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Cortina recommendations

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Thinking of skiing Cortina next March with the wife. It'll only be her second week, and I've read the slopes are ideal for a novice, but a bit spread out. I'd be grateful for suggestions for accommodation, skischools and rental places. Not sure what area is the best to stay. I'd thought of staying near the Corso, as should be fairly central to get to the various lift stations. Given that my wife is a novice, and is going to have lessons, am I better off staying near the Socrepes lift station? Doubt I'll have a car, so will be relying on the skibus.

Any suggestions welcome
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Of all the major resorts in the Dolomites Cortina is the one I like least. Many of the lifts are old and very slow. The ski runs do not connect up the different areas. You have to get buses.

The shopping is good though.

Selva/Val Gardena Alta Badia or Corvara would all be better choices for good skiing with easy access IMHO.

Anywhere with access to the Sella Ronde will give you access to long confidence building easy blues.
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suggul wrote:
Thinking of skiing Cortina next March with the wife. It'll only be her second week, and I've read the slopes are ideal for a novice, but a bit spread out. I'd be grateful for suggestions for accommodation, skischools and rental places. Not sure what area is the best to stay. I'd thought of staying near the Corso, as should be fairly central to get to the various lift stations. Given that my wife is a novice, and is going to have lessons, am I better off staying near the Socrepes lift station? Doubt I'll have a car, so will be relying on the skibus.

Any suggestions welcome


I've done Cortina for day and there are some gentle slopes, however, i would go to Alta Badia. No question. A whole range of very easy to progressive blues to the odd steep one for those that are better.
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Thanks for the responses guys. Guess I thought we'd be better going to the main Sella Ronda when the other half was a bit more experienced. Don't know at her stage whether she'd make the most of it. My thinking was that the limited slopes in Cortina wouldn't be such an issue for her as a second week skier. The slow and old lifts is a definite drawback, though. Am I right in thinking that the pistes are a lot quieter in Cortina compared to other parts of the Dolomites, though?
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OK, someone must post it
http://youtube.com/v/htJrtHvozFs
Though I have only been in the summer I really like Cortina. Faded granduer, such as the ice rink complex, really appeals to me. It is a great centre for rock climbing and via ferrata
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suggul wrote:
Thanks for the responses guys. Guess I thought we'd be better going to the main Sella Ronda when the other half was a bit more experienced. Don't know at her stage whether she'd make the most of it. My thinking was that the limited slopes in Cortina wouldn't be such an issue for her as a second week skier. The slow and old lifts is a definite drawback, though. Am I right in thinking that the pistes are a lot quieter in Cortina compared to other parts of the Dolomites, though?


the main roundabout is busier than cortina but the side roads are quieter. I'll be in Cortina next year for a day then over to the Sella Ronda for the rest so that is perhaps and indicator. Happy

I do like Cortina, but if I was a beginner. Alta Badia is a must.
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Cortina is much quieter than anywhere on the Sella Ronda, especially the east side of the valley. The west side has the best beginners slopes but a fair bit busier. The buses are reliable, we were in our motorhome a couple of miles out of town but I could still get the first lift up to Faloria and enjoy the best part of an hour on empty pistes even after overnight snow. I actually enjoyed the ancient gondola, adds a bit of character. The buses run across the valley and up to Cinque Torre.

You know how there is sometimes a Ford, or even a BMW on display at a resort; Cortina has a Maserati.

Kev
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Thanks for the input. @johnE, I know exactly what you mean about the faded grandeur. I thought it would be quite romantic. My other differential was Megeve, which I presume has a similar old world vibe.
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We really liked Cortina (scenery, some ineteresting runs), but as others mention, an Alta Badia base eg Corvara would suit both your needs much better - moderate, quieter runs there, plus the Ronda access if you wish. Artificial snow coverage is extensive and scenery great. You can access the Armentarola hidden velley run from Alta Badia about as readily as from Cortina - well worth doing! Megeve is also very nice, but best early in the season when quieter; tree-lined runs, scenery again, oh la la!
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I like Cortina, one can imagine its grand past. It is stuck in a time-warp from the 1956 Olympics. When you become a more accomplished skier visit Cortina, if only for a day to experience the exceptional fast World Cup downhill runs, walk down the Corso Italia, have a cup of tea in an elegant tea shop with its its elderly fur clad patrons. Cortina is well suited for wealthy Milanese to parade their wealth at the weekend. It is not great for access to the skiing, you have to ride in an ancient gondola or take a ski bus to other disjointed area.
There are many much better and more convenient resorts for novices.
As others said, Corvara or Colfosco would be hard to better for you needs.
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suggul wrote:
Thanks for the responses guys. Guess I thought we'd be better going to the main Sella Ronda when the other half was a bit more experienced. Don't know at her stage whether she'd make the most of it. My thinking was that the limited slopes in Cortina wouldn't be such an issue for her as a second week skier. The slow and old lifts is a definite drawback, though. Am I right in thinking that the pistes are a lot quieter in Cortina compared to other parts of the Dolomites, though?


It can be eerily quiet on a cold day midweek in Jan. Nowhere else with so much variety of skiing, yet so quiet...a world away from the busy Sella Ronda.

The extensive nursery slopes around Socrepes/Pocol are indeed a great place for a nervous beginner to progress to runs of increasing steepness served by various chairlifts, so I wouldn't discount it, especially if you like the romantic idea of it's faded grandeur, there's nowhere like it...and not many settings as spectacularly beautiful.

Most of the chairs are fairly modern, it's just the 2 cablecars that are antique pieces that date from the glory days of '56, though I'm sure the oily bits have been renewed many times since.

Being based at one of the hotels at Pocol would be convenient for the slopes, but being in the centre might be more lively, as long as you don't mind using the buses, though some at the southern end are walking distance to the Faloria cablecar.

Make sure you go up to Cinque Torri/Col Gallina and do the circuit up there, maybe even the Lagazuoi/Hidden Valley run. The scenery is spectacular!

In the Sella Ronda, I would go for the village of Colfosco in the Alta Badia sector, the nursery slopes are set apart from the main Ronda traffic and there are some good runs to progress to up the Edelweiss Valley and up twd Passo Gardena. Look for something around Hotel Luianta to be on top of the nursery slopes. Spectacular scenery here too.

Selva wouldn't be great for a nervous second-weeker as once you leave the flat meadows of the nursery slopes, there's really nowhere to progress to as it's all steep reds & blacks around the resort, unless you can get up to the blues above Plan de Gralba and Passo Sella.
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My second car was a 1200cc Cortina Mk 1, but you really need the 1500cc 5 bearing crank if you really want to use it.
I got one of those a bit later.
I cant imagine why there are not more children called Cortina after a generation of back seating, rather than Austin or Morris.

I've only been to Cortina late in the season when the pistes were closed, but it was very romantic and the house "Pinot Greggio" was wonderful.

Cortina will always be a place in my heart although I have never skied it.
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@luigi, your thoughts echo my own. Think the quietness of Cortina's pistes is a big attraction. Do you have any hotel recommendations?
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If you go up to the Cinque Torri then you must have a walk around the open air WWI museum. Walk along the trenches where the Italians were based and shelled the Austrians around the Hexenstein. You have to walk to see the similar Hexenstein fortifications or those the other side of the valley on the Lagazuoi. We spent 3 days this summer staying in the hut at the top of the cable car climbing the Torri

The very first chair lift I ever used was near Cortina, probably near Pocol. I think we used it as the start of a via ferrata up the Tofana Rosa . It had a single seat and I had to hold my rucksack tightly on my lap.
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@ luigi sums up very well my experiences on the two options.
Last year in March , I was part of group of over 50 people spanning the whole range of skiing abilities and absolutely everyone was blown away by Cortina. The "inconveniences" of the split areas was minor compared to the skiing once we were there (though it has to be said we did have one of the best weeks in the season re conditions). It is also advantageous in that it is very easy to meet up post-OH's lessons or whatever - there are points on the Sella Ronda where if you overshoot you won't get back...until much later (cue domestic etc...). When we skied in our groups (usually 4-10 people) we cluttered up the slopes it was that quiet. While there were a few more out at the weekend it was still crowd free. This feature cannot be underestimated if you are nervous in crowds and if you venture around the SR you will for sure encounter certain pinchpoints and bottlenecks that can seem like skiing down Oxford Street which could be stressful for her. As a comparison we did a day trip to the SR whilst there and everyone was surprised by the volume of people there compared to Cortina. The run down from Corvara to Campolungo was horrific as were the lift queues there until about 11.30am. The area above Selva, as mentioned above, and Val di Fassa can also be busy. As I said bottlenecks. Having said that I've had a number of tremendous holidays on the SR and jump at the chance to go back whenever I can (usually staying in Arabba)
Alta Badia and Colfosco are great offshoots and plenty of cruisers. I personally would leave the SR until she is capable of getting around a bit more confidently so that she can really enjoy it (for example doing the orange route - slightly more advanced - is much better than the green route, which entails rather lot of chair sitting etc, or having the time to explore some of the ski areas that feed in).
At the end of the day, you'll end up having a great time in any of them if the weather's good and the snow-gods have done their job the week before you go! Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
suggul wrote:
@luigi, your thoughts echo my own. Think the quietness of Cortina's pistes is a big attraction. Do you have any hotel recommendations?


No, sorry, only visited on daytrips from other resorts.
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@suec, your post has convinced me. I was thinking exactly what you said. Always planned to ski Sella Ronda, but don't think wife will be able to make the most of it at this stage. Think I'll press on with booking things.

Any tips on transfers? We'll be flying from London. Looks like Marco Polo and Innsbruck will be the most convenient airports.
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suggul wrote:
@suec, your post has convinced me. I was thinking exactly what you said. Always planned to ski Sella Ronda, but don't think wife will be able to make the most of it at this stage. Think I'll press on with booking things.

Any tips on transfers? We'll be flying from London. Looks like Marco Polo and Innsbruck will be the most convenient airports.


Marco Polo definitely easier and closer than Innsbruck for transfers to Cortina. Look at Cortina Express
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suggul wrote:
@suec, your post has convinced me. I was thinking exactly what you said. Always planned to ski Sella Ronda, but don't think wife will be able to make the most of it at this stage. Think I'll press on with booking things.

Any tips on transfers? We'll be flying from London. Looks like Marco Polo and Innsbruck will be the most convenient airports.


Treviso (TSF) airport is probably closest and another option with Ryanair from Stansted.
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I drove out there for a day at last season's pre season bash. I loved it. Totally empty and the most relaxed ski resort I'd ever been too. Outdated lift system but nostalgic and romantic. It feels like you're in the 1958 Olympics or a 60s James Bond film. The views are breathtaking, even by Dolomites standards and the food is first class.
The resort is not going to suit a bunch of twenty something powder heads on the lash but for a married couple it's perfect.

The easiest and cheapest way to get there is Ryanair Stansted Treviso the hire a car. The drive up
Is wonderful.
Make sure you do cinque torri and the hidden valley.
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@suggul, May I suggest not using Innsbruck (nice airport though it is). Though a shortish distance it takes a suprising long time to drive. From our experience Bergarmo is quicker. As @cameronphillips2000, says Treviso is a bit closer than Venice, but there are much more choices going to Venice. We use Monarch from Birmingham, but they do not have a winter schedule at the moment (I suspect they have other problems). Friends use easyjet. We also tend to come down from the mountains a bit early and spend a night in Venice before flying home the next day.
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johnE wrote:
@suggul, May I suggest not using Innsbruck (nice airport though it is). Though a shortish distance it takes a suprising long time to drive. From our experience Bergarmo is quicker. As @cameronphillips2000, says Treviso is a bit closer than Venice, but there are much more choices going to Venice. We use Monarch from Birmingham, but they do not have a winter schedule at the moment (I suspect they have other problems). Friends use easyjet. We also tend to come down from the mountains a bit early and spend a night in Venice before flying home the next day.


That is true although, if you get a late Treviso flight you can ski an extra day, as I did on the Saturday of the Bash and still drive back with plenty of time to get the late flight. Although Ryanair. Stansted Treviso is the cheapest flight, they do charge you extra for baggage and skis so it mounts up.

I think Car hire is the way to go in the Dollies. Those of us that did it last year skied at so many different places. Although Cortina is a bit of the main circuit a day at Cinque Torii and Civetta (Gem of a resort) would be well worth it
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
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cameronphillips2000 wrote:
I think Car hire is the way to go in the Dollies. Those of us that did it last year skied at so many different places. Although Cortina is a bit of the main circuit a day at Cinque Torii and Civetta (Gem of a resort) would be well worth it


Whilst a car is undoubtedly useful it's worthwhile mentioning that as regards Cinque Torri there is a skibus service to there from Cortina, see this
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johnE wrote:
@suggul, May I suggest not using Innsbruck (nice airport though it is). Though a shortish distance it takes a suprising long time to drive. From our experience Bergarmo is quicker.


The various resorts of the Dolomites are best approached from different directions depending on where they are located in the range and which route allows the lowest altitude access.

Bergamo is not a brilliant option for Cortina as the most direct route & would involve 2 high passes (Gardena & Falzarego) which can become impassable after a storm. The high passes are generally kept open in Winter, but it can be unpredictable. So...

Cortina, Civetta (Alleghe) & Arabba are best approached from the South via the A27, so Venice & Treviso are best. Maybe Trieste for an outlier.

Alta Badia & Kronplatz are best approached from the North, so Innsbruck is best. Munich could be a long-transfer option if the flight routings or costings are better.

Val Gardena & Val Di Fassa are accessed off the A22 Brenner motorway, so Innsbruck & Verona are the best & closest options, though Bergamo, Milan Linate, Venice, Treviso, even Munich or Bologna are doable if you don't mind long motorway slogs.
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@luigi, ^ +1
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