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Ski Accommodation Madesimo
Book Madesimo ski accommodation direct with owners chalet apartment.
Madesimo offers more than one type of ski holiday as its steep skiing is too tough for some, too limited for others. The village is old. The nursery slopes are good. Madesimo sits in a remote, pretty side valley a two- to three-hour drive north from Bergamo which ends in a dramatic hairpin bend ascent to the resort. The village claims 17th-century origins and has old farm buildings to prove it, some of them converted into bars and restaurants. The delightful old church, narrow streets and little shops in its centre.
A two-stage cable-car is the primary lift into the ski area, with chair and drag alternatives to the first section. Most runs return straight to the village, but the top station accesses pistes on the far side of the mountain. The altitude is respectable, but most of the slopes get too much sun for the snow to be particularly reliable. Advanced skiers need the upper section to be open so that they can take on the famous Canalone run - a long, consistently steep black gun-barrel which keeps its snow well and is therefore not usually as terrifying as its reputation suggests. The best intermediate runs also start from the top station, dropping down into the beautiful Valle di Lei area, separate from the rest of the skiing.
The reds descending from the cable-car mid-station are also very pleasant, passing through pretty woodland. Some of the easier runs have steeper sections that could prove awkward for nervous or inexperienced skiers. The nursery slopes are fine, but improving beginners have few really easy pistes to graduate to. There's plenty of cross-country skiing dotted around the area, but you need a car to reach most of it. There are weekend queues for the cable-car, but otherwise there are few lift delays.
