Summer Activities in Valtournenche

03/09/2026

From our spot on the Piccolo San Bernardo pass we drove down the many hairpins, through La Thuile and down to the base of the Aosta Valley. We were giving La Thuile a miss as the mountain biking was described as being steep and nearly all of the runs were red or black.

A brief stop at Châtillon sorted us out with a few treats from the Conad store and an opportunity to decide where to go next. We had a number of things we wanted to tick off in the Valtournenche and we needed to agree on the order we’d tackle them.

Revisiting a bike ride in Torgnon

As it was the weekend we decided on the activity that would be least impacted by having lots of other people around, so we drove up to Torgnon. We had some unfinished business at this pretty little ski resort. A few years ago we had been up here in spring and had tackled a bike ride which had lots of potential but had frozen us to the core. We wanted to try it again in better weather.

We arrived in Torgnon to find the sosta busy, with all the EHU points taken. That wasn’t really an issue for us, the sun was keeping our batteries sufficiently topped up, so we found a spot on the upper tier of parking and headed out for a wander to see what the resort was like in summer. The lifts had closed the preceding weekend but that wasn’t keeping people away. The restaurants were all busy, children were playing in the fun park and plenty of hikers and bikers were enjoying the area. Later that evening a few vans left and we managed to snag a space with EHU (if it’s free we’ll take it) and settled in our chairs outside the van as the sun set over the mountain.

Watching the sun disappear

The following morning we set out on our bike ride which took us around the back of the ski resort and up into the upper pastures of the mountains. We recognised some of the places, including a tumble down barn where we had seen marmots in 2018 and saw them again in 2026.

We made it up to Gilliarey where a small white chapel heralds stunning views across the mountains to the glaciers of the Plateau Rosa. In 2018 this ascent had been too snowy to attempt but this year we were able to stop and bask in the sunshine while enjoying the views.

If we had electric bikes we could have continued from here all the way to Lago di Cignana, but we decided that we’d had enough elevation for the day. In the end we might as well have carried on. Paul popped our rucksacks under a bench to keep the sun off our packed lunch, we only realised we had left them behind when we were part way back down the hill. Retracing our steps added another 100m of ascent to our ride as well as the embarrassment of having to cycle back uphill past the people we’d just whizzed past on our way downhill.

On the way back to the van we found the start of Torgnon’s one and only downhill bike route. A family style twisty downhill route of low gradients and wide turns, it was still steep enough to get a bit of speed up. Unfortunately a couple of families had decided to try to walk up the trail, despite there being plenty of signage. After pointing out that they were doing something pretty dangerous we felt we had to keep the brakes on, just in case.

A Via Ferrata in Valtournenche

The following morning we drove up to Valtournenche to park in the gondola car park. We needed to do a few bits of admin and Paul needed to fix his bike, replacing his brake pads and knocking some of the teeth on the cogs of his gears back into position. That evening we had promised ourselves pizza from Le Moulin pizzeria under the gondola, but they were only open during the day, so we took ourselves back into the village to go to their sister restaurant ‘Big Ben Pizzeria’. We over ordered and had to take some of our pizza away with us. That was the next day’s lunch sorted.

Parked at Valtournenche gondola station

Tuesday morning we were up ad out early to do the local Via Ferrata, something we cant do when we’re here in the winter. Via Ferrata Gorbellion is very close to the village and the walk to the start is uphill but quickly done. We weren’t the only people to want to start early. We let one couple go ahead as they looked younger and fitter than us (not difficult). We leap frogged the other group on the way up. A family who were taking it easy and obviously having to support the two teenagers over some of the obstacles.

This ferrata was pretty demanding for our first one of the year, with two quite strenuous overhangs that Paul had to coach me over, but it was also very scenic with amazing views over the village and down into the valley. The way down was equally interesting as we could descend the alternative easy via ferrata. By the end we were both in good spirits, buoyed up by the elation that comes from adrenaline.

I popped over to the gondola station to get us ice creams as a bit of a treat while we waited for our water to heat up for well deserved showers. For some reason the boiler wouldn’t ignite and it took us about 30 attempts before it finally worked. We think it was probably air in the supply, the other appliances were working but the boiler is the lowest point in the van. It’s been temperamental a couple of times since then so we’ll keep an eye on it.

Brutal biking in Cervinia

Finally we’d showered and eaten our left over pizza. It was time to move on up the valley and we were intrigued to find out what was in store for us. While skiing we’d discovered that the Cervinia sosta was now the construction site for a large luxury hotel. Park 4 Night had give us enough of an update that we knew the services were still accessible so that was our first port of call, backing into the now narrow space to empty and refill.

The parking is now in the large car park next to the tunnel that takes the road into Cervinia. This car park is supposedly used for ice karting in winter (we’ve never seen any evidence that ice karting happens but possibly these are part of a circuit of events and we’ve just not timed our visits right). It was super crowded with vans of all nationalities but we managed to slide into a nice flat spot that had been recently vacated. On the golf course opposite a lot of diggers were working, shoring up the avalanche channels that had been created from the significant snow and glacier melt this year.

Parked in Cervinia with views of Monte Cervino (the Matterhorn)

The following day was our chance to try out the bike trails of Cervinia. I’d read a few reviews and watched some videos but they hadn’t prepared me for just how brutal they were going to be. As a ski resort Cervinia is pretty tame, there is little that is too difficult or too steep. But this is not the same for downhill biking. Most of the trails are natural; rocky, bumpy and steep. I would find a section I’d feel comfortable on and then have to bail. I persevered, choosing routes that had an obvious escape onto a track while Paul tried to get all the way down. We were glad we’d bought our full face helmets, especially Paul who came off a couple of times. We were both battered and bruised by the end of the day, agreeing that it was just too difficult for us (looking back, I wonder how we’d feel if we revisited them now). Halfway through our day I even lost my lift pass, it fell out of my pocket when i took my phone out to take some photos. Maybe I should have ended the day right there but Paul retraced my steps and miraculously managed to find it.

That was our visit to Valtournenche done for this summer. Two successful activities and one far more challenging.