 Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks Moffatross, you learn something new every day.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@WD40, unfortunately, with the phenomenal wind speeds we get over the hills of northern Britain, we see sastrugi regularly in Scotland. Always seems to me like a waste of snow. Absolutely horrible to ski on, and really quite awkward to climb over with skins on skis when using touring kit. Thankfully they're usually quite localised to aspects in which horizontal snow transportation takes place, not necessarily the same aspect from one week to the next though, as the aspect on which they're deposited is determined by wind direction.
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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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Snowing in Corvara this morning, it’s maybe put an inch or two in the town so far and looks set, it’s steady but not heavy. Already enough to cover the brown fields and give everywhere that nice winter look though. Very little wind so it’s coming straight down unlike last weeks which was horizontal.
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Similar situation in Kronplatz
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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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And Arabba! A good few inches now
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The bad news - no skiing today, you’d need to be keen to go out in this.
The good news - plenty of snow for the rest of the week!
Its pretty much a blizzard in Corvara now, we are staying at the top of the village and police are currently stopping any vehicles going over the pass to Arabba. It’s windy enough that Umbrellas have become a liability rather than an asset 
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| ma94jcg wrote: |
| And Arabba! A good few inches now |
More than that - proper dump 
Skyline Live webcam looks (and SOUNDS) amazing!!
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>10cm in Santa Cristina town and still snowing. Plenty more up high.
-10'C forecast tonight so tomorrow could be gorgeous.
Plan de Gralba was great fun skiing this morning.
Dantercepies and Saslong provided more of a challenge after lunch!
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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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Been snowing all day in Arabba. A really good dump. Seems to be stopping now. I’d reckon 20cm in town looking at the cars. We retired to the bar for the afternoon. Tomorrow will be epic
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Nice to wake up to snow in Corvara this morning. Teenage son and I opted not to ski. Husband went out and was back in a couple of hours  Looking forward to getting out tomorrow!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| dhorst wrote: |
>10cm in Santa Cristina town and still snowing. Plenty more up high.
-10'C forecast tonight so tomorrow could be gorgeous.
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Jealous now. 
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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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I reckon about 20cm in Corvara as well. We erred on the side of caution and “we” went shopping.
I was tempted first thing but decided that my skill level probably wasn’t up for the conditions.
The pic gives an idea of the snow today.
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That's great. Should mean fine conditions for the next month, right  ?
I'd take one more dump next week before we arrive.
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You know it makes sense.
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| richb67 wrote: |
The bad news - no skiing today, you’d need to be keen to go out in this.
The good news - plenty of snow for the rest of the week!
Its pretty much a blizzard in Corvara now, we are staying at the top of the village and police are currently stopping any vehicles going over the pass to Arabba. It’s windy enough that Umbrellas have become a liability rather than an asset |
We skied all day around Corvara. Amazing powder and visibility wasn’t too bad. Very cold and wet by 4:30 though. Looking forward to the next few days.
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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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| Mollerski wrote: |
| snowball wrote: |
| I just got back from skiing holiday booked in Arabba. Hugely disappointing as there was practically nothing to ski off piste and our group was on an off-piste holiday with a guide. . |
Why would you choose this area for an off piste trip? There are 100s of better suited locations in central Europe. |
Not true, this is one of the best areas for expert off-piste: lots of steep couloirs, often between rock walls. I have had 5 really good holidays in the area. Glad to hear snow is finally falling but a shame about the wind.
 (I took this photo of Cedric on his camera - he's the one on the right. Zeb videoing him at left and distant central person I can't remember)
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 15-02-22 19:13; edited 7 times in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@moffatross, Scotland definitely had the better conditions last week (but far smaller sastrugi - they were like mountains on the Marmolada).
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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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@Sharkymark, much as the Marmolada sastrugi sound nasty, I bet they was amazing to see. Would they have been large enough to use their wave troughs as passages ?
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@moffatross, you could drive a train down them.
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@Sharkymark, that's awesome !!! 
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@moffatross, haha at least that's what it felt like when I skied over them!
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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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Another good couloir. The scale of the mountains makes it look narrow, but it isn't.
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Snowier here than the Goldman Sachs' jacks on bonus day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Looking good in Kronplatz
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The forecast for the next few days is looking great, if a touch windy, and all that fresh snow is going to be great to ski on. Makes me wish I was heading back for another week. Enjoy!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Not snow related but the first skiers coming down from Col Alt gondola this morning found a dead deer on the piste. The local wolf pack had it for breakfast. It was cleared quickly but the residue and paw prints were clearly visible mid morning.
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Poster: A snowHead
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That answers something I'd been wondering last week. When we were going up the chairlift at the Cinque Torri you could see a lot of deer footprints in the snow and a fair number of quite large padded paw prints. We were discussing whether they were dog prints or could they be wolves? I guess there's a good chance they were indeed wolves.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hi @olderscot, evidently wolves were reintroduced ca 8 yrs ago and are doing well. We’re led to believe it’s all a bit controversial.
I’d say the paw prints were bigger than my palm but smaller than my whole hand. We’ve been looking a tracks and not seen anything like that so a good spot over at Cinque Torre, it would seem highly likely they were wolves There were a couple of what I think were eagles soaring over Col Alt this morning so I assume it’s no coincidence and they were scavenging left over deer.
This was literally on the fresh piste maybe 200m from the top of the Col Alt lift so not far from civilisation.
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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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Hi all, I'm planning a trip to the Dolomites in mid March. Hopefully the recent snow continues!
Looking at a hotel in town for 3-4 nights (probably Arabba or Corvana), then 2-3 nights in a Rifugio. I've never stayed in a Rifugio before, but the idea of staying up in the mountains with lifts and pistes at your doorstep sounds great, so I'm keen for the new experience.
Is it common to stay in the one Rifugio for 2-3 consecutive nights, or are they generally used as overnight stopping points on a longer ski safari?
And access to most seems to be via skiing or snowshoeing (except for the ones built into gondola stations). Is it advisable to just bring a small backpack and leave any larger bags somewhere in town?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyone know if the gondola linking the Tofane pistes with the Cinque Torri Ski Resort has been built and is operating? It's not shown on the maps. If it's not working, is there a frequent bus service that picks up at the Lagazuoi bubble and gets one close to the Tofane lifts? Thanks in advance!
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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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Yep, it's there and running.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Klamm Franzer, Wonderful - thanks! One end is near the 5 Torri lift, correct? Where does it start of the Tofane piste?
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| Alchemist wrote: |
| Anyone know if the gondola linking the Tofane pistes with the Cinque Torri Ski Resort has been built and is operating? It's not shown on the maps.... |
It's shown on the Cortina piste map I picked up a few weeks ago, and it's shown on this online piste map: https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/cortina-dampezzo/trail-map/
Incidentally it takes 13 minutes from Cinque Torri to the Cortina slopes (I timed it).
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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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@azza2110, I'm hoping to be staying in the rifugios this March as well. During my last trip to the Dolomites I stayed exclusively in the rifugios and it was awesome, although there are pros and cons.
From the States, its easiest for me to fly into Milan and then take the train to Bolzano. I leave all my extra gear at the hotel in Bolzano, things like my ski bag, street clothes, and anything I don't need to save weight in my pack. Then, in my ski boots, I carry my skis and pack to the bus stop which drops me off at the nearest ticket office (Alpe di Suisi).
My last trip I spent three nights at one rifugio and three nights at three different rifugios. The main benefit of staying consecutive nights at a single rifugio was being able to ski without the pack and becoming familiar with the surrounding slopes. The downside was it limited the area you could ski and comfortably return before the last lift. I had one stressful race back.
After staying in Val Gardena, I skied all the way to Cinque Torri, which involved a taxi from Armentarola. I stayed a night each at Rifugio Scoiattoli, Rifugio Averau, and Rifugio Lagazuoi. The fun thing about skipping around rifugios is how unique they all are. Scoiattoli is right next to Cinque Torri and the food is great, but the walls are thin, the bathrooms not so nice, and the rooms very basic. Averau has even better food and the rooms/bathrooms are beautiful. Lagazuoi has the most amazing views of probably any hut, especially at sunset and sunrise. I shared a table with a wonderful Italian family at dinner and slept in the dorm with strangers. The sauna is a must.
I love waking up and being on the slope. I love it when the lifts are about to stop and there remains just a handful of guests, creating an intimacy for a lucky few. I love the quiet of walking out on the slopes at night. I also love having everything I need in my pack so that I can cover immense ground skiing from Val Gardena to Cortina to Marmolada easily and all (except the ride up to Lagazuoi) on the slopes.
BUT, I live in my ski boots (I bring slippers for the huts), wear mostly the same clothes, must be at the rifugio before the lifts close, ski with a heavy pack when changing sites, and often sleep in dorm-style rooms.
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@albob, thanks for pointing out these helpful links - it can be tricky searching through the wealth of past experience when new to the community. It was good to read the detailed trip report from 2014. It makes the group ski safaris sound like a really good convenient option - something for me to keep in mind next season!
@Alchemist, thanks for your detailed response. I can see what you mean regarding the pros and cons of staying 1 night vs 2 nights. I think I might ditch the planned hotel stay and instead spend the full week alternating 1 and 2 night stays at various rifugios to get a good balance of variety and rest. Also your question regarding the new Cinque Torri gondola led me to this article, another interesting (and ambitious) trip report including the run down the Hidden Valley - https://www.ft.com/content/8b02efc0-45e6-42dd-96c5-ef9d82301df7
The trip report from 2014 briefly touches on picking up the rental gear on day zero, and suggested they had to return to their origin to drop off the gear. Do you know if any of the rental shops do one-way rentals? I guess it's not a big deal if I need to bus/taxi back to my starting point at the end of the week to drop off the skis.
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FAQ
And it got very cold later on, snow flurries flat light and all that. We were 
