Pila

Pila sits above Aosta and is linked to the town by an 8-seat gondola: in about 18 minutes you go from downtown straight onto the slopes. There are 70 km of runs between 1,540 m (Plan Praz) and 2,750 m (Couis 1), mostly intermediate, served by 14 lifts (including four magic carpets).

Why Go Snowboarding

The main reason is the Areaeffe snowpark, the first one built in the Aosta Valley, with a permanent halfpipe and kickers (jumps) up to 17 m, and you can get there by train and gondola without ever using a car. From the slopes you can see Mont Blanc, the Grand Combin, the Matterhorn, and Monte Rosa. The catch: only 16% of the kilometers are on easy runs, which isn’t much if you’re still learning to turn.

Terrain & Slopes

73% of the kilometers are intermediate and 11% difficult: Pila is mostly a mountain of reds, where you can carry speed. Beginners start in the Baby Gorraz and Grimod area, while experts look for terrain around Chamolé, Couis, and Platta de Grevon. For freeriding, the go-to run is the Platta de Grevon: from the top of Couis 1, at about 2,700 m, it runs down to Plan de l’Eyve, and after a snowfall it’s left ungroomed for a while before the snowcats go in. Snowmaking uses more than 200 snow guns.

Snowpark

Areaeffe sits at about 2,200 m on the Grimod run and is served by the Grimod four-seat chairlift, which passes over its whole length: you can lap it again and again. It’s about 700 m long, split into two sectors, one easier and one harder, with a permanent halfpipe, kickers up to 17 m, a spine, boxes, and a quarterpipe; the intermediate and expert lines are made of five tables in a row.

Tips

It’s worth leaving your car in the large free parking lot at the gondola base in Aosta: staying in town and riding up every morning is a real option. From downtown Aosta it takes about 30 minutes of lifts to reach the park. For off-piste riding, carry a beacon, shovel, and probe in your backpack.

Getting There

By car, take the A5 Turin–Aosta to the Aosta Est exit; the gondola base is 10 minutes away. From Aosta you can also drive up to Pila on an 18 km scenic road that’s always open, in about 30 minutes; from Milan it’s about 2 hours 40 minutes. By train, get off at Aosta station and walk to the gondola through a short pedestrian underpass. At certain times of the season there’s also a free ski bus from Gressan.