I have been coming to the French & Italian Alps for many years, ever since my university friend Dale brought some ski chalets in the Southern French ski resort of Serre-Chevalier some fifteen years ago.
Winter and summer I've often made it out and over time we started exploring over the border into the Italian Alps also. So, when tasked with outsourcing my Bachelor Party (or 'Stag Do' in the UK) before my marriage last year in 2024; a 'Ski Stag in the Haute-Alpes' (High Alps) seemed like a reasonable request.
Serre-Chevalier is where the French go to ski. It isn't flashy like the 3 Valleys or Chamonix, rather rustic and rugged - and without a doubt home to world-class ski slopes.
Briançon, one of the highest 'cities' (it has a beautiful cathedral) in Europe, has a perpetually medieval atmosphere and a multitude of almost impossibly French bistros tucked into ancient corners - the pungent aromas of garlic and onion knocking you flat onto the flagstones as soon as you open the door....
Coming over the border into Italy you drive through the charming town of Claviere, where we always stop for a bite to eat and drink before heading up to the private chalets of 'Sagna Longa'.
Even the famous Italian coffee family LavAzza have their chalet up here, which is only accessible via skidoo and ski lift in the winter. Dale & I once spent New Years here at a local restaurant high up the mountain - I fared pretty well through the 7-course meal but fell at the last hurdle which, as per tradition, is pig's trotters with lentils to bring wealth into the new year....
Continuing up the next valley you reach the Italian ski resort of Sestriere, which was originally built by Italian car manufacturer Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli in 1934, to provide a holiday retreat for Fiat workers.
Again, this is where Italians come to ski - it's not particularly well known and again this adds to it's charm, and of course the bars, clubs and restaurants are heaving with effortless Italian style.
[Image: Friends in Sestriere doing a rather poor job of promoting my book 'Wax & Gold']
So, we put the word out and before we knew it 19 mates had signed up. And as you can imagine we really had the best time, and without even a single broken leg.
A natural highlight of the trip is up in La Tana Della Volpe (The Fox's Lair) restaurant in a converted cable car station, perched up on the roof of the world. We had an amazing dinner here before being ferried down in the night on skidoos - everyone feeling like James Bond - to a local nightclub.
The snow was fantastic (we were there in March) and there is such a vast array of pistes to suit all experiences, so no one was left out - and we easily averaged eight hours of hard skiing/snowboarding per day.
Towards the end someone asked why don't I launch this as a YellowWood Ski Touring Adventure? and I thought well perhaps I should.... this place is just too good to keep to myself.
This region is a must for anyone who is interested in combining authentic European culture with world-class skiing.
With an eye on the constantly increasing costs of lift passes in the USA for example, even factoring in the international flights, this is a far more cost-effective and deeply rewarding experience.
