If you are looking for a very quiet ski hill with long, steepish pistes, a decent vertical an a nice (ish) village in a relatively remote valley near Aosta, Cogne could be paradise for you. If you also enjoy skiing on extensive cross-country, plus ski-touring forays into the remote mountains of the Gran Paradiso National Park, then the chances of Cogne being for you are vastly increased! if you are looking for a place with abundant snow that can keep your interest for more than a few hours, then perhaps it is not (paradise, or for you, as the case may be!).

On-piste, the ski trails at Cogne are surprisingly long and super-fast. Whilst there are gentle entries from both the gondola and the top double chair, the runs then plunge satisflyingly (sic). Some intermediates may be frightened, advanced riders will love it. A well-sized novice ski area with surface conveyors is separate from the main ski lifts and near the cross-country ski centre. The lower chairlift serves ostensibly a beginner run, but the lifts entry, exit and the actual run are not great for rank beginners.

In a lean snow year, the pistes were well covered, but natural snow-cover here was sparse. The off-piste trees under the top chairlift hold off-piste potential, but one wonders how often the snow-pack allows it.

On what we expected would be a busy Saturday turned out not to be. There are far more people cross-country skiing here than on the alpine resort slopes. Despite this, the car parks were full close to the ski lifts.

The ski hill's drawbacks largely centre on its limited piste trail total, negligible lift served off-piste (unless the snowpack is super deep), no car parking near the ski lifts, and a lack of novice terrain on the main ski area. Some will find walking up to the lifts from the village up the icy laneways challenging, and whilst there is a bus shuttling skiers around, working out its timetable and route proved too difficult for this hound (and I don't mind walking!).

Whilst there is probably a lifetime’s worth of backcountry ski terrain nearby to explore, we wouldn't spend a week here. However Cogne is worthy of a day's journey from Aosta to slide on a hill that will likely need a few patrons to survive into the future. If staying overnight, there are loads of decent hotels in the village within walking distance of the ski lifts.

See our thoughts on the pros and cons of this ski resort via our Cogne overview page.
See our video here

French, living in UK, I've been going to Cogne for 20 years. It's been fabulous for lots of reasons.
It's first and foremost an all-rounder resort. Perfect for families with younger children that want diverse activities, some luxury and traditions. The villages are really authentic and because of it being in the Gran Paradiso national Park, nothing ugly ever gets built. You have a smallish downhill ski area with 700m vertical and a huge cross country one that is very picturesque and hilly, and goes in several different valleys allowing for constant change of scenery, including to the foot of the GranParadiso glaciers.
If you're after ski only and miles of lift-served pristine snow, then you must go elsewhere. The skiing area is limited by the fact it is within the National Park. But the 3 lifts of the main area serve a limited number of north-facing tree lined red pistes of top quality. It's steep and spectacular. And not for beginners.
The good thing with small resorts is the friendliness of people, the value for money, and the very human size domain that allowed our small children to be left on their own very quickly. You cannot get lost, always come back to the same point and there are only two very friendly bars and one restaurant on the pistes. That's it. Once you've done your day on half day, there's always something else to do. Spas, hikes in remote valleys with fabulous frozen waterfalls like in Lillaz, tobogganing...and enjoying the superb restaurant scene.
It's remote, but big enough to have everything. If you're lucky you'll see Ibex and Chamois by the pistes.
It's worth hiking up the Grauson from Gimillan for the most spectacular views of the Gran Paradiso group. Also do not miss the waterfalls in Lillaz and Valeille and the flat but beautiful walk towards Gran Paradiso in Valnontey. Cretaz is another authentic mountain village.
We spent many full weeks there, always sprinkling our Cogne skiing days with excursions to perfect La Thuile, or Pila (40mins away, a bit too crowded in our opinion, but Chamolé piste is one of the best in the region and in good conditions the safe offpiste is great). We will try Crevacol this Xmas as the Powerhounds reviews are so good! Cervinia is not too far for a day either.
All in all a week in Cogne is a great round-up winter wonderland holiday. It's only beaten by going there in summer: unspoilt, wild, empty stupendous scenery...but that's for another crowd!
Enjoy!

Pros: authenticity, remoteness, 4000m mountains and glaciers scenery, variety of easy access activities, quality of accommodation and restaurants, empty pistes, value for money, quality of ski, snow playground and baby piste in the village, easy spectacular walks away from any roads etc. A lift weekly ticket at Cogne gives you a couple days skiing in Pila. The tourist office is very efficient and proactive. Excellent shuttle service between Aosta train station and Cogne, and then to the other villages of the valley. Ski school with little numbers

Cons: limited ski area, limited downhill ski rental options, no parking by the gondola, you'll have to walk up through the village or park by the meadow at the bottom.
See our video here