HELISKIING WITH A (LUXURY) TWIST
PHOTO Marco Spataro
Views don’t come any more spectacular than the amphitheatre of 4,000m-plus peaks surrounding Monte Rosa’s ski area. Especially when you heli in…
WORDS Daniel Loots
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to fly today,” says Rudy Perronet, Sport and Adventure Manager at CampZero, the impressive new five-star ‘activity hotel’ in the Italian ski area of Champoluc.
He’s talking about heliskiing, which was on the cards this morning, but thanks to 60mph wind gusts and poor visibility is now unlikely to be an option. “But don’t worry, at CampZero we always have a plan B!”
Plan B is exploring Monterosa’s vast off-piste terrain with Rudy, who is one of Italy’s highest qualified mountain guides, and Stefano Percino, President of the Champoluc Alpine Guides Society.
Our first route takes us from the top of Colle Bettaforca, the highest point on the Champoluc side, down to Gressoney in the other valley. The open face at the top has a little wind crust, but as we funnel down into the first couloir the snow becomes grippier and easier to control, which is just as well given the increased gradient.
Heli in, pow down…
PHOTO Marco Spataro
Midway down Stefano stops us and points up to a patch of rocks. “Ibex,” he says. Neither Rudy nor I can see anything. “Where there is a triangle of snow, look up to the two rocks, then look to the left,” Stefano says. There it is, its long horns moving back and forth as it attempts to grab tiny bits of vegetation sheltered between the icy rock face above us.
Carrying on down to the tree line the terrain gets steeper, but the snow is in remarkable condition considering the resort has been through a bit of a dry patch. “Chamois,” Stefano shouts, pointing above us again. This time they were obvious, five or six of them in the trees foraging. “He can see them fast because he is a cacciatore!” Rudy says, meaning ‘a hunter’. Stefano winks and carries on into the forest.
It’s not the last wildlife we see today: a bright green woodpecker drops down in front of me on a trail and begins pecking at a tree truck, and later Rudy and I spot a group of large animals climbing the wind-packed slopes across the valley. “Could be wolves,” Rudy says.
Surrounding the Monte Rosa ski area is an amphitheatre of 4,000m-plus peaks, including the Matterhorn, Lyskamm, Castore, Breithorn and Punta Gnifetti, with impressive glaciers hanging high above the valleys. It’s one of the most spectacular ski areas I’ve visited.
A short glide on the cross-country ski trails and we arrive at Gressoney lift station. As we board the lift towards Alagna, Rudy pulls out his phone: “I’m calling the pilot, maybe the weather is better now.” It’s quickly clear that it isn’t any better, with the cable car running painfully slow in the increasing gusts of wind.
“Sorry, but we really can’t fly, too much wind. So let’s enjoy the pistes and the food and aperitivo instead!” Rudy suggests. Always a silver lining.
COFFEE AND COULOIRS
As fun as Plan B is turning out to be, I came here to sample the famed heliskiing of Monterosa, which is one of the few areas in Europe that allows helicopters to drop skiers and snowboarders off. CampZero’s heliskiing operation takes clients from the front door of the hotel to 4,000m peaks in under 20 minutes.
CampZero has 15 approved landing zones, giving access to areas around Cervinia, Ollomont, Mont Blanc, Zermatt and the highest heliski zone in Europe, Lys Pass, which lies between Monterosa and Lyskamm. There’s also Valgrisenche, which Rudy calls ‘little Canada’ due to its excellent snow holding and steep and fast runs. With all these options it’s one of the biggest heli-access operations in Europe. Fortunately, for inclement weather days, there are plenty of other options.
The Monterosa ski area is a great size, with 180km of runs, and the resorts have put in touring trails up the sides of pistes, meaning you can skin in the safety of the patrolled area. With three ridges between Champoluc and Alagna there are countless off-piste itineraries available and even more with touring skis, which we haven’t needed so far on this route.
Turning back towards Gressoney we stop in at traditional Rifugio Gabiet, with its painted red and white shutters, for a quick espresso. Then we continue down the immaculately groomed pistes at speed, with the slopes almost entirely to ourselves.
A chairlift up and we are back on the Champoluc side. “Lets go off-piste again, it’s always more fun!” Rudy proclaims, and I follow him into a steep couloir that narrows in the middle. The snow grips perfectly, and despite not being fresh is immensely fun. A few more drops and ridges and we are back on the piste.
“Let’s do a fantastic black run!” Rudy shouts. ‘Fantastic’ and ‘black run’ are not words I’d generally use together, but nonetheless I follow him down. He isn’t wrong: it is steep, narrow and technical, but incredibly smooth and fun.
A run like that deserves a celebratory lunch, so we head for Campo Basso, a mountain restaurant whose owner has spent plenty of time in the Himalayas, evidenced by the prayer flags, photos and décor inside. They even have Tibetan specials on the menu. We opt for ragu followed by tiramisu. Both are fantastic.
Refuelled, it’s a fast blast down a red run back to Champoluc, where one of CampZero’s fleet of Jeeps is waiting to take us back to the resort.
“Now you have to relax and enjoy the hotel,” says Rudy, as we load our kit into the shiny new ski lockers with individual heaters for gloves, helmets and boots. “I’ll see you later for climbing!”
LUXURIOUSLY ACTIVE
CampZero is like nowhere I’ve stayed. On the one hand it has all the luxury trimmings of a five-star hotel; on the other it has indoor and ice climbing walls, a mountain library and a heli landing pad right at the front door. It’s like a BC heli or cat skiing lodge, except you have loads to do if the weather isn’t great and the Monterosa ski area on your doorstep.
CampZero: where you can be as active, or inactive, as you wish
PHOTO Daniel Loots
I have just enough time to check out the spa before my climbing date with Rudy. Down on the ground floor (with its own lift so you don’t need to wander through the lobby in your towel), the spa has full panoramic windows framing views of the forest and mountains beyond. There is a 25m pool for guests who still have energy to burn, and a hot tub, steam room, ‘emotional showers’ (which spray mint or lemon essence on you) and a sauna for the rest of us. And, for the brave, a ‘killer pool’ with water just above zero degrees that will shock those tired legs back into life!
I could stay for hours, but Rudy has arranged a climbing lesson for me with one of the resort’s instructors on the hotel’s own indoor wall. I’m not much of a climber but the shouts from below are encouraging so I manage to tick off three routes. On certain days of the week the hotel opens up the wall to locals too, and several of them chat to me and offer to belay.
For an added challenge, CampZero also has a two-storey ice climbing wall outside. It’s an excellent facility for down days and a great spectacle to sit and watch from the aptly-named Boulder Bar, with its floating fireplaces and walls decorated with ice axes, crampons and climbing helmets.
All this exertion calls for a slap-up dinner. CampZero has two restaurants, headed by Michelin star chefs Luca Gubelli and Davide Bonetti. Summit is their more intimate, fine dining experience, with set menus from €75, while Cliffhanger’s Grill is more relaxed without compromising on the excellence of the food. During my stay I feast on Aosta blue cheese gnocchi with sockeye salmon roe and coffee; risotto Milanese with bone marrow; and their signature Monte Rosa raspberry meringue with chestnuts.
As I pack for my return flight to Gatwick, the sky outside has become a heavy grey and snow is softly piling up on my balcony outside. As we start the drive down the valley at least a foot has already fallen and it shows no sign of stopping.
My phone buzzes in my pocket with a message from Rudy: “You have to come back, the heliskiing will be amazing with all this snow!”
Next time Rudy, next time.
FACTFILE
British Airways flies from London Gatwick to Turin, 1hr 4mins from Champoluc, from £84.
CampZero (campzero.com) offers seven nights in a double room from €2500, including breakfast and one guided heliskiing trip for two people to 4000m, with 1500m altitude difference.
A six-day Champoluc – Monterosa Ski lift pass costs from €250.