 Poster: A snowHead
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| Peter S wrote: |
| Unless it’s very heavy or very cold New snow tends to spoil the skiing surface in the Dolomites because it doesn’t mix well with the ‘technical’ snow and takes a couple of days for the piste bashers to work it into the surface. |
I do wish the Italians would leave some of the pistes alone. They seem hell bent on flattening everything. The pistes can become rather monotonous, and the only saving grace is the distances that can be covered and the amazing scenery.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Skied in Cortina today. Pistes firm and crispy in parts, very pleasant skiing with a great lunch.
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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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| albob wrote: |
| richb67 wrote: |
| @albob, this was just an old fashioned skiing incident |
Really ?? - two old ladies falling off a chairlift, dropping 7 metres !! |
You’ve totally. Misunderstood everything I wrote! To be clear several days after the death we were skiing and saw a bad ski accident….
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 31-01-24 17:09; edited 1 time in total
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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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Dolomiti Skipasses: I've ordered mine online for collection, it doesnt start until Sunday, but can I get in on the Saturday, or do I need to wait until Sunday morning, please?
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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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You can pick up on Saturday. Not a problem.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@olderscot, thanks =0)
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Two beautiful days.
Popped over to Kronplatz yesterday to ski a little and catch the womens grand slalom. Good day, the north facing blacks were in great condition around lunchtime, lower slopes a bit slushy after lunch We met a couple of SH and one skied the blacks “with” us, by which I mean he’d finished one and nearly drank his beer by the time I reached the bottom. It was nice to see an expert in action but they are lovely long runs and in good conditions manageable by a decent intermediate.
Today we went from Corvara to Val di Fassa via Arabba then obviously back. Once you’re off the SR the pistes were good, even late in the day they’re a bit bumpy in places but nothing to concern most recreational skiers, in fact bumpy enough to create a fun challenge but not too much to cause major problems. Unfortunately the SR seems to be getting gradually worse earlier and earlier, today definitely the worst we’ve seen them so far. But, take a side shoot and it’s a different world.
For the first time there was reasonable queue waiting for Boe to open at 8:30, previously it’s only been a few.
For any off piste folks, some people were skiing from the top of Sass Pordoi down to the pass so it might be 2 weeks since any snowfall but there are still people going well off piste.
The Sass Pordoi cable car is recommended, our first visit, views from the top are incredible. No pistes down though.
A bit of snow would be nice even if just to pretty everywhere up and cover up the brown grass that is becoming more prominent daily. Our friends arrive Saturday and have hired a car for the first time so my money is in snowmaggedon then.
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For the first time ever I was subject to a random ski pass check, all very polite but wanted to physically see my pass, scanned it and asked me some personal details.
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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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Could this be because you've got a season pass and they're checking you're not sharing it?
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| richb67 wrote: |
| albob wrote: |
| richb67 wrote: |
| @albob, this was just an old fashioned skiing incident |
Really ?? - two old ladies falling off a chairlift, dropping 7 metres !! |
You’ve totally. Misunderstood everything I wrote! To be clear several days after the death we were skiing and saw a bad ski accident…. |
Apologies - I thought you were referring to the earlier incident
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| olderscot wrote: |
| Could this be because you've got a season pass and they're checking you're not sharing it? |
Probably that, I was the only one going through the gates and the guy was stood by the side with a scanner type device so maybe also had a phone that could see my pass type.
Off to Cortina today but my wife isn’t a fan so hopefully the pistes are good! I’ll blame @T Bar if they’re not! But Looks to be another beautiful day.
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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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| richb67 wrote: |
| olderscot wrote: |
| Could this be because you've got a season pass and they're checking you're not sharing it? |
Probably that, I was the only one going through the gates and the guy was stood by the side with a scanner type device so maybe also had a phone that could see my pass type.
Off to Cortina today but my wife isn’t a fan so hopefully the pistes are good! I’ll blame @T Bar if they’re not! But Looks to be another beautiful day. |
Hope you and wife enjoyed it.
Weather wasn't so clever this morning with fairly flat light.
Pistes still generally decent though.
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@T Bar, yes, we visited Tofana and thought the pistes were very good, the only exception was the one that had been used for the para World Cup yesterday, maybe still icy from then, or just popular.
Overall probably the best piste conditions we’ve seen for a week.
The car park was heaving but the pistes seemed quiet and when we visited the top of the cable car early pm pistes were amazing but the light was awful so after a few runs we took the cable car back down. About 20 mins later the top was bathed in sunlight 
We saw a little of the para World Cup slalom from a chairlift, the visually impaired competitor and guiding partner looked very quick.
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You know it makes sense.
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@scotspikey, any update on conditions in Tonale?
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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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@richb67, @T Bar , luigi or anyone else in the know, I’d welcome your thoughts, please, on a day trip from Selva to Cortina.
We are a group of 5, minimum strong intermediates (happy to cover >30 miles/50km skiing distance in a day on reds and blacks), arriving in Selva on Sat 3 Feb. I’m keen to take advantage of the relatively new Skyline gondola and get over to Cortina d’Ampezzo to ski the Tofane area. I know it’s doable in a day on skis & lifts (factoring in the journey back via Hidden Valley). However, we have a car and the road over Passo Gardena should be clear (at least before Thursday when some snow might arrive), so do you have a view whether we should travel there and back by skis and lifts, or get what I expect could be a head start by driving and parking at Passo Falzerago (which appears to be about an hour’s drive from from Selva), skiing down to Bai de Dones, and jumping on the Skyline gondola from there?
Would travelling part way by car give us more time to enjoy Tofane - which will be completely new to us, hence my interest, along with its picturesque nature - than if we travelled there and back from Selva on skis/lifts?
Thanks.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Hi do you get across town from the bottom of the longara run across town up to the Alpe de siuse lift.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Scrunch77,
My gut feeling is you'd be better taking the road option to maximize time at Cortina. However I haven't tried skiing that route to know.
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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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My preference would be to pick a nice day and drive to Falzarego. Assuming you get there early, before the cable car queues get bad, you can do a couple of circuits of the fabulous sweeping red down the front of Lagazuoi, back to the lift station/car park, before continuing.
Next, ski across to the Bai de Dones/Cinque Torre car park (I would be tempted to drive - 5 mins - cuts out slow flat unrewarding links both ways). Do a few laps of the Cinque Torre red under the chair (should be wonderful mid-morning - often the best snow in Cortina). Take the Skyline and enjoy Tofana.
Final caveat: Although I have skied there for many years, I haven't been since the Skyline was installed.
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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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| Thunderer21 wrote: |
| Hi do you get across town from the bottom of the longara run across town up to the Alpe de siuse lift. |
Sure you just walk it
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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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@Scrunch77, personal opionion - even from Corvara we always drive and park at Socrapes as we prefer to ski the area without any concerns about departure times. I don’t see the point of skiing from Selva as by the time you get there you need to be almost coming straight back and there are too many uncertainties. E.g. Will the taxi queue be 2 mins or an hour? The lazaguoi gondola queue can be a pain, Will you have to wait for the horse tow? And The Piz Sorega lift can have bad queues so if you’re unlucky it would be easy to get caught out.
But it depends whether you just want to get to Tofana or actually spend time skiing there and your appetite for risk 
Also getting to Cortina is much easier than getting back so you could easily get a sense of false security. So off the top of my head without looking at a piste map, to Tofana from Bottom of Dancerpies in Selva only ca 5 lifts and a shared taxi, getting back from the main Tofana area ca 15 lifts and a horse tow or long poll.
There is a large, free, car park at socrapes, but it was virtually full by 10:00 am yesterday so if you drive arrive early, note the car park is on two sides of the road so if you arrive and the left hand side looks busy quickly jump in the right with the buses etc. you can then ski all day and not have to worry about lifts as even if they close when you’re on the mountain you can ski back to the car park.
But, If you followed your other option and parked at the top of the skyline Gondola you could ski cinque torri and HV first thing, when they are best, then drop down to Tofana for the afternoon and if you wanted to balance ski both HV and try Tofana that would work. You’d also not have to worry about leaving Tofana really early.
So is it possible to ski? yes but would you have time to enjoy Cortina ? Not a lot, depends on your risk level and priorities.
Note for anyone else, parking at the bottom of the Lagazoui cable car used to be free and easy but now seems to be paid so the original suggestion is a better option.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@jimmybog, thanks that’s all I needed to know !!
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@T Bar, @Skeet, @richb67, brilliant advice. Thank you so much.
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@Thunderer21, Here's a Google Maps link to the 11-minute walking route from the bottom of the Seceda gondola to the Ortisei-Seiser Alm gondola via the travelators in the Curta pedestrian tunnel at Ortisei:
https://goo.gl/maps/VKtPsWkPmRqCoW6D9
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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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| Thunderer21 wrote: |
| Hi do you get across town from the bottom of the longara run across town up to the Alpe de siuse lift. |
"From the bottom of Seceda, an underground connection of escalators called "La Curta" leads straight into the heart of Ortisei - follow the tunnel all the way. As you exit, keep walking straight until you reach the little church, then turn right and walk along the beautiful pedestrian area of Ortisei. After a few minutes, you'll reach an intersection at the pink Hotel Cavallino Bianco - turn left. After crossing a short pedestrian bridge, you'll reach the Alpe di Siusi valley station."
https://www.val-gardena.com/en/tours/detail/ski-circuit-val-gardena-ronda/
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Skied the Cinque Torre today. Pistes were in excellent condition. Lovely weather and views as well. Cutting up a bit at the bottom of Cortina at the end of the day but really not bad.
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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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Nice pistes most places and generally not too busy, the odd exception. Mainly a lovely day but we did get caught in a small snow flurry.
Interesting day crowds wise maybe because it’s Friday. We ended up skiing around the SR anti-clockwise (green) but that wasn’t the original plan.
It was quite busy first thing, 9 ish, from Corvara to Arabba, so after 10 we popped in the opposite direction over to Val Gardena and did a couple of runs from Selva pass to Dantercepies, pistes were great and it was quiet.
Then busy and so-so pistes around Ciampino and down to plan del gralba (as usual) but off the SR much better, paprika and the reds up there very nice. Later there was a long queue at lift 107 in Val di Fassa so we did a quick run down the piste to Pian Frataces (SR clockwise!) and it had disappeared when we got back. Quiet from Passo Pordoi via Arabba to Campolongo, much quieter than usual, but it was 3pm on Friday. Pistes a bit iffy by the end of the day but again not as bad as normal.
I’m constantly amazed at how nice the skiing is without snow and how busy the SR can get.
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Re snowmaking, I spoke to a couple of locals and the only restrictions are nature. Is it cold enough and do they have enough water.
A new snow park has been built on Pralongia (Corvara) in the last week or two, purely artificial snow. There seem to be lots of snowparks this year.
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You know it makes sense.
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Week 11. 1200km of skiing and 421 lifts open across the Superski lift pass area.
Warm today at Kronplatz. currently plus 1 at the summit (9am) and plus 2 at 1100m. The next six days look good for skiing though with predominantly sunny and dry weather though perhaps a bit breezy on the tops ?
GEFS is showing good agreement for some snow on the 9th, 10th and 11th which will freshen things up a bit, above 1000m. GEFS is then pointing towards dry and sunny again after the 12th. However Temperatures look to fall away to somewhere nearer average, though that change keeps getting pushed back.
Snow cover looks good on all the slopes but lower temps into mid February would enable some more snowmaking in areas that are perhaps thinner than programmed.
https://www.bergfex.com/kronplatz/webcams/c21266/
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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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MeteoBlue, Bergfex and MeteoGroup (BBC] all show cold and snow at resort levels from Friday.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Massive queues on the Ronda della Sella oggi.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cortina was quite warm and pretty busy today, still skiing well, off to Corvara tonight, we may drive back round sometime this week though, have thoroughly enjoyed it here.
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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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Passo tonale skiing like late April today. Didn't wear a coat all day and gloves were optional. Blue slopes were fine, soft snow and no slush (i.e. wet slush that slows you down) anywhere yet.
Steeper slopes just piles of very soft melted snow, classic spring home run stuff. This was at 2300m so I hate to think what it's like in low resorts.
Northern slopes kind of hard pack. Lost an edge a few times today but attribute that to poor skis (rental shop is terrible, waste of time selecting the most expensive option on ski set)
The difference between now and early Jan is marked!
Still gravity + snow = fun
And in any event, wepowder thinking good things for the southern Alps next weekend so hopefully a good top up on the way:-
https://wepowder.com/en/weblog/2024/02/03/dry-and-very-mild-at-first-but-more-changeable-towards-the-end-of-the-week
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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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Just arrived in San Cassiano! Views were amazing driving in but I was a bit stunned to see so little snow when driving by Cortina. Heading out early in the morning for the Sella Ronda Green Circut to warm up and planning to end with a grappa the day at Jimmi Hut. I’ll report back, and I’ll be on the look out for orange buffs!
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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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Spring has arrived early in Alta Badia but if you take care and target sheltered or northern facing slopes the pistes are still good. Getting slightly bumpy towards the end of the day, we are now a group of 6 and our early intermediates struggled on the final blue run down from Piz Sorega to La Villa. They had been fine earlier.
Steeper slopes that get the sun first thing aren’t great by lunch. I had a lesson this morning and 11:30ish my instructor used Bamby piste as a tool on how to ski slush and bumps on steep slopes! Not what we were expecting before lunch at the start of Feb.
But to reiterate - less used, northern facing and sheltered pistes all still good even later in the day. Yesterday we skied around Arabba, one side was cold and quite nice to ski. The other was warm and slushy.
Two weeks ago in Corvara our car showed -15 deg at 10.00 am, yesterday it was +9 at 4pm 
If anyone is interested we did see a herd of what looked Ibex on the crags between Arabba and Passo Campolongo.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| richb67 wrote: |
| If anyone is interested we did see a herd of what looked Ibex on the crags between Arabba and Passo Campolongo. |
I am! Way cool, I'll be on the lookout in late March.
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@Scooter in Seattle, been told they hang around the same area, From top of campolongo lift towards Arabba, take right piste (Pale), keep right at the junction and look at the crags on the Sella massif in front and to your right. We’d have needed bins to confirm id but there was about a dozen running up across the snow. Evidently they can sometimes be seen on north side of Forcelles in Colfosco.
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@richb67, perfect, I know that spot, I'll bring the mini binos.
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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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@defnekasrat, I ski there in the spring, and right now it is "spring". Suggest you consider going hard all morning, with just a hydration break, until around +/-1pm when the snow is done for the day. Get the good snow while its there; the food can wait. Then lunch, ideally not terribly far from your lodging. Then head for home. Then nap, then gelato in (or next door to?) the bakery in the San Cassiano town square.
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FAQ
