Full Trip Report: Val Di Fassa, Dolomites 25th Jan - 1st Feb

A snowHead

Evening all,

So after the Live TR I did for our last trip to Saalbach was reasonably well received, I thought I'd try and run another one for our trip to Val Di Fassa.

A few details:
DIY or TO: Booked as package through Neilson
Accom: https://www.neilson.co.uk/ski/italy/val-di-fassa/neilson-chalet-hotel-dolomites-inn-penia-di-canazei and https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g194709-d529652-Reviews-Dolomites_Inn-Canazei_Province_of_Trento_Trentino_Alto_Adige.html
Flights: Jet2
Location: Penia (just along from Alba, a bit further along from Canazei)

I'm starting this a couple days early as well, our holiday starts tomorrow! Due to the collapse of TC, we are now flying from Birmingham Airport rather than Gatwick (which is 35 mins from our house!). The story of this can be found here: https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=3449391&highlight=neilson#3449391
So we are staying at the Hilton at Birmingham tomorrow, so I'll give that a little review as well! This will be our first stay in a hotel the night before a holiday, so will be interesting to see the difference from our usual early morning alarm and drive to the airport!

This is our first ever time skiing in Italy and the Dolomites. And we can't wait! We were a bit worried about the lack of fresh snow, however being primarily piste skiers and hearing that they are still in great shape combined with the potential sunny days coming up has just raised our excitement levels even more. Actually, having just checked looks like we may have a small top up whilst there.

We have a few things already planned that we want to do whilst there:

Sella Ronda
Ciampac down to Pozza
Hidden Valley
Marmolada Glacier
Selva Val Gardena

Anyway that'll do for the moment. Watch this space!

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Update: final thoughts.

Hi all,
So as I sit here on my lunch break back at work I thought I'd just sum up our first ever trip to the Dolomites! I won't repeat the information about the acommadtion as I have written a fairly comprehensive trip advisor review here: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g194709-d529652-r742768975-Dolomites_Inn-Canazei_Province_of_Trento_Trentino_Alto_Adige.html

Generally though, I was very impressed with the package from Neilson. We have done our last 3 January trips as DIY but due to various reasons I booked us on a package for this year. Having been on 5 previous Neilson trips I knew we were in fairly safe hands.
For reference, we paid about £980 each for the package that included: flights, transfer, accommodation and board, ski hire and lift passes. We got the passes when they were on offer at half price. I feel that we had superb value for money, which actually exceeded expectations (even after the Thomas Cook flights fiasco).

The hotel was made by the staff, who despite being young where attentive, engaging and worked hard.

As for the Dolomites.....well as expected we are in love.
I'm a sucker for views. I love the Alps (and the mountains in general). But the Dolomites just blew me (and the rest of our group) away with their beauty. They make you feel small, but in a good way.
We will definitely be back. If we were to stay on the Sella Ronda again, it would be in Selva or the Corvara area. We really enjoyed the skiing and runs around here, as well as the general feel of the place. Whilst the Val Di Fassa was lovely, nothing quite beats being on piste (or falling out the door and onto a lift). Saying that we had no issues with the short walk or bus to the Alba/Ciampac lift.
We may also consider going on a DIY basis and renting a car so that we can explore the other areas about such as Cortina and Kronplatz.

The Hidden Valley was just epic. The tip we got from our chalet host about a taxi from Arabba rather than ski into Corvara then bus was spot on and got us there nice and early. That was easily my run of the week closely followed by the 11km red from the top of Seceda down to Ortisei.
The trip over towards Pozza would have been lovely if the weather not miserable. Some good skiing to be had over there. However we really enjoyed the Plan de Gralba area. We spent quite a few afternoons playing around here!

The piste conditions were very good considering the lack of natural snowfall since Christmas. The Italians know how to manage the snow. That being said, they could really do with a good top up (but when is that never not the case! Very Happy

)
What really struck me was how busy it was. We always go away the last week of January as it avoids pretty much every European school holiday, you get good piste conditions and in general it's quiet on the pistes. However this week was much more packed that what I would have expected. This combined with the lack of natural snow did mean that in high traffic areas, large moguls formed early on and the piste was littered with beginners/learners attempted to get down around them. Our friends who were out in Selva (and go back every year) say this is the busiest they have ever seen it this week. They think it was down to the sunny weather and the last week of the "low season" costs.

However, once you moved away from the M25 areas decent piste conditions with almost empty runs were still to be found (especially over in the Alta Badia).

The lift system is on the whole, speedy and easy. A few too many gondolas for my liking but can't have it all! We had a few queues throughout the week longer than a minute or two. These were in the morning on the Alba lift. The gondola coming back up from the Ortisei 11k. The two man chair heading over towards the Marmolada and the glacier gondola itself.

If I'm being really picky then, the one downside to the skiing around here is the lack of vertical. I really enjoy long runs/being able to ski a lot before catching a lift. I did feel that I spent more time on lifts this trip than I have done before. However, this is just a personal thing and we still clocked up high mileage throughout every day.

As expected the quality and prices of the drink and food on the mountain were much better than in France. I think I paid 8 euros for a decent carbonara one day. Ok, it's not going to win masterchef, but it was tasty and was much needed fuel in the tank. I found the whole feeling of the place to be reasonably relaxed (similar to Austria) as opposed to France where they always seem angry that you are on their mountain snowHead

(I know, a massive generalisation there!).

When I get a chance today or tomorrow, I'll throw some pictures up and I've got to go through the GoPro footage as well. (It was a debut for the new Hero8 black, so looking forward to see how it looks).

Once again, thanks for the all hints and tips in the build up to our trip! They were so helpful.

Happy to return the favour if anyone has any questions that I may be able to answer!

A snowHead

@Fridge03, have fun. Looking forward to the report. I and a few other sHs will be in the general vicinity just as you end your trip Happy

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So arrived at Birmingham Airport, well specifically the Hilton. All good so far. Online check in and digital key. Nice big room over looking the runway.
Parked up next door in Car Park 1. Very simple, easy and convenient for both the hotel and the departure lounge.

About to head down for some grub. Then an earlyish night ahead of the flight tomorrow!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Decent food and good wine at the Hilton. Nothing you wouldn’t expect really.

Alarm set. Early start! Italy here we come!

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@sean1967, thanks for the advice! We had the black on our list of runs to do but maybe not. Although we are expecting some snow now throughout the week.

So, transfer day so far has been easy.

Staying at the hotel, which was a 2 minute walk to the check in desk was a breeze. Nice and relaxed.
Through Birmingham security in 5-10 mins. A quick drink and then off to board.
First time flying with Jet2. Reasonably comfy seat, defo seemed to be more leg room that a Ryanair or EasyJet.

Lovely approach into Innsbruck airport. Off the plane, through border control, bags picked up and on the way within 1 hour. Spot on.

Currently sat on the coach about an hour away from Alba. So all good so far!

Tonight, we will go pick up the skis and partake in consuming some beverages whilst catching up with some old
Fiends.

After all it is free

Evening all,

So 1st day skiing done. Loved it.

Got out early with no set plan, but ended up doing the Sella Ronda loop. Took the clockwise (orange) direction. Was good fun, if a little busy but hopefully tomorrow it’ll be quieter as the locals go back to work/school.
When I say busy, it wasn’t really. No queues or anything but you could certainly tell the high traffic areas on the loop as they started to get cut up. Still perfectly skiable.

As for the piste conditions. Remarkable considering the little amount of snow in the last few weeks. The best skiing was to be had just above us here in Penia actually in the Belevedere section. Lovely.

The weather today was overcast with very flat light and poor visibility higher up. So the Dollies didn’t show us their true beauty today however tomorrow looks to be a bluebird day! So we are heading up to the Marmolada to take in some sights!

As for the hotel. It’s actually really good. Not perfect but good size rooms, if dated. Lots of hot water and powerful showers. And it’s quiet (as in, you can’t hear doors slamming etc). There is a good buzz in the bar and the sauna/whirlpool was spot on.
Food as been decent. Not mind blowing but wouldn’t expect that for the price.

@Fridge03, great update. Enjoy the Marmolada. Have you been up to top viewing platform before? Awesome snowHead

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@Fridge03, Once up the Marmolada just keep walking up inside steps until you can go no further. Needs to be clear day but 360 degree views are stupendous!

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Day 2 skiing

Epic Day. Bluebird, not a cloud in the sky.

The Dolomites showed their true majesty and looked blooming superb.
We headed over to Arabba and made our way over towards to the Marmolada gondola. The piste skiing was some of the best I’ve ever done. With the exception of a couple of long queues for the two man chair over and the gondola itself, it was brilliant.

Pistes in the thoroughfares are busier than I would have expected but off the main runs, we had slopes to ourselves at times.
In general, the pistes are in great shape but the main routes do start to get a bit lumpy, as you’d expect in the afternoon.

The run down to the marmolada gondola was epic. Just stunning skiing and scenery.
The glacier itself was amazing views but busy. Managed to get up to the viewing platform and take some photos. I’ll upload when back in the UK.

Tomorrow, we are heading over towards Pozza via the Ciampac. The weather is meant to be closing in tomorrow with between 5-12cm of snow predicted dependant on the website.

The hotel and Neilson still continue to impress, especially for the price. The staff have been excellent and the food good.

On to tomorrow!

You know it makes sense.

@Fridge03, thanks again, this will be calming the jitters of people heading there next weekend. Some seem concerned at lack of natural snow since pre-Xmas. snowHead

Marmolada is epic eh? Good shout to stay close to base if low vis and bits of snow today. Though you’ve still got a couple of 2300m+ passes to get over on chairlifts to get above Pozza.

Quiet slopes in Buffaure sector usually. Lovely nicely groomed reds and a not too difficult but long and interesting black down to the valley at Pozza.

Also a cosy little wooden restaurant near where the lifts converge at Buffaure. La Bolp, friendly service and reasonable prices for up the mountain. See pic.

From where you’re based, can recommend St Christina one day. Another quietish backwater with lovely views, interesting piste skiing.

Enjoy.

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

@Fridge03, how’s it been getting from hotel to first lifts on bus please?

A snowHead

A snowHead

I’m enjoying the trip report. Keep it up. I’m in Corvara this week and can echo the “boy it’s crowded” sentiment. This is supposed to be a slow time of the season, but it has been bumper to bumper on many lifts and pistes, even off the Sella Ronda. My only guess is that the Dolomites got a lot of snow early and folks are showing up here instead of other places in the alps.
Enjoy the new snow.

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Another recommendation for La Bolp at Buffaure. Tiny, unassuming place where the pisteurs eat.

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Evening all

Apologies for the lack of update yesterday. Time got away from me.

So Tuesday was a dull weather, with some strong gusts type of day. So we headed up the Ciampac side. First run was the black back down to the lift station.
Lots of fun and in perfect condition at that time!
We then headed back up and started making our way over the Pozza. Unfortunately, the joy of the runs in this area was somewhat spoilt by the gusts of strong wind, which was just blowing any loose snow off the hill and into your face. Once we actually got up above Pozza, we were a bit more sheltered but it was bitterly cold. We then proceeded down the black into Pozza which was lovely. We went straight back up the bubble and did the Panorama Red down, which at the top was brilliant before the long flat although that was still lovely through the trees.

We then jumped on the bus and headed over to Pera and went up to play around the Ciampedie area. These runs were lovely and in good condition despite some quite heavy traffic. The best run was the red down to Vigo. We enjoyed it so much, we went back up and did it again. We then jumped back on a bus to Pozza before heading up and back over.
Or so we thought. Without any warning or signage, they had shut the chair to get back over towards Alba. Despite having to take the bubble and a chair to get to that chair, they were still letting all the traffic go up, only to turn around and have to ski all the way back into Pozza. This was a bit annoying as if they had marked the lift closed down in town then a lot of people wouldn’t have made the trip up only to be turned around. By this point, it was windy, and rainy on the Pozza side.
So it was the bus all the way back to Alba. Not the way we wanted to finish the day but made better by the snow that then started to fall.

Onto today, different story. Beautiful blue skies, still very chilly however. We were determined to make the most of any freshly groomed snow that may have fallen so we got down early to the lift station and were on the first lift up to Belvedere. What a pleasure it was. Some epic skiing on the corduroy. We followed the loop clockwise round and got over towards Selva. The skiing here was lovely (and we really like this part of the loop anyway).
We headed down the Saslong World Cup run which was great fun. Had a go on the slalom and ended up in Selva. Jumped on the funicular and went up to the Seceda area. At the top, we did the 11km Ortesie run or the “James bond” run. What a pleasure! Beautiful scenery all the way down and great skiing. Bit of a wait at the gondola to come back up however.
A spot of lunch just down from the top with an epic view of the Sella Massif. The runs down here were great and the snow in still great condition. We then made our way back over towards home. But this point, the high traffic areas were becoming rather cut up and chaotic in some places.

As we got down to Alba, two of us decided to catch the last lift back up Ciampac to have another bash on the black. Despite the time of day, it was still very nice. And they had started running the cannons as well, so that made it very interesting on the way down.

This evening, we went for a no frills dinner at a pizza place in Penia just down from hotel which was very nice. Followed by a walk down to Alba to watch the Val Di Fassa Falcons Ice Hockey game. What great fun. Something a bit different to do in the evening and quite popular locally!

Tomorrow, it’s the hidden valley. We are going to ski over to Arabba and taxi from there to get there as early as possible. Then we won’t feel as rushed and can enjoy it. Followed by coming back through Corvara etc.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Fridge03, great update, keep having fun!

Another recommendation if you have a day to do it and can get over there earlyish do the circuit of black runs above Arabba on Portavescovo side.

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+1 VG TR very enjoyable read.
Slight surprise about apparently busy pistes. Surely we’re not talking about lift queues of more than a minute are we?

Cinque Torre, just over the road from the big Lagazuoi cable car, well worth a whizz around, if time. Rif Averau above there VG and must have one of the best views from a toilet window in the Alps.
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Morning all. So sat on the coach heading back to Innsbruck. Apologies for the lack of update. Been far too busy making the most of the conditions!

The plan went perfectly on Thursday. Woke up to a bluebird day dawning with little to no wind.
The gang got their backsides in gear and we made the first lift out of Alba. Shame we couldn’t hang around to ski the perfect groomers in Belvedere but we were on a mission. That being said, we had the runs into Arabba to ourselves at that time!

Walked to the taxi pickup spot. No one waiting. Perfect. Called up a number from the lift and 10 mins later we were off to the Hidden Valley. An interesting drive with let’s say....questionable overtaking going on from the driver Very Happy

We arrived at the Gondola about 10-1030. We deliberated doing the Cinque Torri but thought we should prioritise the HV. It was completely the right choice. No queue for the Gondola but as we got on, literally on cue and en masse several coaches turned up! When we got to the top, it was reasonably busy as people were stopping for photos etc.
We clipped in and headed off. As soon as we got away from the platform, it was perfect. Almost deserted at times. I mixed up taking my time with some sweeping carving turns through some of the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen. It was truly stunning. We stopped halfway down at the Scotoni for a hot chocolate. Don’t think I’ve had a drink with scenery like that before.
Then we continued down to the horse tow which the ladies in the group enjoyed (being the horsey types). Something a bit different and a fun way to end the run.
We contemplated catching the bus up and doing it again but we decided not to in the end. It was too perfect the first time that we wanted to remember it that way.

We then had a little ski about the Alta Badia which was thoroughly enjoyable. The rolling, wide sun drenched pistes were a pleasure. We stopped for a late lunch at Trausines just along from the Ice Bar. Great view on the terrace bathed in sun and some amazing pork ribs with cheese covered potatoes.

We then headed back over towards home to cap off an amazing day.

Friday, first lift again and it was even warmer. Almost t-shirt skiing weather.
We cracked on over to Selva. It seemed quieter on the pistes but still not as quiet as I’d expect this week of Jan to be.
Still, we had fresh corduroy for a large part of the journey. Had another blast down the Saslong black, completing it in one sitting although I don’t think we will be troubling the downhill pros Very Happy

The rest of the gang hadn’t been up to the Seceda area or done the James (but not really) Bond run down to Ortisei. So we headed up and then down. It was just as good we Wednesday, if not a little better as we did it earlier than the other day so was in better nick still. We had a quick pit stop on the way down and then headed back up. The gondola was only about 10-15 mins wait so not too painful.
I really enjoyed the runs over on this side. Wide, lovely pisted conditions and not overly crowded. Was really able to let it go a bit and carve/turn when I wanted not because there was a bottleneck.

Down and back up the other side where we had lunch at Piz Seteur. We sat in the restaurant section rather than self service and got a table on the balcony. Simply stunning views and good grub.
We then kicked around the Plan de Gralba area till home time. It was great fun. Hit a couple of the parks, did some off piste through the trees (limited but fun. And still some soft stuff to be found in there).

All in all. An amazing week of skiing in stunning surroundings. We all throughly enjoyed ourselves and will certainly be back to the Dolomites. If we came back to Sella Ronda, we would base ourselves in Selva or the Alta Badia.

I’ll right a full review when home after a good nights sleep!

Thanks for the tips on here and the Dolomites thread which helped us plan to get the most out of our week!

Let’s just hope Innsbruck is open as it’s now blooming foggy! Smile

After all it is free

Hi all,

So the trip home was easy and simple. Innsbruck airport was rammed but we still found seats to sit in and admire the view. We headed upstairs which was a lot quieter than downstairs where people were sitting on the floor! A bit of exploration never hurts!

We landed early at Birmingham and were home for the 2nd half of the Ireland Scotland game.

I'll update the first post with my trip advisor review and finishing thoughts.

Happy to answer any questions if others are planning a trip or have one coming up in the near future!

Now just 4 weeks to wait to a cheeky little 2nd trip to Italy, this time to Bardonecchia.

As someone looking at Val Di Fassa options this has been extremely useful. Thanks!

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@Fridge03, Excellent report, really enjoyed reading it. I’m trying to get a 2nd sneaky week in early to mid March and have always fancied the Dolomites, I’ll certainly have a few questions if I do get off there, thanks.

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Hi all,

Just a cheeky little bump with the previously mentioned video and photos!

http://youtube.com/v/SxnrN9cZyVQ

Help!!

Full Trip Report: Val Di Fassa, Dolomites 25th Jan - 1st Feb

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