Cervinia or Val Gardena for skiing?

A snowHead

Hi all,

I'm a long time follower of these forums and have based decisions in previous years around what people here have recommended, and it's always been solid advice.

I have read through as many posts as possible regarding this but I'm still not sure.

We booked flights into Milan for the 11th December for 4 days of skiing. We are a group of 4. Two advanced intermediates and two advanced beginners in our 30's.

I have been to Chamonix, Grandvalira before.

Loved the skiing in Grandvalira and the 3 Valleys. Everything was so connected...and we are looking for something similar again. Chamonix had great pistes but having to get buses and carry our ski's around every morning and evening is something we definitely don't want to have to do again.

We initally thought Cervinia as it's on the Italian side, has nearly guaranteed snow and has access to Zermatt. But now I've read that the winds can be crazy, shutting down access to Zermatt (which is a big draw in going there) and that the town is quiet and not much happening.

Val Gardena in the Dolomites looks amazing but is there more happening in the town than Cervinia? Also have read that the Dolomite skiing is all broken up like Chamonix, meaning you'd need buses etc, which we desperately want to avoid. There seems to be a lot of snow falling there at the moment so hopefully there would be good cover.

What are peoples's suggestions? We're looking for somewhere that has

1. no buses require for 4 days of skiing without having to repetitively do the same slopes, so 4 days worth of connected area
2. beautiful scenery
3. a little bit of life at night, not major partying but nice lively bars

Apologies for the long post but you guys have pointed me in the right direction each time before so looking forward to your suggestions Very Happy

A snowHead

Personally Val Gardena is superb and provided us with the most amazingly scenic skiing my family have had to date and can't imagine there is anywhere better (would love to know if there is). We based ourselves in Ortisei last Feb, some would say a bit out of the way but not a problem for us as there is good skiing on both sides of the valley from there and we were there for a week, although there is some transport required if you want to make your way to onto the Sella Ronda. For me there is nothing much to shout about on that side of the Sella Ronda in terms of apre ski apart from the Luislkeller in Selva, which was decent enough. We all liked the look of Corvara, when passing through, which is directly on the Sella circuit had have heard there is a bit more going on there. We were able to ski straight into Corvara and get lifts out on two sides Reds on one more blues on the other (from memory) so you shouldn't need a bus (accommodation depending). The skiing in that area is really something else and I would thoroughly recommend to anyone (you may have noticed they are getting a serious amount of snow currently). Incidentally we flew into Milan Bergamo and drove 3.5 hrs to get there, Corvara may be longer so for a 4 day trip worth bearing in mind.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thank you for the reply Alan.

The commute doesn't really bother us provided its around 4 hours or under.

The main things are that there is enough runs for 3-4 days so as we don't have to keep flogging the same areas and that we don't have to get buses etc like you do in Chamonix. If Val Gardena can provide that with a bit of athmosphere then it sounds like a great choice as we already know it's really scenic. What is the most scenioc part of the Dolomites out of curiosity?

Also how does Val Gardena stack up against Cervinia? Anyone been to both and know which would be better judging by what we're looking for?

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@vinf,
I've skied both but from elsewhere, personally I'd rate the dollies well above Cervinia for ambience and scenery and it has excellent and extensive skiing for which you do not need buses unless your accommodation is a long way form the slopes. The main caveat I would have is that I have absolutely no idea how extensive the skiing is so early in the season. I would certainly check that before I would go to either place.
The Dolomites is nothing like Chamonix in as much as if you are in the central areas there is a huge amount of interconnected skiing. It is true that there is an awful lot more that you can do as well if you do bus but for four days (or even fourteen days) there is a huge variety under your nose

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

the Sella Ronda circuit includes Val Gardena. That part of the Dolomites certainly is not broken up. In fact, I think it would be a stretch for an "advanced beginner" to even make the whole circuit in a day, plus there are plenty of offshoots to explore that aren't on the circuit (and don't require a bus).

As someone else alluded to above, you are going on the front end of the season, so some slopes might not be open yet. Given all the snow Cervinia is getting right now and the higher elevation, that probably would not be a concern this December 11.

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Thanks again for the replies.

I'm not worried about the snow in Cervinia as I know it's very high and even has skiing in Summer. I'm worried about the skiing Val Gardena at that time of year.

In regards to which is more scenic...would it be the Dolomites or the Matterhorn?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Normally there would be more runs and lifts open in the sella Ronda than Cervinia, and it's scheduled to open on the 5th December. Normally the sheltered Dolomites will also provide better weather for skiing. So far this start is far from normal Shocked

In terms of quantity of skiing available, its taken me 10 years just to come to terms with the scale of of the Dolomites snowHead

After all it is free

Well, it's hard to beat the Matterhorn, but I would opt for scenery in the Dolomites over the Italian side of the Matterhorn, and Cervinia itself is no treat to look at.

@Peter_S Thank you for the response.

I understand that the Dolomites has a much larger area but its not all connected? I read that many of the areas require a bus or car to get from one to the other?

Is there enough in Val Gardena to base ourselves in a town there and not need to drive or get a bus to other ski lifts but at the same time not have to ski the same areas two or three times in 4 days?

We don't want to have to be carrying our ski's around everywhere..that was a major draw back from Chamonix.

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@vinf, when you take the Dolomites as a whole, ie the area covered by the dolomitisuperski pass, then yes it is broken up and need transport to get around it. But it is 1200km of ski run (allegedly) and you are not going to get round that in 4 days. Val Gardena is in a part known as the Sella Ronda which is a large lift linked area basically made up of 4 valleys and you don't need buses or road transport to ski that area. As others have said, there is more than enough in the part of Dolomites for four days.

It does depend which town is your base, as others have said. For example from Ortisei then the fastest way to get access to the rest of Sella Ronda does involve some bus.

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Thanks again for all the responses...they're very much appreciated.

I'm getting a resounding yes to Val Gardena over Cervinia so.

I knew the scenery was top class in the Dolomites but I was unsure on the rest. Any suggestion on which town is best connected and has the best athmosphere?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/The-worlds-biggest-ski-resorts/

According to Schrane, the expert in these things, the lift connected area from Selva is >100kms larger than the Cervinia-Zermatt area. It’s in the top 4 in the world. Of the ski areas you’ve been to, I’ve also been to 3 valleys (Mottaret and La Tania), Chamonix and Grandvalira (Soldeu). I stayed in San Cassiano, on the other side of the Sella Ronda. IMO the scenery and food are way better in the Dolomites than anywhere else I’ve been. The lift system is excellent. Loads of fast chairs and gondolas. I spent most of the week on the other side of the ski area and only went through Selva once but I could see there was loads of skiing over there.

I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘advanced beginner’. The Selva/Campitello/Canazei side of the SR has blues but you really need to take a mix of reds and blues to get around. I think you still need to search out the blacks (I accidentally did and they do exist). The Alta Badia side (Colfosco/Corvara/La Villa/San Cassiano) is navigable by blues only with a few reds and blacks so very suitable for those with less confidence. Arabba seemed pretty steep when I went through.

The Ronda is all very well but best used as a quick way into exploring each valley. There will be plenty to go at for 4 days and I would be surprised if you didn’t think ‘pity we didn’t get to there, shall we come back next year?’ at the end of four days. There are big day tours that involve catching buses and minibuses during the trip (eg Hidden Valley, Great War Tour) but there will be plenty for you without going near a bus. It’s nothing like Chamonix. I apparently went in a particularly snowy year but there is about 150cms snow forecast in the next 3 days so it should look lovely!

I haven’t been to Zermatt or Cervinia. Looked at the piste map and although it has a great rep on here for being easy, it looks too red for my family (like Alpe de Siusi, which looks a decent sized area on its own but is a mere offshoot of the Ronda). There is also Val de Fassa and Marmolada, all of which look a hefty day of skiing.

You know it makes sense.

I went to Cervinia for 7 days around last New Year, and it was the worst skiing experience I've ever had. Winds were so strong, that for 3 days everything was completely shut. There was only 1 day when the Zermatt link was open, and for the remaining days the lower runs were open, but the winds were so strong that in some places it scratched all the snow to the bare rocks, and I simply struggled to stand up straight. The few open runs were very crowded and icy.

This year the snow arrived quite early to the Alps, you can see it on the webcams, I would think you'll be fine in lower Dolomites, while being protected from the bad weather.
I've only been to Sella Ronda once in Feb, I was lucky with the weather and I loved it to the bits. The scenery is the best I've ever seen, the pink mountains are quite something. The runs are mostly gentle, but you can find more challenging runs in the Arabba area. We stayed in Canazei, which has a somewhat limited "home" skiing. However it is located right on the circuit, so doing the sella ronda was quite easy. If I were to stay for just four days, I would choose something with bigger home skiing area, as you're unlikely to travel to the nearby areas a lot. All Sella Ronda resorts are connected by ski runs, you won't need a bus. However, some resorts in the Dolomiti Superski area are not connected to Sella Ronda (Kronplatz, Cortina etc), so be careful.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Hi vinf, from selva there is 470kms of connected lift accessible runs and about 280 lifts. I would expect a high proportion of those to be open even then. The area feels a lot bigger to me than the three valleys. The default weather is normally good in december although this season has started rather differently from normal. I love Zermatt too but i would say that is the place to go in April. Also no rocks on the grassy Dolomite pistes, particularly this year!

A snowHead

Next year will be 21st year of visiting Selva every year. My kids all learnt to ski there, two now work in the industry, it's their spiritual home in the mountains. For me, it is as close to the perfect resort and area as it's possible to find. Cool

A snowHead

Dolomites it is!!!

Stella sounds like the best area so going to head there...just had a look at accommodation and it's more expensive that most other resorts at that time of year, do most here use booking.com and airbnb?

Thank you everyone again for the replies. Really appreciate it

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hello Vinf, looking at your preferences I would choose Corvara or Arabba. Preferably Corvara, centrally located close to the "blue sky"(Alta Badia), but only 3 lifts away from Arabba with black slopes and Marmolada nearby. I am not familiar with the nightlife, especially the beginning of the season, I suspect that it will be quiet everywhere.

Booking: I usually check Google maps first for the location (and first reviews), then booking.com (and airbnb if you do not want hotels or guest houses), then contact the location directly for the best price.

Good luck and I look forward to your trip report ... Toofy Grin

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Hi guys,

Thank you for that...ok i think we will stay in Selva as it seems to have the best nightlife.

I'm really looking forward to it now.

If anyone has any further suggesyions on where to stay or where to go not to mention the best places for scenic skiing then please shoot them on Blush

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

the best places for scenic skiing

Hidden valley , reachable from Selva

https://inspireditaly.com/travellers-tales/dolomites-best-ski-runs-hidden-valley/

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

We aren't looking for crazy nightlife or anything. Just some bars with a bit of atmosphere for 1-2 drinks after dinner.

After all it is free

Cervinia.

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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Will be in Italy between December 03rd and 08th and have the same question. Dolomites or Cervinia. But just saw that most of the areas in the Dolomites are planning to open on the 05th and 7th.
Any chances they will anticipate due to the huge amount of snow they received early season?
I´m afraid of going to the Dolomites and have very limited skiing available.

snow reports

We've stayed at the Armin 3 times and always great. They have a mini bus and run you up to either of the main lifts in the mornings and can ski back to fairly close to hotel.

The Luislkeller is a must for Apres Ski.

Loads of different days out skiing in different directions from Selva so a great base.

Panorama hut just down from top of Danterceipes lift on ski back to Selva is great for a drink

Food great in most huts- don't think I've ever had a bad meal in the Dolomites

"..I´m afraid of going to the Dolomites and have very limited skiing available.."

Don't be -- they have extensive SnowMaking

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Kronplatz is opening early - 30th Nov :: but if you don't want to gamble - Cervinia (wrap up warm.... Smile

)

A snowHead

Hi guys...just back from our ski trip in Selva and wow...you guys were all spot on! Amazing!

Everything from the scenery to the slopes was incredible.

The snow was fantastic and the food out on the slopes was delicious.

We managed to do the Sella Ronda and another area near Ortisi...it was all fantastic.

The view from Rifugio Sass Bece is the best I've ever seen skiing...worth the trip alone.

Thanks guys for all the advice.

A snowHead

Cervinia is bleak In december. Too high, no trees for shelter and.high winds

Value Dal Gardena is epic? Linked by Sella Ronda to far more than Cervinia and Zermatt combined.
Get on the odd little bus and it's the biggest one pass area I the world.
Throw in amazing food, good value and the best ski scenery in the world and it's a no brainer.
Just remember the Sella Ronda is to be treated like the M25- it's useful for getting to other places but not the greatest ski route in itself.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@vinf, glad it went well.
Which accommodation were you in and on what board basis ?
snowHead

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