Cruising the Alps:
The Resort
Gressoney
Monte Rosa
Gourmand Stops
The Capanna Carla restaurant (tel. 0125366130), in Stafal, in
Valle di Gressoney, is an old Walser house on the fringes of the wood
is a fabulous little place, with a menu boasting the best of Monte Rosa
regional cuisine. It is a cozy little place, decorated with locally
produced furnishings and period pieces. Specialties include the carbonade
with game, fonduta, involtini di prosciutto con panna e cognac
(rolled slices of ham with cream and cognac), arrosto di vitello
con mirtilli (roast veal with blueberries), camoscio e capriolo
(mountain goat). Many of the dishes are prepared over a wood fire and
are served with the best of Val d'Aosta wines. Reservations required.
Lo Stambecco (tel. 0125355201) specializes in grilled meats and
local specialties. The restaurant also has what has to be the best position
in Gressoney St. Jean. Don't miss the Porcini mushrooms in oil, the
salami and the zuppe valdostane soup.
Hotels
Gressoney
- In La Trinitè
Hotel Monboso (tel. 0125366302, fax 0125366414; E-mail: monboso@gressoney.it)
A modern, 4-star hotel with fitness room, con fitness club, pool, sauna,
billiards, piano bar and disco.
Gasthaus Lysjoch (tel. 0125366150, fax 0125366365; E-mail: htllysjoch@galactica.it)
A small, well-kept 3-star hotel near the Punta Jolanda lifts. The atmosphere
is peaceful and the restaurant serves a good selection of regional treats.
- Gressoney St. Jean
Hotel Gressoney (tel. 0125355986, fax 0125356427) This 3-star
hotel is just steps away from the center of the village. The hotel's
star attraction is the covered winter garden, onto which open 14 rooms
and 9 suites. After ski activities include sauna, gym, terrace solarium
and piano bar.
La Gran Baita (tel. 0125356441, fax 0125356441) This 3-star hotel
near Gressoney Weissmatten is a lovingly restructured antique Walser
house. Done up in true mountain style, the rooms are tastefully decorated
and adorned with antiques. Fitness room, Swedish sauna, steam room,
solarium, sun beds and relaxation room.
- Center Gressoney La Trinitè
Lo Scoiattolo (tel. 0125366313, fax 0125366220) A deliciously
charming 3-star hotel where the restaurant's regional cuisine is presided
over by the proprietor himself!
R.T.A. La Villa della Regina (tel. 0125366283, fax 0125366415)
The beautiful, 17-suite luxury residence was recently born in a restored
villa and is located very near the lifts. Daily maid service and linens
are included.
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Shopping
Even if the valley's shops don't compete with the luxury on display
in other ski resort areas, its quite possible to make some lovely purchases
in and around Gressoney, particularly of tastefully hand-crafted items
made by local artisans. For clothing with a touch of local color, the
right address is Carla Angster (tel. 0125355473), who has based
her designs on traditional Walser dress.
The characteristic local cloth hosiery is known as -- well, i sock
-- and can be ordered custom made from Luciana Barrel ( tel.
0125355562). Hand-crafted wood articles are a speciality of the valley's
artisans, particularly Fratelli Squinobal (0125355313) who produce
solid wood furnishings, and Armando Laurent (tel. 0125345936),
specialized in decorator and household items. Well worth a visit is
the shop run by Davide Camisasca, Alpine guide and photographer
whose fabulous photos of the various villages and mountains of Valle
d'Aosta are on display.
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Itineraries
The Rifugio della Regina
Built more than one hundred years ago on a high peak of the Monte Rosa,
the Rifugio Guglielmina (tel. 016391444 - 016391547) was for
many years the highest hotel in Europe. The mountain refuge has housed
some illustrious guests, such as Queen Margherita di Savoia who visited
the area so frequently that King Umberto was moved to have a castle
built near Gressoney.
In the course of her excursions on Monte Rosa, the queen stopped over
often at the rifugio and present-day guests can still
sleep in what was her highness' bed. Located in an extraordinary position
which straddles Valle di Gressoney and Valsesia, this spot is a veritable
sanctuary for those who love cross country skiing, with runs leading
to Alagna along the Vallone d'Olen and a funicular back up to the top.
An Alpine guide is required, as the high mountain terrain calls for
some degree of experience and caution.
Two years ago, the Rifugio was the site of an interesting "experiment"
as ten oenologists and sommeliers gathered here for a wine tasting featuring
the wines of northern Piedmont. They idea behind the lofty project was
to determine whether there was any truth to the widespread belief that
wines are much better drunk at high altitudes. The intrepid tasters,
reporting from an altitude of 2880 meters, confirmed not only the veracity
of the popular theory, but also that the Rifugio housed an optimal wine
cellar.... Visitors to Guglielmina are invited to taste a variety of
regional specialties inside the restaurant, or out on its beautiful
terrace. Not confined to wines alone, the bar stocks some of 40 different
grappas as well!
How to get there: It's fairly easy to reach the Rifugio Guglielmina
by the funicular from Stafal, just a few kilometers from Gressoney La
Trinitè. As it is a bit off the beaten track, the aid of an Alpine guide
(tel. 0125366015) is a necessity.
  
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