Champorcher Ski Resort Italy

Champorcher is a small, isolated Aosta Valley ski resort in a beautiful, forested valley. The two traditional villages of Chardonney & Champorcher at the ski resort base set the tone for this quiet, understated ski hill.

Champorcher is part of the Monterosa Ski lift pass area but located a long way south from the main action and with a far cheaper local lift pass. Champorcher skiing is top to bottom on 1,052m of vertical from high alpine to thick forest. The ski resort is a beautiful place to learn to ski and spend a day enjoying the mountains.

Pros & Cons for Champorcher Ski Resort

Pros

• Splendid isolation.
• Great value skiing.
• Excellent place to learn to ski.
• Very quiet at all times of the season.
• Fun on a powder day.
• Challenging tree skiing available.
• Long valley run.
• Good food, drink and après ski.

Cons

• Limited terrain for visits longer than 2 days (unless its powder!).
• Freeride terrain lacks consistent fall line.
• Aging lift infrastructure.
• No ski-in / ski-out accommodation (except Rifugio Dondena, but that doesn't count in most people's estimations!).

Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)

• Small, isolated ski resort.
• Quiet ................. very quiet!

Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain

The lifts may be a tad old and the ski area small, but for the price, the vertical and the quiet, skiing & snowboarding at Champorcher is worth it.

Check out the ski trail map for Champorcher below.

Champorcher Ski Trail Map

From the top of the gondola at Laris (1,950m), the main learn to ski area is directly accessible, as is a ski school. Ski rental is down in the base village at Chardonney.

Starting below the gondola top station, the Cimetta Rossa quad chairlift can used to access all the main piste trails, with the exception of the valley trail. The variety of ski trails on the 570m vertical will keep everyone amused for the best part of a day. The trails are suitable for lower intermediates and up. A freeride touring route down to Rifugio Dondena adds a bit of adventure to proceedings. Return via the Madeleine surface tow*(see lift pass section below).

Champorcher's long valley trail is a wonderful way to end the day after a spritzer at the bar, but is probably a bridge too far for beginners, so they will have to download on the gondola. Skiers will easily win the race!

Freeride tree skiing adventures are an option in the larch forests to the skiers right of the resort, but the terrain is complex & technical. Scoping out the lines and more importantly, the exits, is critical.

Lift Pass

Affordable local lift passes are available at Champorcher. The cheapest pass is on weekdays, with weekends & holidays costing more. Importantly. the advanced Madeleine lift is not automatically included in the standard lift pass. It costs an extra € to be included (much like the Indren lift at Monterosa). If you hold a full Monterosa Ski pass, it is valid in Champorcher.

See the Monterosa ski trail map.

Where is Champorcher Italy?

The Champorcher ski resort is in the Valle d'Aosta, 17km by road west of Bard and its imposing fort of the same name. As the crow flies, Champorcher is 26km southeast of Aosta, and 60km north of Turin. The ski resort base is technically in the town of Chardonney, 1km west of Champorcher village.

Gateway airports are Turin (TRN) and Milan Malpensa (MXP). The Milan Malpensa international airport is 155km by road east of Champorcher, or about 2hr journey time depending on road conditions. Search & book airport transfers to Champorcher & the Aosta valley.

Champorcher is close to the Aosta valley train stations at Verres and Pont St Martin. A public bus makes at least two journeys a day (on morning, one afternoon) from the Verres train station to Champorcher & Chardonney. A single bus service runs a return journey to Pont St Martin train station on weekends.

A rental car is the ideal way to visit Champorcher & at the same time do an Aosta valley ski safari! Loads of cars are available at Milan Malpensa airport, however most are not winterised aside from perhaps having chains. Forewarned is forearmed!

For more info on how to get to Champorcher, see our Travel to the Aosta Valley page.

Champorcher Accommodation

The village of Chardonney sits below a series of terraces across the river from the ski resort base. Several hotel, BnB, guesthouse chalet and apartment options are on offer, all within easy walking distance of the lift base and valley ski trail terminus. The traditional village is small and relatively quiet, particularly mid-week, but has some excellent lodgings and adequate bars & restaurants. The best are the boutique apartments of Revivre Village , the more standard apartments of Skiman Gontier and the comfortable BnB Le Temps d'une Pause.

Champorcher village is more substantial but with less accommodation options. It does come complete with the nooks, crannies, and laneways one expects from a place with an ancient church steeple and turreted castle tower on its skyline. Stay at the Albergo Castello da Bonino or one of several private chalets.

Search & book all Champorcher Accommodation.

Back down in the valley in Bard (also known as Hone), the Hotel Cavour Et Des Officiers is in a wonderful location within the Fortress of Bard. Combining skiing with nights in hotels of this character is what skiing in Europe is all about. A cluster of interesting hotels, BnBs and guesthouses are at the base of the fort.

For something completely different, but quintessentially Italian, stay a night at Rifugio Dodena at 2190m. Ski tour up or ski down from the top of the Cimetta Rossa quad chair.

Day trips by car to Champorcher can done from just about anywhere in the Aosta valley, so one can keep their options open.

Nearby Ski Resorts

The Monterosa Ski area has lift pass connectivity with Champorcher and has numerous village bases to access the superb main resort area. Champoluc is the closest of them, over 50km & 1¼hr drive north. Other resorts nearby are all the Aosta Valley ski areas including Pila, Cervinia, Crevacol, La Thuile & Courmayeur.

Reviews

The Powderhounds reviewed Champorcher in 2018 & found it to be a fascinating experience. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.

See how Champorcher compares to the rest of the Italian ski resorts on the Italy ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.

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