We have been to the Via Lattea several times and always dismissed Claviere as merely a connection between better things, but our most recent visit changed that. What we have never ‘dismissed’ is the lovely town of Claviere, propped in a high pass, hard on the French border and hemmed in between impressive peaks like the 3,131m Chaberton. There is more ‘juice’ here than one might suspect & we had a wonderful time in January exploring its nooks & crannies despite no fresh snow.

Claviere is the quietest sector of the entire Via Lattea. A touch limited in the off-piste realm; its long, easy rolling terrain will delight most snow enthusiasts, as it did us miiisssserable swines! The on-piste trails are centred on the 2,300m Colle Bercia. A series of long cruisy intermediate trails roll down pleasantly through light larch forest to either Sagna Longa or back toward Claviere. The Col Boeuf chair serves less than 300m vertical, but it includes several wonderful pistes including the lightning fast ‘99’. The real importance of the lift though is its link to Montgenevre in France. It is possible to access both sides of Montgenevre from the Col Boeuf. A push will get one all the way to the Serre Thibaud chondola (combi gondola & chair) base or the Tremplin chair. Complete novices are better off spending their time at Montgenevre’s generous ‘green’ terrain.

Below Sagna Longa, trails lead down to Cesana & the rest of the Via Lattea. Whilst the trails are rated blue (beginner), they are generally far from it, particularly in the lower section. ‘Sporty’ is a way to describe them! As a result, downloads on the Sagna Longa chair are allowed, but the skiers’ honour code requires its use only in the direst of circumstances! The skiable vertical here is 700m but seems alot longer. In good snow, some sensational steep tree skiing can be had. We gave it a crack, but the snow was just too old be truly fun.

For off-piste freeride, we scoped some potential on the ‘backside’ of Colle Bercia; (skin out required) & we have mentioned the trees below Sagnalonga. The real business is accessed from the French side. Coming back into Claviere from the top of the Roche de l’Aigle chairlift in Montgenevre provides a sensational opportunity for freeride shenanigans. This is Claviere’s highest point (2,581m). Whilst only 4-500m skiable vertical at best before hitting the long trail out, there are a multitude of well-pitched, rarely tracked lines off the ridge to the north toward Petit Collet. Shame it takes such a long time to get back there. In fact, it is only 4 lifts, but the journey seems a world away & via another country no less - such is skiing the Via Lattea.

As to the ski lifts, they are all chairs at Claviere. They are comfortably serviceable without being super-fast or super-new and there is an obvious ‘missing link up to the frontier ridge at Roche de l’Aigle, but at the Montiluna & Via Lattea’s ski pass price point, who cares? The journeys up them are perfect for contemplating the good things in life, like considering where to have lunch!

Unlike its neighbour Montgenevre, comparative to its size, Claviere has numerous excellent mountain huts/rifugi to shelter, wine, dine & après ski. Rifugio/Baita La Coche is probably the pick of them, but each has its own charms. Rifugio Col Saurel has the best location in the resort (bottom of the Gimont chair) & can be fun with a group sitting out in the beanbags taking in the scenery over an aperol spritz or three.

Claviere’s village altitude (1,760m) and shaded-aspect ensures it is draped in snow for all of winter. Despite a very lean early winter for much of the world, in January 2020 it was indeed that snow-draped and looking great. Increasingly, truly snow-covered villages are becoming less of the norm, so Claviere automatically ticks a ski holiday box! The village doesn’t get any near as much sun as nearby Montgenevre, but it has retained more of its original soul & so leaves one with a greater taste of local authenticity. Like Montgenevre though, the main road now skirts the village via a tunnel, leaving the centre of town still bustling, but without the masses of through traffic that cross the Italian-French border here. A handful of quality hotels line the main street & a few superb ones , like the Hotel Al Foiron, closely followed by the Hotel Pian del Sole, back onto the ski area, providing ski-in ski-out perfection but without the high-end, mega ski resort price tag..

Speaking of price tag, we love this region for its lack of it …….. lack of a huge price tag that is! When staying in Claviere, getting the right lift pass may be a topic of discussion. The cheapest pass is the local Montiluna lift ticket, but unless new to the sport, the Claviere terrain that it covers may become monotonous after a few days. So, the next best thing is a Grand Montgenevre pass. Ironically, the Grand Montgenevre pass includes all the best bits of Claviere (including the use of the Montgenevre lifts to get up into the lovely Rocher de l’Aigle terrain), but we are unsure if it can be purchased at Claviere – you might have to duck up to Montgenevre to get one (& clarify that you are allowed to start your ski day in Italy – some passes in France, like Portes du Soleil, require you to start in the country of purchase. The Grand Montgenevre pass does not include the section from Colle Bercia into Sagnalonga & down to Cesana. Given the comparatively cheap Via Lattea International pass (€50 for 400km of trails), you can avoid all confusion by simply purchasing one & skiing wherever you want, whenever you want……

Claviere is a small part of a larger sum that should be on everyone’s ’to do’ list – especially if you are a fiscally challenged tightarse that love sliding on snow!

You can see our thoughts on the pros and cons on the Claviere overview page and also see our European ski resort ratings regarding how we score it compared to other skiing areas.