 Poster: A snowHead
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Is the skiing itself enjoyable when doing the full Sella Ronda circuit? We are staying in La Villa and have been skiing Alta Badia and Corvara. The conditions tomorrow are supposed to be decent, but the kids want to know why doing the circuit is better than just skiing a bunch of runs.
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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 stayed in Corvara and did the Seela Orange clockwise (orange) , which is supposed to be slightly harder skiing and have more vertical.
I personally loved the sella route , not so much for the tough skiing, as I think the toughest skiing in the area is around Arabba which you can do from corvara anyway, but more for the unbelievable beauty of the mountain formations around the Sella. I would say that diverting off at Val Gardena and doing the saslong men's downhill route is great and not a massive diversion.
The skiing is not significantly different to what you would be doing around corvara/colfosco and la villa but there is just more variety . I think the gran risa in la villa is one of the best runs in the region , and if you were looking to do a day or morning out , I would strongly recommend rather doing the "hidden valley" followed by lunch at scotonis and finishing with a horse drawn tow to get you back to armentorola. That is an extremely more memorable experience than the sella , which I think the kids would prefer more.But if you have the time , do both as well as possibly a trip up the Marmolada . The whole are is scenically sublime but I would say generally most of the skiing is very tame.
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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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This
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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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+2
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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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Surely more fun to do the circuit than go "there and back" ? Skiing isn't too hard and you are unlikely to worrying about not making it unless you set out too late.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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As La Villa is a bit out of it, Yeah! Get on the SR and get into the Val G valley, It's great! Apres time at the Luiskeller is cheeseytrash heaven. Look out for the Dutch Women's Curling team. 
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If it's at all busy you can probably find quieter runs and lifts away from the SR. I was quite taken aback how busy parts if the SR were, in low season, compared to my usual area in the northern French alps. And how much English I heard everywhere! The whole area is beautiful but the bits off the SR are no less so. Cinque Torre was my favourite.
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@pam w,
Where the he** were you?! I've been skiing this area for 18yrs. Yeah, it can get busy, but not with Brits. Dutch, Austrians, Italians and the occasional Australian, but rarely Brits. 
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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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Well worth it, very beautiful. Did it both ways in one day a few years ago, before they improved the lifts, which was a bit of a rush as I remember. Then did it the following day on a mono; I remember it being rather a challenge on a t-bar track on a strip of snow that went across an otherwise green field.
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The new Arabba flyer chair has improved the overall circuit experience greatly, IMV. First time around, everyone I know thought they were lost when they found themselves having to cross that icy road on foot, then wander through the car park. Now the only walky bit is Selva (a couple of hundred meters) but U do pass a good doughnut shop on the anti-clockwise route.
I second the call for the diversion down the Sasslong wc run - an epic piste!
@pam w, you must be muddling your memories up with those of somewhere else - your description does not compute.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks all. We had actually been debating joining friends on the "hidden valley" and horse trip. If anyone is reading this and new to the area, The views from the top of the Boe lift in Corvara yesterday were spectacular.
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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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@ski_family, if it's a sunny day definitely do hidden valley it was one of my most amazing days skiing I have ever had.
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Hidden Valley is worth it. But late in the season you risk the horse tow being replaced by a fleet of taxis. Still worth it though
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You know it makes sense.
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@admin, +1
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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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@admin,
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@pam w, you must be muddling your memories up with those of somewhere else - your description does not compute.
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Well we have just come back from three weeks solid sking in the Dolomites - and there are far more English voices on the Sella Ronda than anywhere else (though still not to many), and the Sella Ronda, plus the Marmolada are consistently busier than other areas.
This does not mean the Sella Ronda had queues, or lots of English voices - just more than other areas, many of which were almost deserted, with no English at all.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@RobinS, thanks for corroborating my memories. I'm not going mad...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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 all the messages. Today was glorious. Great light, but not overly warm We ended up splitting into two groups. I did Hidden Valley with younger teen, spouse and eldest did SR. Hidden Valley is a bit of heaven, and being pulled by horses at the end was great fun. But it left me hungry for more and the afternoon runs couldn't compare. Hubby and eldest loved the SR, said snow and views were amazing, and want to spend more time at Val Gardena next year. In terms of languages, we've heard a fair bit of English in La Villa. German was the main language today in Hidden Valley. No idea about SR.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| pam w wrote: |
| @RobinS, thanks for corroborating my memories. I'm not going mad... |
Just because someone else is hearing voices doesn't mean................
PS I enjoyed the Sella Ronda on a low season trip because the scenery was great but otherwise the skiing is just as good /better elsewhere and quieter, something to do once in my opinion.
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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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So, which bit did I get so wrong, chaps?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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May be you were at the bash - surrounded by Brits? 
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@Hyst, there was plenty of English being spoken by random strangers not on the Bash. My point was that there was far more English and much busier pistes than I'm used to in low season weeks in my area of France. I was not comparing the SR with the 3V which seems permanently busy and full of Brits.
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| pam w wrote: |
| @Hyst, there was plenty of English being spoken by random strangers not on the Bash. My point was that there was far more English and much busier pistes than I'm used to in low season weeks in my area of France. I was not comparing the SR with the 3V which seems permanently busy and full of Brits. |
The thing is you can pick out Brits in a sea of other nationalities if you're a fellow Brit...Brits are of course represented in the Sella Ronda which is an internationally known ski area, but certainly make up a small minority amongst other nationalities of mainly Germans/Austrians & Italians.
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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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Yes.
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Never said there was a majority of Brits, @luigi, just more than I'm used to. The SR pistes were busier the first week of February than anywhere we've skied here this Easter week, too. I love the Dolomites but other bits are, in my view, better than the SR.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For me the Sella Ronda is an efficient and well signposted way of getting to different bits of the lift linked area from where you are staying. Did it most days with different diversions e.g. Marmolada, Ortisei, Hidden Valley! Great scenery and well pisted.
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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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Yes, the signposting is a good point. I found the rest of it fairly baffling and was very glad of some brilliant guides to get to the more out of the way corners like Cinque Torre. I'd not have found them on my own, with bus and horse links. I'd probably have carried on the perfectly pleasant SR routes.
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We did the Sella Ronda in March both ways and the orange route we found better. We took a little diversion down The Sasslong into Val Gardena, well worth it. We got there by taking a little black run around the back of a restaurant down to a two man chair. The run wasn't steep just a bit narrow between a cliff and a drop off. Can't remember where as we didn't have a map the signposting was that good...until we got back to the top of Val Gardena and we guessed the way down to Wolkenstein. The only advice is in Arraba take the two stage Bubble that takes you slightly higher than the jam packed large cabin.
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You know it makes sense.
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I enjoyed the Sella Ronda. I've no idea which direction we went in, I just skied where I was told 
The Hidden Valley was absolutely breathtaking, and the delicious meat platter and horse-drawn tow at the end were the icing on the cake.
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