 Poster: A snowHead
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My first time to Val Gardena, and it more than lived up to expectations. This was something of a luxe trip so we didn't pinch pennies. That said, VG can be relatively afforadable.
Travel: We flew from Paris to Milan on EJ, then rented an Opel Insignia wagon for the easy four-hour drive to Selva. Only traffic was a tiny backup entering the valley at Ortisei. Roads were clear as there hadn't been much fresh snow in a few weeks below 1500 m.
Accommodations: We stayed at Gutonhof, an agriturismo/"wellness" spa run by Werner and Heidi Perathoner. He is a former WC skier. It's a working farm, with cows/goats etc. We had fresh milk, bread and eggs every day. There were 6 of us in a modern 2br/2ba apartment with incredible views down the valley and overlooking the town center. It was a bit off the main drag, so even though there was a skibus stop we just drove to where we needed to go. No complaints with lodging, and the spa was wonderful to ease sore muscles.
Skiing: We were of varying ages and abilities so required a bit of coordination. The skibus system looks good on paper (routes w/in Selva, S. Cristina, Ortisei, then buses up and down the valley), but in reality it's not easy to use, as there aren't timed connections. That was kind of a bummer, which meant we had to drive to various areas (we had 2 cars) and pay for parking or drop people off. If you were a couple or 4 people of similar abilities the buses would be easier to use.
Various areas: Starting from top to bottom: Plan Gralba is perfect for beginners/intermediates/kids. It gets good sun until 2 pm, no hard slopes and plenty of side piste for those who like trees. The runs are not very long. My wife, who is a second weeker, loved it. Can recommend the Baita di Sole and Passo Sella restaurants. It does give access to Sella Ronda, which we didn't do, as well as the rest of the valley, with connecting lifts. Selva/Ciampinoi lift: Steep reds and the Saslong DH: fun early in the day but got scraped off after noon. We mostly used this area for transiting. Too hard for beginners. Dantercepies: Super reds/blacks for high speed turns. Really good snow, but a bit limited variety. Skied this two times for an hour or so each time. Seceda: My favorite runs: reds/black you can just crank big GS turns on. We didn't do the long run down to Ortisei as the weather was so good up on the plateau. Alpe di Siusi: this was our biggest disappointment. The runs are great for beginners, and yet the blues are connected only with reds, for the most part. Makes absolutely no sense. However, it is beautiful, and worth a day for any intermediate on up.
Snow: We had a few dustings overnight and one day of fresh 6-8 cm. Pisting was excellent but a lot of the liaison runs were cut up by noon, as I mentioned. Best conditions were on the Seceda and Dantercepies.
Crowds: Yes and no. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a gondola/telecabine, but some slopes were really crowded -- the home runs back to S. Cristina from Seceda, the red down from the top of Ciampinoi etc. But for half term, was to be expected. Alpe di Siusi was empty.
Food: Is why we go to Italy for many vacations. Lunches were typical fare, dumplings/schnitzel/pasta/beer/wine/espresso: But not that cheap, certainly about the same price as France but it wasnt' the reheated glop you get. We ate dinner out once, at La Bula pizzeria -- quite good.
Infrastructure: With the exception of the skibus, many modern lifts, even some heated ones, with plastic bubbles. The various elevators and conveyor belts were handy, as was the underground train in S. Cristina.
Apres: Didn't do, but Luislkeller and Stua were hopping.
In sum: Italian food and weather with Germanic efficiency. What's not to like? The drawbacks were mainly that various blue runs were only accessible by reds runs, which is counter to good trail design. However, intermediates won't have a problem skidding down some of the chutes. Hardcore experts will probably want more, as there weren't any butt-puckering black 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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Just to add that we didn't do the Sella Ronda. To be honest, I'm not sure it's worth a day unless it's offpeak. The only lines we really saw were on the lifts labeled as part of the circuit, and at least around Selva there is some bootwalking required.
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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 that - off to Selva next weekend for the first time and hoping that the frigid temps this week loosen their grip by then
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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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| grollox wrote: |
| Thanks for that - off to Selva next weekend for the first time and hoping that the frigid temps this week loosen their grip by then |
I think you'll be fine. Cold spell is supposed to break by Thursday. If not, I've never seen an area with so many on-mountain restaurants/cabins etc. to stop and warm up. There are at least 6-8 on Seceda alone -- more than the number of pistes...
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