Champoluc () is a village in the commune of

Ayas Ayas may refer to: Ayas * Ayas(आयस), Sanskrit for metal, see history of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent * Ayas, Armenian metal band * Aya, Adana, the ancient city of Aegeae and medieval Ajazzo or Laiazzo, now Yumurtalık, Adana Pro ...

, in the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

, Northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The area is known as a centre for hiking, mountaineering and skiing, particularly around the

Monte Rosa Massif Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

Geography

It is one of the 3 main villages in the commune of

, together with Antagnod (where the town hall is located) and Saint-Jacques-des-Allemands. It lies at an altitude of 1568 metres in a broad flat part of the upper Ayas valley. Above Champoluc, to the East, is the ''Plan du Crest'' (1975 meters), one of the largest ski areas in the

, reachable by cable car from the centre of the village. In summer, the Crest is a popular place for hiking.

Climate

The climate is quite cold in winter (with minima around -15 ° / -20 °C). The rainfall is low. In spring and summer, temperatures rise remarkably, with peaks of 20 ° / 22 °C and the wind is more frequent. Summer is short, with autumn starting in September, accompanied by drier days and lower temperatures.

Tourism and economy

Champoluc is a well-known ski resort, part of the

Monterosa Ski The Monterosa Ski is an Italian ski resort, at the foot of Monte Rosa the second tallest mountain in the Alps, which links three valleys, located largely in the Aosta Valley and the remainder in Piedmont. Much of the area consists of easy and int ...

area which connects the upper reaches of the valleys of

, Lys and the

Valsesia Valsesia (; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol'') is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia. The major towns located here are Varallo Sesia, Borgosesia ...

(the latter is located in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

). The highest point of the Champoluc skiing area is the Bätt Pass at , where lifts and runs allow connection to the Lys Valley and to

Gressoney-La-Trinité Gressoney-La-Trinité (; Gressoney or ''Greschòney Oberteil''; ) is a town or ''comune, commune'' and renowned alpine resort at the foot of Monte Rosa in the Lys (Dora Baltea), Lys Valley, which is part of the Aosta Valley region of Northwest It ...

. Champoluc is the largest resort in the Monterosa area with great glacier views and wide variety of off-piste. Summer tourism is also a significant source of income in the area, with many hiking trails in the

History and culture

Champoluc and the whole upper Ayas Valley was inhabited by

Walser The Walser people are the speakers of the Walser German dialects, a variety of Highest Alemannic. They inhabit the region of the Alps of Swiss Alps, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as the fringes of Italy and Austria. The Walser peopl ...

s during their migrations. Traces of their culture are still evident. Locally this part of the valley is called ''Canton des Allemands'' (French for "Germans' Canton").

References

Guardian, 27 September 2008

Guardian, 23 November 2008

Timesonline, 18 October 2009

External links

Frazioni of Aosta Valley Ayas, Aosta Valley {{Aosta-geo-stub