 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all,
Following my first post over Christmas asking for advice on resorts with good beginner green/blue runs we've decided on Corvara on 25th Jan. Thanks to everyone who helped us decide, it was much appreciated!
This is with Inghams, our only previous ski holiday was with Crystal so look forward to seeing how they compare!
Our outbound flight is horrendously early but this does open up the possibility to ski that afternoon, we should arrive in resort between 12 and 1.
We just has a few questions for any of you who are familiar with the town/resort.
Ski passes
Does anyone have experience of getting lift passes from the ski pass office - is this easy enough?
Inghams have quoted us £234 for the local Alta Badia pass for 6 days which s about £10pp markup on direct prices. I think that pass would be sufficient for us, not sure we'd make the most of a Dolomites skipass.
Are we better off waiting until we get there to see if we can ski then sorting a half day type pass for the first day or 7 day pass perhaps?
Are there any free lifts we could use that day for an hour or two to get back into it?
Ski hire
Does anyone have any experience of ski rental shops in Corvara and would recommend any. We've struggled to find any with ski/boot storage which might be useful in facilitating apres!
We're staying at Hotel la Plaza which possibly has a ski room but that's a little walk from the slopes.
Beginner runs
What runs/lifts would we be best off heading to initially to start getting back into it? We're both relative beginners so certainly blue runs!
Many thanks in advance
Alex
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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On passes I'm not sure as it depends on level there are half day or points passes for short time.
For ski hire the shop under the ski school has lockers you can hire for the week and is right next the lifts. However, a lot of the accommodation have mini buses.
On the skiing the blues up in colfosco are an good place to start. After that most of the area is good. At the top of the col alto lift there is a steep route and an easy route!
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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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For a first day blue, take the Costes da lega chair then the Cappanna Nera drag and ski the bottom of piste 8 ; very wide a gentle run 
Or, it you are reluctant the use the Chair, head for Colfosco as suggested above
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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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I know I'm always banging on about lessons, but have you booked any? If this is only your second week on skis, you'd probably get a lot more out of it if you booked into some lessons. Then you can just relax and follow the instructor, not be always worrying about finding yourselves out of your depth and worried. So much depends on weather and snow conditions. A mild enjoyable blue run can be quite a different beast in poor visibility.
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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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@althomas89, I would advise not bothering about skiing on the afternoon you get there. check in, chill out, then sort your equipment hire out and settle in ready for an early start on the Sunday.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There are no free lifts
Def head over to Colfosco for the first morning
Sodlisica run is wide and gentle
Then plans up to the half way station
Then Colfosco and Stella alpina
That is def the most gentle place to start so you will need the borest lift over from Corvara to Colfosco
Def much easier than Corvara which is pretty much all blue but harder work with some little tricky bits
That may be enough for you on day one if you’re starting out esp if you head up to Col parat for lunch and blue down (but a little narrower so a shade harder but fine)
Day 2 get yourself up to prolonga esp the incisa/Arabba side of that mountain -I pretty much spent my first week in Alta Badia there
I think from what you say the Alta Badia pass should be fine for you.
Tho I don’t think Alta Badia do a half day
You’ll love it I’m sure
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Lift Passes:
- Dead easy to get from the pass office in the Boe Station (probably your nearest one). There may a short queue but even at really busy times it'll probably takes less than 20 minutes.
- If you buy online a few days before they'll even deliver the passes to your hotel for free but I couldn't see the Hotel La Plaza on their list of hotels that do this. 
- There are no free lifts but a 7 day alta badia pass will only be 16 euros more than the 6 day pass. (Don't forget you'll also have extra ski/boot hire costs)
Ski Hire:
- We've hired from the ski school in corvara for the last 5 years and been happy with their equipment and service.
- They're located 50 yards from the Boe gondola station and have heated lockers for skis and boots. It's then just a short walk in your shoes or snow boots from your hotel in the morning.
- You can pick them from 3pm the day before so so if you have the lift pass you could get some practice runs in on the cheap. (This might only be if you prebook)
Beginner Runs:
- As @HugoC says Colfosco is the best place to head to first. (although I always do a few runs of the Abruse slope beside the ski school just as a warm up)
- Sodlisa is a nice long gentle run but might still be in the shade in late January so will probably be very cold in the morning.
- If you have sunshine, head straight up the Edelweiss valley to the Stella Alpina run. It's a lovely wide, gentle blue run that gets the sun all day so is lovely to ski on as long as it's not too hot. The new Stella Alpina chairlift is fast and efficient so you can do many laps without queuing. You also have the Edelweiss Rifugio there which is a nice place to stop for some food and drinks.
Like @pam w says, lessons are always a good idea and I've always found the the ski school instructors to be excellent. The group lessons are 2hrs45 and start at 10am which is very civilised. On the last day they like to do a bit of touring so don't finish until 4pm but stop for a leisurely lunch at a nice rifugio.
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Corvara is nice for a beginner. I did it a while ago.
There was a ski school close to the slopes, and I used to keep my walking boots in their office (my hotel was a long way up a hill, as most of the cheaper ones are).
It will be a miracle if you can ski the same day you arrive, but not impossible
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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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We stayed in La Plaza hotel a few years ago and I'm sure we got our lift passes direct from the Hotel reception. Maybe worth calling them and asking
La Plaza also does have a ski/boot room and many guests last time simply walked up to the Boe/Borest gondolas via the back of the hotel with their equipment. You could catch the ski bus but I'm not sure where it goes from anymore. It used to stop outside the Hotel Italia next door but this wasn't the case last year as the road outside the hotel was closed at the Colfosco road junction. Storing equipment at the ski school sounds a good idea!!
I'm sure during our last trip (end of January) the top half of the Sodlisia slope was in sunshine for a part of the day. The two Plans slopes from the mid station of the Plans/Frara gondola, as I recall, were mostly in the shade. Or at least the right hand variant is (heading back towards Colfosco) as the main Sella Group towers right above the slope.
And I have to agree with HugoC re the slopes above Corvara/San Cassiano/La Villa. Several tricky steeper sections on quite a few of the blue slopes there. Would be ok for a confident 2nd weeker but a non-confident 2nd week snowplougher will definately have a few issues in places.
I seriously agree with other posters re ski school. You will get so much more out of your trip with ski school or private lessons.
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