Climbing the Switchbacks to Pila

06/03/2026

After the morning in Torgnon we decided to move on. With blue sky days now forecast for the rest of the week we needed to find somewhere higher and preferably north facing. Luckily we knew a place.

We’ve been to Pila a few times before and we know that the resort conditions hold up well. We were also very excited to see the new Stella di Pila building, a star shaped platform at the top of a new gondola that takes people all the way to the top of the resort. Previously that area had been the preserve of people willing to use an old chairlift and descend the black runs but now there is a shiny new gondola, a restaurant, bar and some very cleverly designed vantage points. Oh, and toilets, very important!

Chores

Before getting to Pila we had a few chores to take care of. LPG, Diesel, Petrol (for the generator) and a food shop were on the agenda. In Aosta we would be able to sort all of these chores before moving on. We know the Valpetroli fuel station will fill up our LPG (it will be a sad day if they ever change their policy), the Gros Cidac supermarket is huge and full of all sorts of treats and groceries, and there are plenty of fuel stations to choose from.

All jobs were eventually taken care of, but we did a lot more driving than we were expecting. There was a road closure that Google Maps didn’t know about and as we drove to each destination we seemed to encounter the same blockage from a different direction and end up taking a convoluted route to avoid it. I’m sure a few people were wondering why we kept driving around the same back streets of Aosta.

Pila parking

Chores sorted, we were off to get parked up. For previous visits to Pila we have stayed, along with a few other vans, in the gondola car park. This time we wanted a change, so we decided to park up at the resort rather than down in the city.

There is a 1200 meter altitude difference between the departure point of the Aosta gondola in the city and the end point at the ski resort of Pila at approx 1790 meters above sea level. All that elevation meant many switchbacks to be navigated, an 18km journey to travel 1.5km as the crow flies. We wondered if it would be worth it. When we arrived we realised that we had made a good choice. We had a panoramic view of the northern mountains of the Aosta valley, including the Matterhorn poking up above the horizon. And the car park was quiet, rather than the noisy city streets of Aosta. Every night was lovely and peaceful.

We found the motorhome service area under a layer of snow. A hole in the snow indicated where the toilet dump was. Paul went to take a look and told me that I probably didn’t need to see it. We agreed to try to use public toilets as much as possible so that we (Paul) wouldn’t have to empty the toilet into that stinky hole.

Three Days in Pila

Pila is a purpose built resort rather than a village. It’s a bit quiet in the evenings, with most of the socialising being in hotel bars and restaurants and fewer. That was fine by us, we were happy to get back from our activities and chill in the van. 

We had two days of glorious skiing here. The snow conditions were great even though the snow was obviously very thin at the bottom of the resort. We made a point of skiing every run, including the steep blacks which took our breath away.

Views from the pistes

Between our two ski days we took a walk around one of the snowshoe trails. Sadly there wasn’t enough snow to warrant snowshoes, except in one clearing where they might have come in useful. We used our microspikes instead to avoid any slips when we were walking downhill. The trail had lovely views down into the valley and across to the resort. We always enjoy getting a distant view of our parking spot.

Motorhome Ski Pila – the practical stuff:

Here is the practical stuff, an update from our previous visits

Parking

There are a couple of options we have used for parking in order to ski in Pila:

Park at the Gondola station in Aosta. This is free parking with no services and is really convenient for getting the gondola up to Pila. The advantage is that you don’t need to drive up the mountain, the disadvantage is that it can be quite noisy overnight. If you want services the Aosta sosta is very nearby and has the usual water and waste disposal. You could even stay at the sosta overnight for free (it’s free overnight) and drive back and forth to the gondola station during the day, but be aware that the sosta is even noisier than the gondola car park.

Alternatively you can drive up to Pila and park. Again this is free. There is a car park just past the entrance to the resort which is signposted for motorhomes and is where you can find the motorhome services and bins. The water was not on and the waste disposal was covered with snow so I imagine that really it’s not expected to be used in winter. Parking is also tolerated in the car park above. The car park above is flatter so that’s where we stayed.

Getting to the Slopes

If you stay at the gondola station then you can just get on the gondola.

If you stay up in Pila then you are closest to the Chamolé lift and providing there is enough snow you will be able to ski across to a series of two magic carpets (Baby Pila) which will take you up onto the bottom of the run which you can then ski down to the Chamolé lift. Alternatively you could walk up to the gondola station.

Ski passes

Ski passes can be ordered online or there is are self service and manned kiosks at the gondola station a short walk uphill from the car park.

Skiing Pila

Pila is a high altitude resort above the city of Aosta. It is largely north facing so the slopes are generally in good condition when other resorts might be getting a little slushy. It has become a lot more popular with non Italians over the last few years and so you get a wide variety of nationalities including a lot of British tourists.

There is a wide variety of runs and a snow park with jumps and rails etc. It’s a really nice resort and a lot of money has been invested in the recent installation of the new gondola that takes people up to the Stella di Pila. We would highly recommend this.