Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Review of Passo Tonale

25th September 2008 by Paul Irving 

I’ve been to Passo Tonale twice, largely because my partner had a very good time on our first visit - her second full week skiing - and the description is pretty fair. The location is rather bleak, though not in the same league as Val Thorens. At Passo Tonale itself the slopes are mostly exposed, and the village lacking charm.
To offset against that, it’s not as much an alien imposition on the country as some resorts, being popular with Italians. Last time I was there, in the Hotel Eden (a nice little family hotel), the Italian guests, some obviously regulars, outnumbered the foreigners. This seems to have a positive impact on the quality of service, and definitely on the quality of the house wine. The resort’s also relatively cheap, though not as much so as it used to be. Night life is rather quiet. Rather family-orientated (all those Italian families). Sauze d’Oulx or Pas de la Casa it ain’t. Good or bad, depending on your taste.
One thing rarely commented on is that not only does it have very good beginners’ slopes but there’s a very good progression through gradually more difficult slopes.
With the new link to Ponte di Legno, the tree-lined and slightly more challenging runs there are easy to get to, and Ponte di Legno itself is more visually appealing than Passo Tonale.
Not much for the advanced or good intermediate skier, but seems a very good place to learn to ski. My partner spoke well of her ski school on our first trip. Queues are not bad.

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