 Poster: A snowHead
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Chris Bish, I like the way you wondered whether they'd make it on the itinerary that I gave, and then you lay out some mega challenge for them! 
But you're right (and seconded by luigi) that the best way may well be a taxi from Arabba (or perhaps back to Arabba or even slightly further up the road so you only have to get the two chairlifts to get up to Belvedere, avoiding the upload on the Portavsecovo gondola/cablecar and that ski down from the top - I doubt the little bit extra to the piste/road crossing would add many Euros).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Big Paua, is also in Pozza. I think he sounds like the sort of bloke that would like a challenge!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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SteveM, Look. I have 4 weeks to go and I am spending much of my time creating fantasy routes. Just be grateful you don't have to ski with me!
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I'm in a group staying in Bulla(above Ortisei) mid March.Any advice/recommendations about do-able daytrips from that area?We did the Hidden Valley a couple of years ago and was wondering about going over the mountain to Cinque Torri or any other interesting areas around the Sella Ronda.Thought of doing the WW1 tour as well.Is it worth it?
Iain
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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yanto, you can now do the Cinque Torri/ Averau/Col Gallina as a circuit on skis before you go up the Hidden valley cablecar, if you've got time!! It's a little flat in places, so wouldn't recommend it to boarders, on skis you can just eke out the flat bits without poling. But there are some empty runs with spectacular views.
http://www.dolomiti.org/dengl/Cortina/laga5torri/inverno/averautroi.html
The WW1 tour is worth doing and incorporates the above area, but it's a long way from Ortisei.
You could go to the Santa Croce church above Pedraces, the Panorama tour around the Val di Fassa ski areas, Sella Ronda plus Marmolada, all long distances but probably doable from Ortisei (particularly if you use the bus up to Selva).
Just looking at your location in Bulla/Pufels, will you have a car or are you relying on using the Alpe di Siusi lift system? May limit your explorations....
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This is all getting very confusing - skis, buses, walking on roads, taxis, gondolas, lifts, HORSE(?!)tows - no one's mentioned swimming with skis and boots balanced on head yet but I'm sure it's not far away. Curiouser and curiouser!
Worrying too as while I tend to be OK in the hills where natural features are common sense, once signs and roads and stuf come into the equation I've been known to get lost on my way to get milk from the corner store.
Generally speaking, I just like to slide down a hill moderately fast in the deepest snow available! Is that permissible?
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When on the horse tow try not to think about what would happen if you caught an edge and fell, especially if at the front.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hi Luigi
Thanks for your reply.Yes we will have a car.
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yanto, that's good, on the days you plan to use the Sella Ronda to explore into the other valleys, it'll be worth driving up to the car park next to the Dantercepies gondola in Selva, or up to the large car park at Plan de Gralba 3km beyond Selva, depending on which way you are heading.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thinking over Big Paua's, idea
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I just like to slide down a hill moderately fast in the deepest snow available
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I think your last post, luigi, adds weight to my feeling that the Dolomiti appeals most to those of us who are mostly piste-cruisers and scenery junkies. Definitely not "steep and deep" - well, not the way I do it anyway!
On the other hand, I am sure there are opportunities for that kind of skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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pokemon, I too missed the one at Passo Campolongo on the first day this year trying to get back to Arabba.
There was a large group of Italians (>14 of them) going back to Canazei who were also after taxis and an Italian family of 5 who needed to get to Arabba - in the end after much amusement caused by the Italians arguing among themselves as taxis turned up and tried to sort out who was going first/where etc, I got back with the family and luckily it only cost me 10Euro so not too bad.
Worse news, I discovered on a later day, I could just have called the hotel in Arabba (Portavescovo) and they would have sent their minibus for me at no charge! OK I would have tipped the driver something but you know what I mean.
It becomes a real "sport" when round the wrong side of the Ronda to guess, which way back and how long will it take! I find it speeds up the skiing 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Here's a nice report from last week (5/2-12/2/11) with lots of photos from the german Alpinforum.
It illustrates well how during a Dolomiti Superski holiday you can ski a different area each day, all within a close proximity. It was helped by the fact that the poster had driven from Vienna, so had use of a car to get to some of the further lift bases without having to rely on the ski bus services.
Check out the pics here (each photo enlarges if you click on it), gives an idea of what the snow is like too:
http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=38501
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Right guys, i reckon this is do-able, i will just have to talk my boarder friend in to doing it! We don't often tend to stop much when we ski, so i guess we could just go all out for the whole day! I do think it'd be quicker just to bus it between canazei and pozza, saves the wait down in alba for a bus that way!
I'm looking forward to this little/big challenge! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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swskier, if your friend is on a board, the Hidden Valley has some flat bits before and after the horse tow which on skis, require you to pole quite a bit. If you want him to go, I think I'd perhaps miss that bit out when you tell him about it.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
require you to pole quite a bit.
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Would a boarder, in his comfortable boots, carrying his board, really be at a big disadvantage compared to a poling skier?
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The Sella Ronda is the only place I have ever seen a boarder with poles. It was on the bit between Selva and Campitello which is sometimes known as the "moonwalk" ("looks like the moon, and you end up walking"). It is also known as Christmas Pudding land, I believe. You get everything in the Dolomiti!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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swskier, you're right, it will cut the time down if you get the early bus up to Canazei and get on the first lift there, you'll be down in Arabba just after 9:00, that's when I left Arabba to do it. I skied the Sottoguda gorge too and probably missed an earlier bus from Malga Ciapela. Was back at Bec de Roces above Arabba just after 3:00 (had a mixed grill for lunch at Scotoni too), so should be plenty of time to get down to Arabba, up to Porta Vescovo and the lifts up to the top of Belvedere-Canazei, then you can either ski down to the gondola to download or ski back to the village centre and catch the bus back to Pozza from there.
There are some good maps of the WW1 tour at the gondola station at Alleghe which may come in handy, the Civetta part of the route was the trickiest for me as I had never skied there before and it wasn't always obvious which was the correct route to get down to Pescul.
The way back across to Arabba from Armentarola/San Cassiano is a bit fiddly but it is fairly well-signposted, might be worth doing a reccy trip over that way before you go for the 'big one'.
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| pam w wrote: |
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require you to pole quite a bit.
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Would a boarder, in his comfortable boots, carrying his board, really be at a big disadvantage compared to a poling skier? |
Hmmm, I've also found that they moan like hell if they have to 'dismount' when it's too flat!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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luigi, Two other entertaining nicknames for you. The road down to Lupo Bianco from the area above Canazei is known as "Wacky Races" as various levels of skier try to get down the narrow track.
Another tricky bit, which gets cut up late in the day, is the red down from Boe towards Arabba. Known as the Lemming Run it seems.
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Chris Bish, do you know everything about the Dolomites? Does this mean we can all relax and just follow you around in a snake? Have you got a red jacket? You can pretend to be an ESF person  .
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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luigi, I have been to Malga Ciapella, so I am pretty confident I can find the gorge and the bus to Alleghe. Looking at this map,
http://www.skicivetta.com/uploads/skimap.pdf
Am I right in thinking I need to plot a route from the cable car (number 1 on the map) to the bottom of lift 11? This, I hope, will get me to a bus that takes me to the far (i.e. not Laguzoi) side of 5 torri.
Whole new piste map to memorise!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Talking of piste maps - check out the new 3D map on the dolomitisuperski site. you have to download a small viewer app but the application is absolutely brilliant. it allows you to zoom, rotate, pan, gives a real 3D feeling and covers the all of the dolomiti superski regions.
Luigi will always be king but this app can save a lot of questions on how to get from place to place 
If only you could get it on a phone - Like garlic bread its the future!
Also if they can find a way of relating it to your lift stats you could re-live your holiday all year round in a virtual world
Best piste map ever IMHO
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We'll be in Arraba tomorrow 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Chris Bish wrote: |
luigi, I have been to Malga Ciapella, so I am pretty confident I can find the gorge and the bus to Alleghe. Looking at this map,
http://www.skicivetta.com/uploads/skimap.pdf
Am I right in thinking I need to plot a route from the cable car (number 1 on the map) to the bottom of lift 11? This, I hope, will get me to a bus that takes me to the far (i.e. not Laguzoi) side of 5 torri.
Whole new piste map to memorise!
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You can either get the bus at Malga Ciapela, or do the Gorge (it was almost sheet ice near the bottom end, so beware) and walk through Sottoguda village (500m) to the main road, the bus stop to Alleghe is about 50 m along this road (ignore the stop for buses going the other way back up to Malga Ciapela, right next to the junction)
The bus winds its way down the villages and through Alleghe and stops just beyond the gondola station (no.1 on the map). You're right, you have to get to the bottom of No.11 at Pescul, the bus for Fedare stops in the car park where the piste ends. You need to use chair no.6 to get to the top of this piste, straight along the ridge, then drop to the right and keep to the right lower down. We also used long chair no.3 on the way up, but I think no.2 is good too.
At Fedare you get the chair up to Averau, here you have the option of dropping over the top into Cinque Torri or dropping back down the same side to the new Croda Negra chair that will take you over twd the Col Gallina chair & then the Lagazuoi cablecar.
http://www.dolomiti.org/ita/Cortina/laga5torri/inverno/mappaaverautroi.html
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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luigi,
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You can either get the bus at Malga Ciapela, or do the Gorge
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Where is the bus stop at Malga Ciapela? Last time I got to the cable car station I couldn't see it but was going up the Marmolada anyway so didn't look too hard.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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pokemon,
Sorry I have not got round to posting photos....
The bus stop at Malga Ciapela is cunningly hidden. When you get to the lift station, you need to carry on past it and follow the road round to the right down hill (keeping the hotel on your left) and then turn left below the hotel. The bus stop is just where you meet the main road (the signs are not massively obvious!). There is a link to the bus timetable somewhere in an earlier post above - the buses seem pretty reliable.
The entry to the gorge is easy to find. Cross the road where you stop to take skis off at the cable car station, and go to the right of the little wooden building. There is a fairly obvious track and someone has put up little hand drawn light blue signs on the wooden building and on trees etc as you go down. I'd echo the ice comment about the gorge! When we did it, there was a taxi waiting at the bottom - might be worth checking what it would cost to get you to Alleghe - if you can fill a taxi it might be worth it to save time. This bus is free (the one from Pescul to Fedare costs a few Euros).
If you are staying in Arabba, you should be able to squeeze in a quick early run down Marmolada on the way round - we skipped it because we were coming from Selva, but I think it would have been possible (if stressful - it would add around 40-45 minutes if no queues) - go on, you know you want to!
Have fun.
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| pokemon wrote: |
luigi,
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You can either get the bus at Malga Ciapela, or do the Gorge
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Where is the bus stop at Malga Ciapela? Last time I got to the cable car station I couldn't see it but was going up the Marmolada anyway so didn't look too hard. |
Hmmm, not sure exactly...I was too busy looking for a skiable way into the gorge, for this you need to peel off to the right before the cablecar station look for ski tracks across the meadow by the car park, the gorge opening is pretty visible, there's a road to cross and the path starts on the other side....As to the bus stop, there's a small cluster of hotels on the main road just beyond the cablecar station.....must be along there somewhere.
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rg1,
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If you are staying in Arabba, you should be able to squeeze in a quick early run down Marmolada on the way round - we skipped it because we were coming from Selva, but I think it would have been possible (if stressful - it would add around 40-45 minutes if no queues) - go on, you know you want to!
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When we did it last time my wife was a little freaked by the packed 3-stage sardine tin like cable car and was literally reduced to tears by the -30C temperature at the top. It was a nice run though but was a bit too cold that day to enjoy it properly.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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luigi, As always, marvellous info. Thanks.
Spending far too much time armchair skiing!
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I know what you mean by that cable car - I am not great with heights and the first section had my legs turned to jelly as it seemed to shoot almost vertically into space - spectacular views though! I also made the mistake of taking the left hand side of the stairs down at the top - closest to the sheer zillion metre drop on the other side of the mountain - I was clinging pathetically to the railing as my wife skipped down saying how wonderful the view was and helpful things like "look how far down you can see".... I'd advise anyone who does not like heights to take the right hand side (there is a big fence, so you can't possibly fall, it's just a bit freaky)! Worth it though, for the absolutely amazing views over Sassolungha, Sella and the rest of the dolomites once you get onto the top of the run, and a great wide run down.
Strangely, I didn't find the Laguzuoi cable car anything like as freaky, despite its rather creaky appearance.
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FAQ
