 Poster: A snowHead
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I’ve never managed to ski anywhere in the Dolomites and really want to this coming winter.
I’m looking at a long weekend trip from Bergamo as I’m flying from Dublin and we have a lot less flights to suitable airports than from the UK.
I can get cheap flights very early out and late back so should manage skiing the first and last day too.
I’m hoping someone here can give me some advice on where to go?
We are all strong intermediate skiers who ski mostly on piste and like to ski all day if we can.
I’ve had a good look but can’t seem to see where would be best to base ourselves?
Any ideas or opinion would be greatly appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Without getting into an argument as to whether the Brenta is part of the Dolomites may I suggest you try somewhere like Madonna di Campiglio, which is IIRC about 2:30 from Bergamo rather than the main part of the Dolomites. The drive to somewhere like Alleghe is about 4 hours (it may be less in the winter when the curse of the camper van has reduced). If you are prepared to put up with the drive then Alleghe or Canazei will be good choices for a short break since they don't require any passes. Personally I would rule out the longer drive to place like Wolkenstein or the rest of Groedner Tal as too far to drive and too many mountain passes to negotiate.
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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.
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Consider Kronplatz....I haven't stayed there, but the skiing is terrific and perfect for your ability level. Two interesting museums at the summit; something to do if the weather sucks.
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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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I like Kronplatz but I wouldn't base myself there for a long weekend..I'm about the same level as OP and have skied it all in a day. One can be more 'relaxed' I guess.
I'd go with Brenta/MDC. More than enough for a long weekend given the linked areas and great skiing/scenery and great food..
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I also like Kronplatz but personally rule it out for a long weekend on two counts. First, no direct lift link into the Sella Ronda. Second, to me it doesn’t feel like a true Dolomiti experience there. Different scenery, different feel to places on or near the Sella Ronda.
Travelling from Bergamo, I’d consider a base in Val di Fassa, for example Pozza, or somewhere nearby. Direct lift access to the Sella Ronda, with it’s remarkable scenery and atmosphere.
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| johnE wrote: |
| Without getting into an argument as to whether the Brenta is part of the Dolomites may I suggest you try somewhere like Madonna di Campiglio, which is IIRC about 2:30 from Bergamo rather than the main part of the Dolomites. The drive to somewhere like Alleghe is about 4 hours (it may be less in the winter when the curse of the camper van has reduced). If you are prepared to put up with the drive then Alleghe or Canazei will be good choices for a short break since they don't require any passes. Personally I would rule out the longer drive to place like Wolkenstein or the rest of Groedner Tal as too far to drive and too many mountain passes to negotiate. |
if it's only 4 days unless you really want to ski the Sella Ronda then I second Madonna di Campiglio as
1) it's the nearest decent size resort to Bergamo
2) It's a lovely town - small enough to walk around but not purpose built so has that quaint alpine feel to it (I prefer the town to Canazei and Corvara but that's just personal taste)
3) very picturesque area, you really feel like you're in the dolomites rather than the Alps
4) plenty of skiing for 4 days as long as you get the area pass that covers Pinzolo & Folgarida (100km+) you can do a good day skiing from one side of the ski area to the other
5) decent variety of runs for different abilities with good lifts (this year they are updating one of the bottleneck lifts)
6) some good on piste and in town dining places
7) if moneys a bit tight you can save some cash by staying in either Folgarida or Pinzolo to access the same ski area but the towns aren't as nice as MdC
I used to travel to Milan on business quite a bit so had friends in the area. MdC was a very popular resort for weekend skiers from the office. I remember someone thinking I was mad for going to Passo Tonale and they persuaded me to go to MdC, they were right we've now been 3 times. (Actually that person lived in Bergamo and would do day trips to MdC with their family)
downsides,
they don't really do off-piste,
it's not the cheapest place,
pick your accommodation carefully to get one either near a lift or ideally with a shuttle mini-bus as there are four lifts into town (the ski areas are all joined it just gives you some flexibility on where to start). Alternatively you can also get lockers at the bottom of the lifts
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I will concur with MDC ..a really nice town with lots of good skiing and easy to get to there is a train up to nearly the resort .which takes about 4.5 hours..I can recommend the Hotel Alpina ..reasonably priced and very near the lifts Folgarida is Ok but out on a limb and the connecting piste (no10) can be awful
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks for all the replies, I’ll have a good look at MDC.
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Also be sure to get a car with winter tyres if hiring. This is quite difficult to do in Italy compared to Switzerland or Austria in my experience. Once in a car, an hours extra drive is IMO nothing to be bothered about so ensure your net is spread relatively widely. Good luck.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| twoodwar wrote: |
| Also be sure to get a car with winter tyres if hiring. This is quite difficult to do in Italy compared to Switzerland or Austria in my experience. Once in a car, an hours extra drive is IMO nothing to be bothered about so ensure your net is spread relatively widely. Good luck. |
Very good point. The road climbs up from the valley to MDC, nice few hairpins. Wouldn't fancy the descent either without winter tyres.
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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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There are 2 routes to MdC, the route via Pinzolo has plenty of hairpins towards the end and would be tricky in snow without chains or snow tyres, this would be the most direct from Bergamo. IIRC the route via Folgarida is less steep with hairpins lower down. It was used as a back-up route on a snowy day by the transfer company on one of our trips so must be more reliable, it's further but not that much longer time wise as you are on Italian motorways for most of it (via Trento). We drove the from MdC through Folgarida a couple of times and I don't remember it being bad, via Pinzolo was definitely more interesting/fun. It's a main route so the roads will be kept pretty clear you'd have to be unlucky to get stuck but for a short trip the impact would obviously be worse. This was 2 years ago so someone may wish to correct me...
We did our first self-drive to MdC and I sweated over winter tyres. As @twoodwar says they were difficult to find, we ended up getting a "premium winterised" rental from Herts and got very lucky with a special deal but with rentals you never know what you will actually get when you arrive at the airport. IIRC if you want to be certain of winter tyres you need to fly into Innsbruck as they are a legal requirement there, maybe not so easy from Dublin. In Italy the legal requirement is to supply snow chains and most people just go with them, chances are they never come out of the boot but you never know.
@maddness, I wouldn't worry too much, worst case if the roads look bad you'd park your car at Pinzolo (or /Folgarida/Marilleva) and get a taxi/bus the last few miles to the hotel then ski back to the car later. Actually if you're arriving early and skiing first you could just park at Pinzolo and ski from there for the first day. The main gondola has a car park, ski rental etc and starts pretty low down (something like 800m vs ca 1,500 in MdC), you can ski to MdC and the roads would likely be cleared by the end of the day  Weather permitting the Rifugio at the very top of Pinzolo also has some incredible views so would be a good stop for coffee/lunch on your arrival.
You can obviously get a private transfer if you're happy to pay the extra for piece of mind. We were chatting to someone who did this, it was ca Eur 300 each way.
Presumably you've looked at flying into Venice but timings are bad ? It opens up the east side of the Dolomites.
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I am assuming you hire a car from BGY,
we stay in Ossana , and sometimes Commezzadura
Both are Satellite towns , hence less expensive accom then MDC
Ossana to a modern and major lift, Daolasa is 12 mins by car
Commezzadura is two mins to the same lift, most hotels there will have a private shuttle to drop and collect you from the lift
From Daolasa , you have easy access to Folgardia, Marilleva area, to MDC I think an hour, ski and a few lifts
The journey from BGY to Ossana is not too bad, but be aware you drive thru Passo Tonale at 2000m, so chains would be essential .. I think its mandatory at BGY for car hire cos to provide a car with chains
You could shorten your drive and ski in Passo, but the scenery there is nothing like MDC
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You know it makes sense.
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I have been driving to the alps over the last 10 years and have always had winter tyres ..went to MDC in 2018 and had a dump of snow . about 5 foot in 2 days before we where supposed to leave... the bus taking some of the group to Bergamo was delayed and I am sure I could not have got out of the village without chains ..It was the first time I had ever had need to use them
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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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| johnE wrote: |
| Without getting into an argument as to whether the Brenta is part of the Dolomites may I suggest you try somewhere like Madonna di Campiglio, which is IIRC about 2:30 from Bergamo rather than the main part of the Dolomites. The drive to somewhere like Alleghe is about 4 hours (it may be less in the winter when the curse of the camper van has reduced). If you are prepared to put up with the drive then Alleghe or Canazei will be good choices for a short break since they don't require any passes. Personally I would rule out the longer drive to place like Wolkenstein or the rest of Groedner Tal as too far to drive and too many mountain passes to negotiate. |
From Bergamo, the resorts of Val Gardena (Groeden in German), including Ortisei (St Ulrich, Urtijei in Ladin) & Selva (Wolkenstein) on the Sella Ronda are pretty accessible from the A22 Brenner motorway, no passes involved from the west, just a short drive up the valley with a couple or three tunnels to help past the tricky bits.
Madonna is closer, but because the roads are slower, there's not a huge amount in it in terms of journey times according to GoogleMaps
Alleghe is definitely best accessed from Venice. Though a bit further from the A22, the Val di Fassa resorts would also be doable.
BGY-Selva 277km 3h14
BGY-Ortisei 270km 3h05
BGY-Madonna 176km 2h40
BGY-Pozza di Fassa 269km 3h16
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just looking at booking something now and have discovered that we can fly to Venice.
Any ideas what resort may be best accessed from Venice for a group of strong intermediate skiers and boarders who like to cover a good distance?
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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From Venice, Arabba or mellower (but closer) Alleghe would work well. Also Falcade, which shares a ski area with Passo San Pellegrino, but I do not know much about it.
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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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From Venice, for your group, Arabba would be the obvious choice, giving very good connections to the Sella Ronda.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@maddness, Can you confirm that you are hiring a car then we can be more accurate.
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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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We did Cortina from Venice Marco Polo, very quick (about two hrs) and scenic transfer,
On that trip I discovered 5 torri and the hidden valley ski area, so so beautiful.
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We will be getting a transfer rather than driving ourselves.
Madonna is looking likely from Bergamo.
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| maddness wrote: |
Just looking at booking something now and have discovered that we can fly to Venice.
Any ideas what resort may be best accessed from Venice for a group of strong intermediate skiers and boarders who like to cover a good distance?
Thanks |
Just about anything due north of Venice is within 3 hours' drive of Marco Polo. Can you get something on the Sella Ronda? As mentioned Arabba is about 2.5 hours...That would give you an easy way to cover a lot of distance...
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| balso wrote: |
| Also Falcade, which shares a ski area with Passo San Pellegrino, but I do not know much about it. |
San Pellegrino is the ski area which can be accessed from Falcade town. The ski pass also gets you access to Alpe Lusia, a great little area about 30mins drive from Falcade.
There might be enough for 3-4 days interesting skiing if you get to Alpe Lusia as well.
Its a pretty reasonably priced area with plenty of places to stay in Falcade. You can also stay in the Passo, so slope side (some ski in/out) but its pricier.
We went at New Year and although thry hadn't had much snow for a few weeks the slope conditions were excellent. But judging from the length of the road side snow marking poles depending on the time of year if you drive up to the Passo you would be advised to have winters/chains on/in your car.
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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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Venice may also be a good choice anyway as Bergamo is - like Gatwick - particularly prone to fog, which can disrupt flights. This happened to us and we had to transfer to Turin. That's much more unlikely with Venice.
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