 Poster: A snowHead
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So every year our family make a trip from Corvara to the Hidden Valley , culminating in a fantastic lunch at Scotoni's and then the mandatory horse tow back towards Corvara. This is one of the highlights of our holiday.
I have been tempted to divert and go and check out the Cinque Torri, but given the faff of the bus up to Lagazuoi and then the generally long queues to the top of the Hidden Valley run, the family are relatively impatient at this point!
So , the question is, how long is the diversion down to the Cinque Torri? Does it involve bus rides back up? Is it a complex diversion and is it worth the effort?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Rumour has it that there is a way to ski back from Cinque Torri to Lagazuoi, but it's never been open when I've been there.
There's a bus from the restaurant and carpark at the bottom of Cinque Torri back up to Lagazuoi. Just check the bus times when you arrive, so you know how long to play for.
The whole day out is complex and faff imho, what with getting to Armentarola, a bus/taxi up, a horse ride back to a point where you have to use the only drag lift of the week to get enough altitude to ski back in to the main system. one more bus can't hurt. And that bus will have about 7 people on it, so most likely, 0 queue at Lagazuoi for the Hidden Valley 
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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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It is quite easy to ski back from Cinque Torri and makes a nice circuit. The run down the front from Lagazuoi is great, then head across to lifts up to Cinque Torri (careful when crossing road - you can ski across, but there are cars). To get back, head up Lift 5 (to Nuvolau), then go over the back towards Fedare, keeping to the right and take right hand turning to lift 8 (Croda Negra). Don't miss the right hand turn off, otherwise you will have to go all the way down to Fedare and a very slow chairlift back up. From Croda Negra you can ski back to the Lagazuoi cable car by keeping generally left and taking the two lifts to get across - it is pretty obvious once on that side. There are a couple of flats. But a nice circuit, and you could vary your old routine by having lunch up at the Averau on Cinque Torri instead of Scotonis, then do the Hidden Valley a little later when hopefully queues at Lagazuoi are smaller.
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The weak point is the Skiweg Croda Negra piste which is often closed. (I think it depends solely on natural snow whereas most other runs have snow cannons). The Croda Negra is fairly narrow and begins quite steeply, & if not well-covered there can be the odd rock. It then flattens out and there may be a bit of poling. That said, Cinque Torri is very lovely and well worth the detour. The restaurant at the top, Averau, is very good.
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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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I wonder how long the bus takes to get up to rifigio Fedare my reccolection is it is a very slow drive and a very slow chair lift with lovely views.
Just a mention of the Cinque Torre brings back lovely memories of enjoyable climbing. I must try and get there in the winter some time
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Cinque Torri os a lovely place to ski, and though it is not too difficult, can be a bit tricky to ski to and from, though it is possible to ski there and back from Laguzuoi. The restaurant is also excellent, and worth the effort to get to.
As rg1 said above, you take the old cable car as if doing the Hidden Valley and as you start off at the top, keep well over to the right. There is a piste down, which is graded red on most maps, though some have it as a black. I assure the public that it is not black in any way and is a pleasant run. Cross the road at the bottom and head for the lift station in front of you. Take this chair up and as you come back down keep over to the right. This gives you access to a track to the right about 3/4 of the way down which, although it appears unlikely, takes you via a switchback route to the fast chair at the bottom of Cinque Torri. Be careful not to run into @maggi on the uphill bits.
There are a couple of quite challenging blue runs taking you back to the fast chair which are most enjoyable and bear repeating. From the top you can see tunnels, gun emplacements and trench lines from the First World War, as this is a significant part of the WW1 tour. You used to have to take a tow line and a rickety single chair to go over the top to Fedare, but there is now a new lift. The run down to Fedare is OK, but not quite so entertaining.
What is entertaining, is trying to ski back. Off to the right of the Fedare run is a narrow track leading to a chair which seems to run through a crack in the rock (possibly, because it does.) You then have a narrow and, I thought, quite difficult icy track back towards the lift system below Laguzuoi. You have to use all the lifts here to get back to the cable car, up Laguzuoi and back into the system down the Hidden Valley. You can, of course, take the bus or taxis back to Armentarola which gets you back into the Sella Ronda area. If you don't fancy the horses on the way back (an 80 skier pile-up with added dung is not a prospect I relish) then look out for the cafe after the first bit of poling. There are always taxis there, which will get you back to skiable terrain for a modest fee.
Sounds like a lot of faff, but definitely worth it. A very very beautiful place - and it has its own little piste map, which you can pick up at the lift office at the start.
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Bit of a map for you
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Thanks for all your replies .
Is this area covered by the super dolomite lift pass or would I need to buy an add on (Cortina).
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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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Thanks for all your replies .
Is this area covered by the super dolomite lift pass or would I need to buy an add on (Cortina).
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Covered by Dolomiti Superski, though Cinque Torri is in the Cortina area.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The area is covered bij the super dolomite lift pass! and well worth the detour
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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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It's covered and so is Cortina on the Super dolomiti lift pass. We managed to ski Cinque Torri last week of March this year. The cut off run, from the red/black was shut but we found a way after crossing the road from the Lagazoui lift station - it was interesting 
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@Spyglass, it's well worth taking the time to take it all in especially on a sunny day. There is more skiing there than meets the eye. You can actually ski from the road down to the chair along a track that follows the road.
And as @rg1 says, a lovely place to lunch with great views and if you fancy plunge in the a hot tub feel free!!
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You know it makes sense.
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My only other thought on it - if starting from Corvara, depending on your willingness to fork out, would be to just taxi straight there (ie to the pass for the bottom of the cablecar) in the morning which gets you there at a point when there are no queues to ride up. Then you have time to enjoy Cinque Torri for a good session, early lunch as others have said and head back via Hidden Valley. Even if you don't take it all the way up to the pass, a taxi to San Cassiano for early lift up would get you down to Armentarola for an early bus up and no real queues at the cable car?
Just a thought.
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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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The restaurant above Cinque Torri, Rifugio Averau, is very nice. It's worth booking a table if you want to eat on the sun terrace as it's a popular place.
Much off the skiing from Lagazuoi to and back from Cinque Torri is pretty tedious, but it's a great diversion for the scenery alone.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rob@rar wrote: |
The restaurant above Cinque Torri, Rifugio Averau, is very nice. It's worth booking a table if you want to eat on the sun terrace as it's a popular place.
Much off the skiing from Lagazuoi to and back from Cinque Torri is pretty tedious, but it's a great diversion for the scenery alone. |
The runs off the 2 chairs at Cinque Torri and the red over to Fedare are great and often deserted. But the connections from & to the Falzarego/Lagazuoi (Hidden Valley) cablecar station have a lot of flat sections. My boarder b-in-law wasn't happy.
As others have said the weak link in the circuit is the red piste that leads back to Col Gallina off the vital Croda Negra chair, relies on natural snow with no snowmaking, so had only just opened last Feb half-term and was a bit stony. Awesome scenery all round though.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Some good suggestions here , and the restaurant at Cinque Torri sounds very compelling, but got to say the meat platter at Scotonis trumps everything else .
So maybe what I might do is drive to SAn Cassiano , take the family sledging for a few hours , then drive to Pass Falzerago , do the Cinque Torri circuit and have a lunch at Refugio Averau.
Will save the Corvara - Hidden Valley - Scotoni lunch for another day.
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