpine escapism. You'll find yourself in a high-mountain arena that celebrates raw natural beauty and the village life of a simpler time. It's definitely not about outre ski resort development. It's simply the "poor man's" Alps experience that promises the powder goods of the Canadian Bugaboos and the "cool" of La Grave before it became "LA GRAVE." Alagna is located on the Italian-Swiss border at the head of the Sesia River valley, just west of Lake Maggiore and below the south-facing backside of the 15,233 foot Italo-Swiss Monte Rosa-Europe's second highest peak. Its expansive, crenelated ridge lines and deep, glaciated bowls are not more than two hours from Milan's Malpensa airport, yet the jet set is decidedly light-years away and more likely to be found at Zermatt on Monte Rosa's Swiss slopes. What you will find here are lots of hardcore Swedes and Brits, and, lately, a few adven- turesome Americans. Even for those skiers who are dialed into the Val J d'ls're-Verbier-Jackson Hole-Whistler circuit, and think they've encountered the best, Alagna will modestly underpromise and very confidently over deliver. While all can appreciate Alagna's spectacular mountain terrain, the entire experience will defi- nitely appeal more strongly to the skilled duct tape crowd from Mad River Glen than the beginning skier. Check out Alagna's website, www.alagna.it. for inspiration. It's filled with arresting visuals, to po maps, and detailed text (in perfect English) of the area's nine classic must-do, off-piste routes, ranging in descent from 2,500 ft to 6,000 ft!! La Balma, Stolemberg, Col Zube, and Valle Bors ... to name a few. For a complete list, purchase "Polvere Rosa" (Mount Rosa Powder) by local ski mountaineer Marco Rizzi, with over 100 off-piste route descriptions and maps. For most skiers however, the "Big Daddy" is the one-day Alagna-Zermatt heli-ski circuit, which goes something like this: Climb 6,000 feet via three stages of mostly traditional ski lifts before jumping into a chopper and ascending another 4,000 feet to a saddle on Monte Rosa's summit. Follow this with a 10,000 vertical glacier descent to Zermatt (think top to bottom at Jackson Hole 2.5 times). Pick up some rosti and beer for lunch, a Swiss ski pass, then head up 7,500 feet to Zermatt's Klein Matterhorn to reenter Italy and loop home via off-piste detours through the Cervinia, Champoluc and Gressoney valley lift networks, collectively known as Monterosaski. These ski areas are spread among the shoul- ders of three deep, parallel valleys, which drain Monte Rosa to the west of Alagna. In their own right, each of them is spec- tacular, extensive and worthy of several days of their own. The best time for peak powder conditions on the Zermatt heli route, as well as Alagna in general, is late January to early March. If you go earlier, you risk not having enough snow on the glaciers to cover the hard ice and fill in the fis- sures. Whenever you go, guides should be considered a "fixed" rather than variable cost, as they both maximize your fun and could potentially save your life. If weather conditions are unfavorable for the backcountry, you can kill time on 54