Following three very successful years at La Clusaz in France, the UK snowsport industry’s big alpine test event is heading over the Monte Bianco massif to Italy. Our new venue is the traditional mountain village of Champoluc, situated at the head of the Ayas Valley in Aosta Valley province, and just a few kilometres south of Cervinia and Zermatt. The village is at the western end of the Monterosa ski area, made up of three valleys with 100km of pistes and a huge reputation for off-piste and freeride.
The whole area has a wilder feel than most of the better-known alpine resorts, and apart from busy weekends and peak holiday periods, it’s mostly very quiet. Less commercial than many of the big ski areas, lift passes are great value here, and food on the mountain is generally excellent - and considerably cheaper than many. If you’ve not skied here before, you can expect long, quiet and very well-maintained pistes and a staggering array of off-piste adventure when conditions allow.
Lifts go up to 3275m and though it has a good record for sunshine, it tends to stay cold due to altitude and proximity to so many of Europe’s biggest 4000m peaks. Heli-skiing is also an option, and if you get the chance the local guides office will organise some top notch itineraries. The area benefits most from ‘retour d’est’ weather systems - this means an excellent sunshine record, and when it snows, big accumulations are common. In January the snow tends to stay in good condition as the whole area remains cold.
Access
Airport transfers:
1hr 30m from Turin
2hrs from Milan Malpensa
2hr 15m from Milan Linate
3hrs from Geneva
The Village
Champoluc is spread out along the valley floor, has a wide range of (mostly) family-owned hotels and some great restaurants and bars, but it’s not particularly big on late night options. Locally owned shops and businesses and a friendly welcome in a big mountain environment are the main themes.
Test Site
The test site is SW facing at 2000m next to the Ristorante Bar du Soleil at the top of the Frachey funicular. As the name suggests it’s often sunny, and the site has a significant increase in available stand space from our 2025 site.
Test Pistes
Test turnaround times look set to be cut by a huge margin compared to those at La Clusaz, and there’s a choice of pistes from (Mandria) the main ‘test lift’ - a fast, four person chair right next to the event village. 4min 52secs on this gets you to the top of a FIS accredited (GS) red piste, and a choice of blue slopes. This lift has 480m vert, with trees if the viz is poor and some great side-piste and freeride features between the groomers. The only thing not on site is a park/pipe.
A further fast 4-man (5 minute) chair above this one arrives at over 2700m, with wide red pistes and more off-piste options. Lift queues are normally minimal or absent here in January. The layout of the hill should make for very efficient and fast turnaround testing. For bigger backcountry, touring and off-piste missions there are plenty of options, including glacier terrain and some of Europe’s best big mountain freeride.
Test Site Facilities
This year the Boot Room will be in a converted groomer garage (heated) – no boot tent required. There are two cafes at the test site with a huge variety of good value food. There are two other excellent rifugios/restaurants and another café on the Test ski piste circuit too, so you won’t be stuck for a choice of quality food.
Coffee and wine available pretty much everywhere on the hill at suitably Italian prices and a real pizza for under 8 euros. Info on deals at cafes and restaurants for Test attendees will be shared nearer the time.
Lift Passes
Ski passes for this fabulous ski area are already known as excellent value, but Monterosa Ski have kindly offered a 20% discount on all pre-registered SIGB Test attendees’ lift passes – from 1 to 8 days*.
NOTE: Discounts will only be available to confirmed and pre-registered attendees.
A dynamic pricing system is already in operation here, so we advise making the most of this by booking early. When the ski pass booking system opens for the season (November likely) prices are already well discounted (up to 27% off), and the additional 20% SIGB discount code will still apply – providing some serious bargains on uplift.
*discount code and details TBC
Accommodation
Champoluc isn’t on the radar for most of the tour operators and happily retains its laid-back Italian mountain charm and community vibes. It’s handy for Milan and Turin though, so fills up at weekends and local holiday times. There’s a great selection of hotels, but not the choice of apartments you find in the big French resorts, so we advise booking accommodation early.
Simon Brown of Ski Champoluc has been providing a fantastic service here, catering to the UK ski market for over 25 years, and we’re very grateful for all his help with introductions and behind-the-scenes influence to smooth the journey towards our partnership with Monterosa. His company Ski Champoluc are part of the community here and he’s been a big supporter of getting the SIGB Test to come to Monterosa. We’re grateful for the team at Ski Champoluc for putting together an impressive selection of offers for accom/transfers etc. – all way below normal list prices.
Please note these discounts are only available to registered Test attendees.
See Accommodation Offers here
Early booking strongly advised for the best deals - get in touch with their office direct to discuss details - you'll find more info and can contact them directly via the Ski Champoluc website. We’re also working with the official Aosta Valley Tourism organisation – who are looking into ways of supporting the Ski Test. In the meantime, they have a huge choice of accommodation - have a look here – you can spread your search as wide as you like with the filters.
Get signed up for the Test early
Last year the Test was over-subscribed and unfortunately there wasn’t sufficient space for all the brands who wished to attend. For 2026 we should have some additional space, but... because of the new venue, reduced costs for ski passes, food etc, and well, just because it’s Monterosa in Italy, we expect demand will be higher still – for both brands and testers. The good news is you can book now, so here’s what you need to know:
Registration for Suppliers, Retailers and Media testers
- Please see the charges below to attend the Snow Test
Retailer and Media testers
- The SIGB Ski Test is open to both SIGB members and non-SIGB member retail and media delegates. Please register and find out more at the button below.
Suppliers only
- Supplier Registration is only open to companies in current membership of SIGB who are also exhibiting at Slide & OTS Winter 2026.
- First refusal will be offered to Suppliers who attended the 2025 Snow Test in La Clusaz.
- Please sign up as soon as possible, and before 30/09/25 so we can make the arrangements. Please register and find out more at the button below.
REGISTER HERE
Test Costs 2026
Socials and Fringe Events
The SIGB Ski Test Quiz will be back with a Champoluc edition – and if you want to organise either a social event or product activation of any kind, please let us know and we’ll sort out the diary/details with you. We’re also hoping to work with local bars, hotels, restaurants, guides, instructors and more to provide some additional activities this time - so everyone can make the most of their visit to Champoluc and the Monterosa Ski area.
Details to follow as we have them, but ideas welcome, even if it’s just wish-list at this point.
More soon
More offer details and full info to follow soon, but spread the word – testing will be super efficient and it’s a fantastic place to ski/visit, with all the good stuff you expect from an unspoilt ski village in the high Italian Alps.
Organisers
The SIGB Ski Test is organised by Neil and Sarah at Hillside Outside Ltd on behalf of the SIGB Ski Test Committee.
For more information contact:
Email: sarah@hillsideoutside.com
Phone: 01721 588050
Partners
We’re very grateful to, and looking forward to working with, Montreosa Ski, Val d’Aosta Tourism and Ski Champoluc as our main partners in bringing the Test to Champoluc.