TR: Corvara & Dolomites

A snowHead

Returned yesterday from a brilliant week in Corvara and the Dolomites, so thought I would do a trip review as I found other peoples reviews so helpful ahead of my trip.

Location and Accommodation
We stayed in Garni Bracun in Corvara, as part of the Collett's Mountain Holidays group. The chalet was a 3-minute ski bus ride or a 10-12 minute walk (in ski boots) from either the Boè or Col Alt Gondolas. The trip was half-board, so we ate a buffet breakfast in the chalet, and dinner in a different hotel (Hotel Christian). Corvara is a well contained little town, with lots of restaurants with varying degrees of cost if you are not eating in your hotel/chalet. Shopping wise there is a couple of minimarkets, a few delis, a pharmacy (with a 24hr vending machine), plus your standard outdoor and ski-clothing stores. More on bars & apres later.

The Skiing Itself
We went the week after half-term to try and avoid crowds and still enjoy some good snow and pistes. I could sum it up by saying everything you have read about skiing in the Dolomites is true. It's a stunning location, and more than enough pistes and runs to fill two weeks, let alone just one. The piste maintenance and snow making is the best I have ever experienced. To the east of Corvara is the Pralongia Plateau, the centre of the Alta Badia area (of which Corvara is in). It's a haven of blue runs, a small selection of reds and one or two black runs (the most significant being the Gran Risa into La Villa). Personally we only used this area to get our 'eye' in on the first day, and to connect to Lagazuoi as we preferred longer reds and blacks, which other areas offered. Which brings me onto Arraba and Passo Pordoi, clockwise around the Sella Ronda and south from Corvara. This was our favourite area to lap, with some stunning long red runs, some short and sharp blacks and some of the best all-day snow conditions. We also found our favourite lunch spot in Chiosco da Paolo, next to the Arraba flyer chair which served cheap drinks and delicious burgers and filled rolls.

Arraba also serves as the mid-way point to the Marmolada, which is another good morning ski, providing you get there early enough to avoid a long queue for the cable car. From Corvara it's just over an hour on the slopes and chairs to get there, and on the day we did it, we arrived just before 10am and walked straight on.

One day we ventured over the Val Di Fassa and explored the Alba ski area, which is connected from the top of the Belvedere Bowl by a cable car. Being off the Sella Ronda it's not as busy as the main route, so queues were non-existant and the slopes were relatively traffic free. Do allow around 90-120 mins skiing to get there around the Sella Ronda from Corvara. It's a great place for wide red runs, and the only way to ski back to the Sella Ronda is via a black run, so if you like your speed, you won't always be bothered by beginners. However, for beginners, the area is great for skill-building with slopes wide enough to get some progression in - and you can take the cable car back to Belvedere.

Another day was spent exploring the fringes of the Val Gardena area, in particular the famous long red runs to/from Ortisei - again, red run heaven.

Above Corvara itself is the Piz Boè station, with a few red runs and a black (more like a red) run from Pista Vallon to get your legs warmed up for the day. You can also easily access Colfosco and the Edelweiss runs, although those are best skied in the morning as the south facing slope turns to slush past 3pm.

Apres Ski
It became quickly apparent that Corvara is a commune that prides itself on the excellent quality of food and hospitality rather than catering to those who just wish to drink at the end of the ski-day. There is only one 'dedicated' Apres bar in town (L'Murin) and because of that, the average age in there was people in their late 40's to mid 50's. Perfectly acceptable of course, but we preferred to find a Rifugio on the slopes, and ski down during sunset. Our favourite was Piz Arlara.
Elsewhere in Corvara, the cheapest drinks (and traditional Apres music) can be found at Snak Bar Corf, which also (given it's name) serves delicious hot snacks. It's a great place to sit and people watch at the end of the day as it's right by the Boè lift, and also the place where the piste crew have a swift drink before beginning their shifts. For some upmarket apres, L'Got in the centre of Corvara has some great cocktails and aperitivo, but it's also the kind of place to get changed before drinking.

Non-Skiing
We struggled a little bit here. Having not skied for two years, our main aim was to ski for as much as possible, which we did. However, we gave ourselves one afternoon off due to some tired legs, and struggled to find anything to do. It didn't help that we chose Wednesday, which seemed to coincide with many of the bars also closing for their day off. Aside from ski-ing, there is a huge network of snow-shoe routes in the area, and there is also ice-skating to be had in Corvara centre. Although sledging and tobogganing was advertised, we only saw a few runs open (perhaps due to the lack of natural snow).

Weather and Conditions + Off Piste
I've left the most changeable aspect to last. We went in the last week of Feb 2022, and were treated to seven days of wind-free, bluebird skiing days. As I mentioned above, the pistes are superb, so with those conditions, the mornings were some of the best skiing times I have ever had. Without natural snow however, by mid afternoon the pistes can become either choppy and slushy, or icy, depending on which direction they are facing. As for Off-Piste, I'm sure the area is fantastic, and the ski-tracks observed from the chair lifts seem to suggest so, but when we arrived there hadn't been any natural snowfall for some weeks, so we were reluctant to test out the crusty, rock hard areas!

COVID Stuff
As we travelled before the easing of the latest restrictions we had to LFT before we travelled, however as we crossed the border from Italy, this wasn't checked. Neither were our PLFs. FFP2 Mask wearing is still enforced on cable cars and gondolas. There was a certain irony of having to walk past someone checking for FFP2 masks, without one on themselves. It was only a slight pain to have one around your neck, or ready to go for each gondola we took. You have to validate your super green pass (just the NHS QR code) in the Dolomiti Superski App each day, and only the bars in town asked to see our pass. The Rifugios on the mountains didn't check at all.

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to help out!

A snowHead

That's pretty comprehensive and thanks very much for all the information. We tend to go to the Dolomites each year but stay a little bit out from the main area (in Kronplatz) but with a hire car we seem to find ourselves returning a couple of days each week to Corvara. So whilst we visit Corvara fairly regularly, we are never there long enough to see the various offerings available.
Your report has given us some names and places to head for when we are next there : thanks very much again

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

Thanks for that Top report..

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Great report, thanks for posting. Just booked Corvara for next year, returning after a 3 year absence. Can't wait.

Do you have any info re the ski bus such as price, frequency etc? Thx

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

we recently returned after a 2 week stay and I was going to write a report but can't really add much to this so I hope you don't mind that I add a couple of our observations Smile

1) if you're self catering and have a car La Villa has the best supermarket (still fairly small but much better than Corvara), only 10 mins drive.
2) there is a very good launderette on the edge of Corvara
3) we used Sport Alfredo for ski rental - skis were virtually new and they swapped them for a fresh pair after a week without any quibble, my second pair were a 2022 model.
4) Our best day trip was to Kronplatz - you can drive (25-35 mins depending on where you park) or alternatively ski to La Villa and get the ski bus
5) we had a lovely meal at la Tamba
6) we had an poor meal at Zirma Post but did find that a chilled place for an apres ski drink (L'Murin was a much younger crowd when we were there, mainly 20-30s)

@jimmybog, there were lots of ski buses but it wasn't easy to find a timetable or route map online

You'll need to Register first of course.

thank you for the detailed report!

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

After all it is free

@jimmybog, https://www.suedtirolmobil.info/en/my-journey/timetables : 465/466/467 look possibles (not sure if they are 'ski' buses tho'..)

Other option I have used instead of a bus is the hire shop under the ski school will rent you a locker for the week and you can just walk through town.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@jimmybog, Yeah - thought so..

snow reports

First time I went we used the ski bus from the stop outside Hotel Italia. But last trip I spotted that section of road was closed off. Next year we're staying at villa Eden Hotel and though there's a stop nearby towards col alto Hotel, its on the wrong side of the road for the lifts. I was just curious as to where the nearest stop was to go to the lifts.

You know it makes sense.

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

Thanks for this info.

Help!!

TR: Corvara & Dolomites

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