 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all, first post here!
We're looking at San Viglio for a family holiday next February. Four adults and four big kids. All with only one or two weeks on snow.
Just wanting to check if there's anything we really need to know. We'll book through Inghams and do ski school.
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Welcome to snowHeads @Vitesse2l, 
That's a very open question so it's hard to know what you're looking for.
Kronplatz is a nice little area with a very high proportion of egg-lifts. Great if you like sitting down inside: not so much so if you don't like taking your skis off all the time. Almost all the runs radiate from a single point, the top of the Rooster Pudding.
The area is probably enough to last you a week with that level of experience but it's a nice day out to go up to La Vila which is connected to the massive Sela Ronda circuit. I think there's a bus from San Vigilio or, take the sit-lifts up on the Padaga side of the village and, for anyone not up for a seriously steep (though quite short) black run, download in the Piculin egg-lift. The bus from there takes about 20 mins.
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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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Thanks for the welcome, Admin, and the info.
I reckon the resort will do us nicely given our experience.
My query is probably too general but you answered it anyway because you didn't say "don't bother with San Viglio!" Always a concern going somewhere new especially when I'll only get one or two weeks on snow next year.
Are the lifts to the Rooster Pudding (great name) a faff? Might just be how it appears on the piste map.
February is such a long wait!
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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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No, not too much - depends how well trained the kids are at getting their skis off and on.
As I recall it's a bubble and a chair up, veer left and then a bubble to the top of Rooster Pudding. There are some very long runs down from there and the topography is so simple that you're never lost for more than one run 
The best thing about the area is that you get Goulash Soup like Austria and Bombardino like Italy.
It's a lovely long run home at the end of the day: perfect for your sort of standard because it levels off a bit and widens out at the bottom, when everyone is feeling a bit tired.
R u going at half term? Is that why it's Feb?
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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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Vitesse2l, San Vigilio is thankfully not everyone's ideal resort. I have been going every year, sometimes more than once each year, for 10+ years. It suits me. It will probably suit you. I deeply regret the fact that Inghams are now offering it as a package resort as I fear it may lead to more and more British going there (I am selfish). I have always done a DIY trip and avoided Tour Operators. I find that suits me. It won't suit everyone. I find that the general quality of the self catering accommodation is high. I'm not keen on hotels as I like to try some of the local food and drink. The one big advantage (for me) of a Tour Operator would be the travel arrangements. I have generally flown to Munich and hired a car from there. On paper the journey is not too bad but every year for one reason or another there have been road works or traffic jams due to volume of traffic and every year the journey takes a lot longer than it ought to do. On balance I think that is good because it puts some people off and keeps them away.
The Skiing
Off piste seems to me to be very limited, not that I am competent off piste. Most of the skiing is on Kronplatz - the name of the mountain between the villages / towns of San Vigilio / Olang / Bruneck / Reischach. If you all have one or two weeks on snow under your skis then you may find the area has enough to keep you going for a week, but you may want to get out to another area for a day or two. Depending on which hotel you are in, you may need to travel a short distance by ski bus to one side of San Vigilio (SV) or the other. The two side of SV are linked by a gondola (SkiTrans Bronta) which goes horizontally across town and links both sides. On the Kronplatz side this deposits you at the base of a blue run "Miara". To get to the top of Kronplatz you go up the Miara gondola and continue straight up the next gondola "Col Toron". From the top of Col Toron is an easy 200 - 300 yards ski down a gentle track through trees but as you come out of the trees it joins a piste coming down from the right, Pre de Peres. It's not steep but it is steeper than the track. I mention this because we've been there with "2 week skiers" who have looked at it and thought about it before proceeding - but it really is not steep. From the bottom of Pre de Peres you are aiming for the Ruis gondola to take you to the Kronplatz summit and you can walk 200 - 300 yards or, better, aim for the "Costa" chairlift which gives you a bit of height to enable you to ski to the base of Ruis.
Once at the summit there are runs in several directions. The summit is dome shaped so there are good easy slopes at / near the top. There are modern concrete and glass restaurants at the summit but there is a huge choice of nice traditional looking wooden cafes to eat and drink at. Plenty of blue and easy red runs near the top including Marchner (good cafe at the bottom) and Seewiese / Spitzhorn / Alpen (good cafe in the middle of the piste near the bottom of Alpen2). Nice long red run to Olang (plenty of good cafes along the bottom third of the piste) but the newer run "Reid" is worth doing and the 2 black runs Hernegg and Sylwester which go down to Reischach are worth a bash - well, I like them anyway.
There are several runs off the summit to take you down towards SV again - several variants of Furcia and Sonne - some of which can get cut up and challenging for "2 week skiers" but you can always download in the Ruis gondola. You then head to the Rara chair and then it's a long continuous run down Col Toron (red) and Miara (blue) back to SV. Nervous "2 week skiers" might prefer to do Col Toron by gondola and then ski Miara. Miara is a huge huge confidence builder for beginners. Wide, gentle, steady.
On the other side of SV the SkiTrans Bronta deposits you at the bottom of Piz de Plaies and Pedaga. Cafes at the bottom with a view of beginners coming down. Limited area to ski and a mix of standards. Very very nice cafe at the top (turn left as you get out of the gondola at the top and keep left and go down a few steps - excellent Bombardinos and Calimeros). From the top you can go further away from SV down Piculin which as Admin says is a short but very steep black or you can go down in the gondola. Again, as Admin says, from there you can get the bus to link in with the main Dolomite area.
I'm planning to go twice this next season. Once with some skiers who are much better than I and we will aim to ski a lot. Once with family including 5 yr old granddaughter and we will have a more relaxed time. I tend to use SV as a base and we will ski Kronplatz doing the blacks down to Reischach then do Alpen Marchner and Reid and some others and then back across and do Piculin at the other side of the area and believe me, for me that is a long hard day. Then we will go and drive to the main Dolomites and do the Sella Ronda or a trip to the Marmolada or the Hidden Valley. But we will have the use of a hire car which helps. If you are relying on the bus from Piculin, be prepared to pay for a taxi back from Corvara if you miss the last bus.
Culture
This area used to be a part of Austria until 1918. The languages are mixed. In some areas (Olang / Reischach / Bruneck) the main language is German whilst in others (San Vigilio) it is Italian. Overlaying this is the local culture which is Ladin with its own language and traditions and foods. I always visit the Fana Ladina in SV for a meal (not the cheapest but good quality) and ask for a selection of Ladin dishes for our group so we can all try a few different things (sweet doughnut filled with mincemeat with a sprinkling of poppy seeds?). There's a Ladin museum nearby as well. If you get to the area around the Marmolada or Lagazuoi there is plenty to see relating to WW1 including a museum at the top of the Marmolada and also a museum which I haven't yet visited at the Falzarego pass.
Food and Drink
As Admin said, there is a mix of Germanic and Italian. Ever tried a Calimero? Bombardino? Aperol Spritzer? Weissbier? Heisse Schokolade mit ein schuss rum? I think the quality is good and the prices reasonable. See if you can find Ucia Bivacco and sit in the sunshine and enjoy the view. At the point where Col Toron turns the last corner before it becomes Miara there is a cafe called either La Miara Cafe or Schnapskurve. They do meals in the evening. They also sell alcoholic Alpaca milk (you can buy a bottle to take home if you really must). The hotel on the right at the bottom of the Miara piste is called La Bronta. There is an outside bar and grill in the daytime overlooking the piste and slightly towards the back is a pizzeria (outside). A good meeting place. A very large full size pizza was about €5 - €7 in March. Weissbier about €3.50. If you do the Hidden Valley, try Scotoni's for steak. Don't miss out the horse drawn ski tow at the bottom - about €2.
Nightlife
Nightlife is very limited. There is supposed to be a bar / club / place called the Bus Stop but we haven't found it yet. For a bit of Apres Ski in cheesy Austrian style, you can't beat the K1 bar at Reischach right at the bottom of the Hernegg / Sylwester black runs (but again, as there are so many gondolas, you don't have to ski down as you can go down using the gondola). Lively from about 4.00pm - 6.00pm outside. Dancing on the tables but not too much "in your face". But then it's a 20 minute drive back to SV or a taxi. There is a bar at the rear of La Bronta and some years that has been quite lively later on, some years it has had live music in the evenings, some years it has had nothing.
Swimming etc
There is a Leisure Centre Kron4 at Reischach with several pools including an outdoor heated pool with good views of the mountain. Also a sauna (usual Austrian style rules - no clothing, some separate sessions that are ladies only. They had a helpful leaflet in English that explains sauna etiquette very well for the uninitiated - sit on your towel, no skin / sweat on the wood etc)
What else? I love it there. It is quiet and limited. Good variety of runs within its limitations (although the various runs at the top of Kronplatz are all a bit similar). Well priced for beer and pizza. And easy enough to get to other places if you put a little bit of effort in.
For 2 -3 -4 week skiers I reckon you will find it perfect. But if it were me, I would self cater and eat out rather than stay in a hotel, but that's me. We have stayed at www.pedaga.it (literally on the piste but a bit too far out of town to easily roll home after a meal at Fana Ladina unless someone is driving) and at www.mareo.it (more central) and other places as well.
Apologies if I got a bit carried away with the length of this post.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 14-08-15 23:23; edited 1 time in total
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@JohnHSmith, Great post, I'm impressed with the detail. I've only skied in Kronplatz once last year, so I've not your knowledge of the area but fantastic advice. It will only help the OP and I totally agree that it should suit them well. Enjoy @Vitesse2l. 
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@JohnHSmith, Seriously good reply! Many thanks. I'm going to sit down later and go through it properly. Just need to wait for last night's effects to wear off... was a fun evening though.
@admin, Good to hear the lifts are easy. Our youngest is 15 so there's no fuss about skis on and off. I'm intrigued by the mix of Austria and Italy and that's two languages I've never studied!. Our choice of February is to avoid half term and use a week with only four school days.
We've been to Borovets twice, once was poor snow, second time almost too much and thoroughly enjoyed both trips but apart from the steeper reds and blacks there's not much we haven't done so time for a change. Last holiday I managed to get over my personal speed limit and started to work out what I was supposed to be doing. Our instructor was an ex ski jumper and taught very well. I didn't want to come home.
@geepee, Thanks! Just need to start working on the fitness now.
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@JohnHSmith, thank you for answering a question I have only just got round to asking.
Great post!
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