Chamois Italy
Chamois is small, humble, but charming, big mountain skiing in the shadows of Monte Cervino and the Matterhorn Ski Paradise (which is the ski terrain of Zermatt on the Swiss side and Cervinia on the Italian side). This is like a secret ski area with a car-free alpine village at 1800M. There are no roads to Chamois, you can only reach Chamois by cable car/tram from Buisson in the valley below, where we parked for $3 EU a day. Similar to nearby Zermatt Switzerland which can be reached by train …
We bought an Aosta Valley Italian Magic Ski Pass for $100 Euro. This small mountain ski pass was valid for 6-days of skiing at 11 small ski areas in the Aosta Valley (max 3 days skiing at any one area). We used ours at Chamois and nearby Crevacol. Lift tickets at Chamois otherwise are about $30 Eu a day. We boarded the Buisson tram with our skis, boots and poles, and overnight Kulkea bag to ride up 5-minutes to the 1800-meter car-free alpine village of Chamois. A short walk, past the historic clock tower, we checked in to Chamois’ 4-star hotel Maison Cly, suited up, then went up to the ski slopes, just a short walk up a cobblestone alley. This town is a flash back to simpler times…
From 1818-meters, (5964′) Chamois’ 3 old double chairs consecutively (Chairs A, B & C – original right?! ) bring you to the 2500-meter lift serviced summit (8,202′) and just four great ski trails. Chamois’ peak has superb views of the Matterhorn – or Monte Cervino as the Italians call it. You can see nearby Valtournenche skiing as its so close!
Chamois is so quiet, peaceful, not crowded on their simple but lovely intermediate ski terrain! Chamois is skiing like it used to be. It’s the antithesis of big corporate mega mountains. We caught first chair and felt like Chamois was our private ski area for three uninterrupted perfectly groomed runs. Then a few dozen other skiers showed up and we had to share this special ski place, with mostly locals.
Chamois has just 5 trails, very well groomed each night, plus lots of easy to reach, mostly low-angle freeride terrain you can see from the chairlfits. You also have lots of marked walking & snowshoe trails and ski touring possibilities around the high-plateau setting.
Chamois has just two chalet restaurants on mountain, at the base of Chair B, above Chair A. Da Bruna which is cozy with wonderful local food – that tartiflette with cheese! Fontana Freida is next-door, its slightly more modern, a self-service restaurant but a friendly crew here too. You’ll find as many instructors, patrol, and ski area employees, as clients at both.
You can also ski to Chamois’ base of the first chair A, and go to Coin Paradise or Bar Chamois – which we loved with the locals – for an affordable, amiable drink and snack or lunch! We loved Bar Chamois so much, we returned for dinner!
Heather’s ski tip: Stay at Chamois’ Maison Cly, a 4-star of the few hotels and BnBs in Chamois, this is the nicest, its alpine chic, with a spa, breakfast buffet for guests, and dining on premise in the evening. There are very few options in this humble but beautiful village of Chamois. The cuisine at Maison Cly was very good, if the staff was only moderately accommodating and helpful. The Italians dine so late, 7:30pm at the earliest for dinner for skiers, so we walked 100 yards back up to Bar Chamois, where the proprietor was very friendly, welcoming us for wine, a salad and homemade crepes one early evening, at 6pm instead.
As we departed Chamois Italy via the Cable Car, commuting with school children and families who live here, we felt the local pulse – peaceful, communal, and rustic – simple but beautiful. And we saw lots of namesake chamois grazing the meadows below the tram on our descent, like a promotional postcard in our memory, as we left this very special ski place. We love skiing gems like this in Italy’s Aosta Valley. Next stop – nearby Crevacol, another secret ski stash!
Chamois Ski Resort Ski Stats:
Elevation: 1812 – 2498 Meters – 8,196′
Vertical Drop: 686 Meters – 2,251′
Lifts: 5
Trails: 8 km
An Italian ski safari in Aosta could include Cervinia, Courmayeur, Monterosa, Pila, La Thuile, and Crevacol.
