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Sestriere,IT
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Reservations #:
+39 0122799411
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| MOUNTAIN STATS
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| Top Elev: |
9318 ft/2840 m |
| Base Elev: |
6037 ft/1840 m |
| Vertical Drop: |
3281 ft/1000 m |
| Lift Capacity: |
100000 |
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| TRAILS ACRES
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| Beginner: |
% |
| Intermediate: |
% |
| Advanced: |
% |
| Expert: |
% |
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| LIFTS
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| High-Speed 6: |
3 |
| High-Speed Quads: |
8 |
| Quads: |
8 |
| Triples: |
3 |
| Doubles: |
14 |
| Singles: 1 |
| Surface Lifts: |
33 |
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Along the border of Italy with France, the Alps rise majestically, the Italian dolce vita blends with French laissez faire and the regional cuisine draws from the best of Italy and France. This region, the Piemonte, owes its French/Italian lineage to the continuous shifts of the international borders for centuries between nobles pledging allegiance alternately to French and Italian kings.The hilltops and valleys bear witness to the warfare that marked relations along this mountain border. Massive castles and fortifications lie along mountain ridges and protect narrow valley entrances. But for all this defensive posturing, valleys and towns still shifted sides based more on politics and religion than military might.These mountains that once formed a natural boundary today are linked by hundreds of km. of ski and snowboard trails and web of gondolas, chairlifts, pomas and cable cars. This is the region that hosts the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.The Games will be spread throughout the region. Sestriere will host most of the men's downhill events. Cesana-San Sicario will be the site of women's downhill, biathlon, bobsled, skeleton and luge. Sauze d'Oulx will showcase the freestyle events. Bardonecchia claims the snowboard venues. Olympic Villages will be in Bardonecchia and Sestriere.For American and British tourists, the best towns to use as a base for discovering this area of Piemonte are Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulx. Though these resorts are linked by snow-covered trails there is a dichotomy in village flavor. Sestriere is on the main road, modern, bustling, surrounded by lifts and fashionable. Sauze d'Oulx is a traditional village laced with a warren of narrow cobbled streets, tucked at the end of a winding mountain road with at least a dozen switchbacks, with limited lift access to the far-reaching trails. Sestriere is very Italian with a rhythm that reflects traditions of coffee, apres-ski at the hotels and some late-night disco action. Sauze d'Oulx is packed with British, Dutch, Irish and other European tourists and its pubs positively rock when the lifts close. Sestriere, by far, has the best access to the slopes and the most challenging skiing in terms of marked terrain. A dozen lifts-six of them quads-take skiers from the town to the upper reaches of the mountain. Monte Sises has more advanced and expert trails. Monte Motta/Banchetta is a bit mellower filled mainly with intermediate cruisers and some advanced trails. Much of this sector is above tree line.
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resort info
