 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey everyone,
A large group of us are heading to Dolomites in mid March for 5-6 days on the mountain. 1st time for all of us. I am continuing to ingest as much info as I can about resorts, travel logistics, etc.. but would love any input from experiences. The smaller group I'd split into has very solid intermediate to low-end expert skiers/riders who would choose off piste/glades over groomers any time.
The package deal has us staying in Moena with the Superski pass. It seems that isn't the best place from a time spent in car perspective, but that's OK it looks like a beautiful place to call home for the week! Realistically, my goal would be to be on the bus to one spot and then use connecting lifts for the day. It seems the Sellaronda & lifts in that corridor would be best. However, if there are further out locations you think would be a must to possibly have off piste, I'd love to hear your experience.
Anything else newbs to that area should consider? Thanks in advance all!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Moena's a good spot to hit quite a few different ski areas along the valley. The bus service does link a lot of it up, but if you have a car, it might be quicker to use that.
I'm not an off-piste expert, but Passo San Pellegrino ski area has some nice between the piste off-piste possibilities on the Cima Uomo side and some ski-touring itinerary routes on the Col Margherita side that also link into to the Alpe Lusia area. On a weekday it is very quiet up there.
You can access the Sella Ronda via lifts at Campitello, Canazei & Alba. It is a busy circuit, but the scenery is spectacular at the head of Val di Fassa.
There are some pretty extreme off-piste itineraries off the Sass Pordoi cable car like the Val de Mezdi & Val Lasties, but you do need a guide up there, as people have died in avalanches in recent years. Shane McConkey died up there 10 yeras ago doing his ill-fated cliff base-jump on skis. Also the Marmolada has off-piste variants.
In a lot of places you can play between the pistes after a snowfall, but you will need a bit more snow as the cover is a bit lean currently.
It isn't quite like N America where you have secured inbounds off-piste terrain. You do see signs prohibiting off-piste in Italy, they're rarely enforced unless avalanche danger is high, but I suspect they exist so the lift companies can absolve themselves of blame if someone gets hurt.
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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 Luigi for helping me out. That is good to hear about Moena. We will not have a car so we'll have to use the bus.
Yes, even off piste between piste runs we'd love to check out too. Especially since we'd not have to hike as much. I'll read up on Passo San Pellegrino more. That is what I worry about with sella ronda would be crowds. But mid march Im hoping may be less busy?? Of course if we lucked out with snow, it could get busy then too I'd imagine.
Yes, we are not planning on getting too far out where avy's would be an issue. That is good to know about the difference from N America. I'd assume any areas that may be prone to avys are very well marked at least? I'll have to bookmark some sites that have updated conditions(including avy dangers).
Yes I am hoping we'd luck out and get some snow then. Even if not, I'm going to really enjoy seeing Italy.
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| Quote: |
I'd assume any areas that may be prone to avys are very well marked at least?
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Ummm, no. In Europe, anything not on piste is not controlled or patrolled and there are plenty of places where being just a few metres the wrong side of the piste markers can put you in significant danger. Don't assume it's safe just because there isn't a sign saying otherwise. There are some unpisted itineraries that are controlled, but not many.
Others can advise you on off piste in Italy but be aware that it is not like North America.
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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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Thanks. I realize he further out one wanders from lift access, the less likely you'd have signs warning you. I just assumed areas that are closer to(or between)on piste runs, may have signs if needed. But sounds like no, which is good to know. We'll be aware & check conditions prior.
Really appreciate the feedback. Good to hear from others with 1st hand knowledge.
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@McCallister81, The areas around Passo Pordoi - the Belvedere bowl etc - above Canazei and Alba have best between-the-piste skiing I reckon but none of it very long, also the runs off the chairs above Ciampac (opposite Belvedere/Pordoi) have lovely pockets of snow that seem to stay untouched for days - again, not long but great fun. Arabba has the steepest skiing but not much off the sides which is generally safe. The Marmolada is a wonderful, long run with plenty of generally-safe-enough options to the sides but it's a mission to get up to.
I'd highly recommend getting a guide to do the itineraries through the Sella Massive - Val Lasties, Forcella Pordoi and Val di Mesdi/Mezdi - If you started with Mesdi early on you could possibly even get all 3 in in a day - there's quite a bit of boot-packing involved though and you definitely want to have a reasonable amount of fresh-ish snow - i.e. a decent dump within a week or so would be enough. (If you finished with Mesdi, there's definitely time to do all 3 however you end up on the very far side of the Sella Ronda at Colfosco which is a loooong way from your accommodation!)
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Thanks jma, I will look at those too. Hopefully we get good snow because the scenery the Val Lefties looks incredible!
I'm having a hard time definitively confirming the Dolomiti superski pass includes use of the many cable cars & gondolas, or not? I feel like it is no, but can anyone confirm? Also, does the Fassa bus system not go to all the ski areas included in the superski pass? I dont see routes to Kronplatz, Brixen, Cortina d'Ampezzo, San Martino di Castrozza. If not are there other bus services to those places?
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The dolomiti superski pass covers all the lifts in the whole area, and it's a huge area (including all of the above)...
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en/Experience/Ski-areas
buses are not included now (some used to be), but I think if you stay in a hotel in Val di Fassa then you get a card from the hotel that lets you use that valley's buses for free or a discount, at least between Pozza and Alba, but not sure about Moena? (check with the hotel).
on the whole, there aren't buses from one valley to another (there are a few, but the times would be so inconvenient for skiing they're not worth mentioning)
Moena to Kronplatz or Cortina would be quite some trek though. I'd save those for another visit 
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Really good to know, Andy! That is great cable car use is included. I saw rates posted on others sites, but must be to just ride up/down to sight see.
The bus is included in with our package deal, just was curious if they had routes to the far reaching places. Good to know they dont go there. Again, the goal is to be on buses as little as possible  I am a bit surprised the bus route doesnt have drop off/pickup points all around the sellaronda considering the popularity. If we get stuck up around colfosco at the end of the day, what are the options then to get back to Moena? Thanks!
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@McCallister81, I think several busses (if there are any at convenient times) taking several hours, or a long and expensive taxi ride (€150+ ?). There is a general view in the area that you should keep an eye on the clock and know what time your last lift is back into your own valley
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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or a long and expensive taxi ride (€150+ ?)
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Ouch.. With all the new sights, experience, etc.. could be easy to lose track so definitely will have to be aware. Thanks.
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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 is a huge area. As above, just get back to the right valley by last lift.
There's a run (almost) to Canazei village, but it's not always open, so check. So long as you've got to the Canazei/Belvedere sector by closing time, you know you are safe.
it's about 60km by road to go round the Sella Ronda, and 1 of the 4 passes I believe is always shut in winter. That's why there are no buses going round. Only buses up and down each valley. And if 2 or more passes are closed due to heavy snow, then the long way around is several hours by taxi. (eg Selva to Canazei is 20km in summer, but 90km and 2 hours if the pass is shut, and the taxi driver will bill you for the return journey too, and Colfosco-Moena would be even more).
I'd be using Moena as an excuse to check out some of the other areas like San Pellegrino, but that's mainly because I've not got to those areas yet. No idea about the off-piste stuff.
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Having stayed in campittello albeit in an edge of town hotel last week which was excellent think the op needs to be aware that whilst there are busses to and from moena to enable one to access the sella ronda circuit , i reckon it will take getting on for a good 1 &1/2 hours from leaving accommodation in moena to actually skiing downhill and thats without any main uplift log jams, full busses or queing.We unfortunately got stuck in arrabba due to the lift closing (wind) which cost us 80 euros in a taxi to get back ,fortunately the ride was shared, The skiing is great and we had almost perfect on piste conditions but I dont think I would be in a rush to go back unless we were staying close to a lift and in one of the more accessible towns as we spent far too long(ski time) getting from accommodation waiting for busses and lifts and that was in low season. Without the hotel minibus reckon the ladies with us would have given up.We tried to do the journey in reverse to go to moena and up the pass pellegrino the nearest skiing to moena but the logistics and what would have only been a short ski day put us off so my advice is ensure you are up and ready to travel on the first bus
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You know it makes sense.
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Great feedback all, thank you! Yes, I usually map routes from hotel to resort and then at least double that time before 1st run downhill with all the typical resort chaos
I did some searching but dont see what times the lifts open/close? Are they the "usual" 9:00-16:00 kind of times? Also, I see a handful offer night skiing. Do most crowds stick with day skiing I assume? That could give us more time if we get late starts.
Sounds like that area is getting hit with real nice snow now, so hope we get some of that in March!
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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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Base lifts open at 08.30 - others open between 08.45/0900 :: closing 17.00/17.30 (might vary a bit in March....)
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Poster: A snowHead
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With exception of gondolas back to base level, most uplift is closed at 16.30/45.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| McCallister81 wrote: |
Thanks Luigi for helping me out. That is good to hear about Moena. We will not have a car so we'll have to use the bus.
Yes, even off piste between piste runs we'd love to check out too. Especially since we'd not have to hike as much. I'll read up on Passo San Pellegrino more. That is what I worry about with sella ronda would be crowds. But mid march Im hoping may be less busy?? Of course if we lucked out with snow, it could get busy then too I'd imagine.
Yes, we are not planning on getting too far out where avy's would be an issue. That is good to know about the difference from N America. I'd assume any areas that may be prone to avys are very well marked at least? I'll have to bookmark some sites that have updated conditions(including avy dangers).
Yes I am hoping we'd luck out and get some snow then. Even if not, I'm going to really enjoy seeing Italy. |
Hmm, you will be spending a lot of time on buses if you don't have a car. I assumed you did have one as you mentioned 'time spent in car' in your OP.
Here is the link to the various routes, schedules & prices: https://www.fassa.com/EN/Skibus-service/
The routes up to Alpe Lusia & Passo San Pellegrino (lines 10 & 11) look fairly regular, 2 or 3 times an hour in the morning/afternoon and take 10-30mins from Moena depending on pick-up and drop-off points. I reckon this is where you'll be skiing a lot...not a bad thing as they are good ski areas.
The bus up to the head of the valley isn't so good, only 2 buses in the morning and two later on. The last one in the morning leaves at 07:48 and takes nearly an hour to Canazei/Alba. Coming home the earliest bus is 16:30-16:50 from Alba/Canazei/Campitello and again takes about an hour back to Moena. I don't reckon you will want to do that trek many times.
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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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| McCallister81 wrote: |
Thanks jma, I will look at those too. Hopefully we get good snow because the scenery the Val Lefties looks incredible!
I'm having a hard time definitively confirming the Dolomiti superski pass includes use of the many cable cars & gondolas, or not? I feel like it is no, but can anyone confirm? Also, does the Fassa bus system not go to all the ski areas included in the superski pass? I dont see routes to Kronplatz, Brixen, Cortina d'Ampezzo, San Martino di Castrozza. If not are there other bus services to those places? |
As others have said, the Dolomiti Superski pass covers all the lifts in all those areas, but practically you would need a car to access them. Even then it would take a long time to reach some of them from where you are as the distances are longer than they look on a map and there are winding hairpin mountain passes in between.
Moena to Cortina is around 50miles with two 2000m+ mountain passes in between and a number of villages to pass through, it could easily take 2 hrs each way, even longer if the roads are busy or snowy/icy. Of course, if the weather is really bad, the passes will close.
You'll have plenty enough in Val di Fassa for 5/6 days, you could ski a different area each day, but as I suggested in the previous post, it will be time-consuming to access it via the skibus, so you'll probably be sticking to the areas closest to Moena, like Alpe Lusia, Passo San Pellegrino, Catinaccio & Pozza/Buffaure, maybe Carezza, though I think you would need two buses to get up there.
If you want to really cover some distance on skis, get a bus up to Pozza, then using the Pozza/Buffaure gondola, you can ski across through to Ciampac/Alba and then onto that end of the Sella Ronda using the new Alba Funifor up to Col dei Rossi, the scenery is spectacular around Belvedere/Pordoi. If you're quick, you may be able to get a circuit of the entire Sella Ronda done and then catch the bus back from Campitello, Canazei or Alba.
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