 Poster: A snowHead
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I will be in Val Gardena 17-24 Feb, with horizon jr, my girlfriend kolkie, and several friends.
kolkie is keen to start offpiste. I've done two offpiste weeks in the Dolomites, but that was several years ago and most of it was too tough for intermediate skiers. I'm looking for some recommendations on where I could take her that would be safe and easy. I assume the area above Corvara could work? (off the Sella Ronda). Any other areas? Any light tour that she could try?
FYI: she's taken a lot of lessons. My aim is not to teach her, just to show her around and keep her safe.
Also: without being in any way a pro or having in-depth knowledge, I have a reasonable idea of avy danger and terrain issues. Planning to keep risk to an absolute minimum - no steep slopes, no convex areas, no south-facing runs on a sunny afternoon, etc. I don't intend to take her on any route that's not either fully visible from the chair or from above, or that I haven't done a test run on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I can't advise you on where to ski off piste in the Dolomites.
I have read somewhere that if you want to ski off piste in Italy you have to be equipped with "avi gear" ie. a transceiver, shovel and probe. If this is true you are probably not insured to ski off piste unless you have this gear, even if you have taken out insurance to ski off piste.
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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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The problem with the Dolomites is that they are extremely rocky and you can all of a sudden end up on a cliff band or in a couloir, as you probably found when you did it a few years ago. There's some easier bits up around Giau and above Campolongo where route finding is a bit more obvious. In all honesty if you don't know the area and there's only two of you I'd suggest hiring a guide for a day and ask them to show you the stuff you can ski yourselves for the rest of the week. These guys are really good - http://www.dolomitiguides.com/
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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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@welshflyer, thank you, we have all the equipment (well, shovel and probe X2, now that the time has come we'll add another set, transceiver and airbag already X3). I've been skiing mostly offpiste for the last 15-20 years and I'm an advocate of always having the safety gear.
@sethpistol, interesting. I'm well aware of the rocky areas but I thought there were also much more mellow ones. I certainly have no intention of ending up above a cliff!
I'll have a look at Giau and Campolongo. We may get a guide but the point is that kolkie, who's a good piste skier by now, needs to find her feet and balance in 3D snow and that doesn't require a big / long route. If she gets good fast I'd love to get a guide and explore further - that's the ultimate aim!
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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'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If it's just side-piste or between-the-piste style off-piste you're after, the runs from Col Rodella and the Belvedere Bowl above Canazei are probably the best, also the little face from the top of Ciampinoi Gondola - this "off" piste gets ski'd out very quickly and you're unlikely to be laying fresh tracks bouncing through knee-deep pow but they're wide and open, you can easily see where you're going to end up and if you can learn to fight your way down a load of re-frozen cut-up crud with a degree of confidence you'll be fine anywhere! (most of these are actually north-ish facing so don't thaw/freeze as much and you can often find nice, soft snow on them - even if it is tracked out) If you're going to be more adventurous, the sides of the run from the top of the Marmolada offer some great "off" piste as well.
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@horizon, Edge of the piste by the Cherz lift is usually pretty gentle. Seem to remember I met you near there in 2016?
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Hmmm. The Neilson rep in Arabba told us a couple of weeks ago that it was actually illegal to go off piste in the Dolomites without a guide. Was he wrong?
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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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Like most things in Italy it is not clear, supposedly it's illegal to use lifts to access off piste in some areas, or to ski between or above pistes. Supposedly illegal to ski some areas without full avi kit. You can get fined for skinning up a piste at night(report of 50€ in Nevegal), for calling out Mountain Rescue (report of 50€ in Abetone), skiing off piste without a transceiver (report of €250 in Lombardia) etc. etc. it's also illegal to drive a non Italian vehicle for more than a year without re-registering it, but the police don't seem to know that...
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Get a guide, they will ticket you if you create a slide and it goes on to the piste.
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