For those who are not familiar with our village, the word Weissmatten, simply recalls a hamlet of the Municipality of Gressoney-Saint-Jean, in reality it is much more, Weissmatten is a place very rich in history and an important reference point regarding skiing and winter tourism in our Valley.
In fact, the adventure begins right here, in the immediate postwar period when even in Gressoney, after the birth of the first cable cars starting in the 1930s, there was a need to bring in the winter season to provide jobs for young people and keep the hotels open. The summer tourist season is already thriving at the time but not sufficient. The municipality and the resort company will take an active interest in finding funds and choosing the area for the construction of a 'mechanical plant. The area will be identified in Tschalvrinò.
On December 18, 1949, the SAGIT company will be formed with the participation of all the Gressoney people and some vacationers, thanks to which the weissmatten plant will see the light of day. It can proudly be said that the chairlift and the two adjoining ski lifts were built by the people of Gressoney. The chairlift was inaugurated on December 8, 1950. The new facility immediately attracted the attention of sportsmen from Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria.
After the chairlift, the Mure chairlift was built, then the Weissmatten chairlift , which, after three years, was moved to Ronken, later an intermediate station was built at Tschalfrinò, and the slopes were expanded and arranged. In 1980, the single-seat chairlift was replaced with a two-seat chairlift. From 2001, part of the red slope and walls were homologated for special slalom and giant slalom races of the FIS circuit, European Cup and World Cup. The two slopes were named after Leonardo David.
In 2009 the special slalom slope was approved for night competitions. In 2010, the European Cup women's special slalom night races and the World Military Championships women's giant slalom and special slalom night races were held.
Generations of people from Gressoney and tourists will take their first steps in this discipline on these very slopes, and among them many champions and promises of the sport.
But what most characterizes this facility, differentiating it from the rest of the Valley's ski area?
Certainly the place where it stands, set in a beautiful forest of Larches, near the Savoy Castle and with a breathtaking view of the town of Gressoney-Saint-Jean. The place is truly enchanting and in fact is very popular even during the summer season. From here start walks and itineraries that have inspired famous poets, such as the Russian Lev Tolstoy, who was enraptured by these woods and the nature he saw while walking along the path that leads from here to Colle Ranzola. Queen Marguerite of Savoy also used to visit this area of the valley, a guest of Baron Beck Peccoz, who right at the top of the Weissmatten plantation owned a block of flats called "Casa da The" that is still visible today.
