 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello all,
Just come back from our first week in the Dolomites. Here is a long winded ramble about the trip. Sorry for the length but I enjoy writing everything down.
Dates: 09/03/24 - 16/03/24
Travel: BA flights from Gatwick to Innsbruck with Taxi transfer through Autosella
Accommodation: Apartment Possnecker in Selva Gardena (https://www.miavalgardena.it/selva-gardena/poessnecker/)
Ski hire: Ski Olga https://www.skiolga.com/
I booked a trip for me and 7 friends to Selva in the Dolomites. I had always wanted to give Italy a try and being on the Sellaronda we would be spoilt for choice with runs. Our group is all experienced skiers with some preferring a more relaxed pace than others. I decided to go later in the year than usual after experiencing a lot of dry Februaries.
We normally go with catered chalet accommodation but Italy is much more hotel orientated and chalet/hotel costs have sky rocketed. After despairing at the costs of accommodation a snowhead found apartment Possnecker which although self catered was a bargain in a fantastic location.
We all met up and flew out from Gatwick late but arriving in Innsbruck only slightly behind schedule. After suffering at a number of airports in the area (Grenoble/Chambery/Geneva) we found Innsbruck a breath of fresh air. Small but not overcrowded. No ques even on a Saturday and excellent facilities. Will be looking to use again in the future. The transfer from Autosella was waiting for us and we were on our way probably less than 30mins after touching down. Transfer to Selva took about 100mins.
We arrived at the apartment around 18:00 and Florian the host was waiting for us. Florian was super nice and helpful and the apartment was great. 2 rooms with en-suites and the other 2 sharing a bathroom with a bath/shower. It had a decent sized lounge and a separate well appointed kitchen with its own dining area. The apartment was a lot more spacious than what we were used too. Not only this but later in the week mamma Florian gave us a huge homemade tiramisu which was delicious! Location wise the apartment was next to the church in the centre of Selva and about 2 minutes walk away from one a of the best ski town supermarkets I have seen. It took about 10mins walk to get from the boot room to the base of Ciampinoi or Costabella lift which was great. Big recommendation for apartment Possecker.
We then went to Ski Olga to get skis. Another Snowhead recommendation. Klaus the owner was lovely and all the gear we hired was in great nick with nice edges and bases. We got a little discount by paying in cash but Klaus wouldn't accept the money until later in the week. He then sent an adjusted (cheaper) quote later as we had picked out slightly cheaper ski's. I suspect this happens all the time with other shops but non have ever revised the price and reduced the rate. Another massive thumbs up for Ski Olga (don't be put off by the website!).
We then went out and ate at the only place that could seat 8 people with no resevation on Saturday night which was Bar Tennis Pizzeria. We poo poo'd it initially as it has quite an interesting decor and music choice. However a great selection of pizzas soon shut us up. A great find. We returned here for our last meal but the service was a lot more stretched. Your mileage may vary.
Next morning we went to hit the slopes. Focusing on getting our feet under us and checking the gear. Up Ciampnoi lift you have some quite severe starting options as your first runs of the holiday. We made it down fine and then started exploring the area. This takes me onto my biggest issue.
WTF IS UP WITH ITALIAN PISTE MAPS (https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/dam/jcr:b8977e3a-44c3-4a63-bd80-c17519e677cc/Val_Gardena_Seiser_Alm_DSS_web_2.pdf)
My god. It is not hard. I like to think I am pretty good at reading a piste map yet I have never had so many issues than using this goddamn map.
Why does the piste map show different colours to the runs on the ground? There are only three colours, yet the amount of times red and blue were incorrect was crazy.
Why doesnt the piste map not have more directional arrows? There are a lot of traversing runs, just add an arrow or two and it would help so much.
Why are runs shown linking incorrectly? There were a few times that we went the wrong way because of the way the map showed runs linking to each other giving a false impression of direction.
Why do the maps not show piste numbers when the signage on the mountain mainly refers to piste numbers?
Why do the direction signs on mountain refer to lift names when the piste map mainly shows lift numbers?
Why when trying to find lift names on the piste map the order of the lifts is not listed numerically or alphabetically?
Often where there are critical splits in the routes there would just be a half sunk tiny sign. In France for a similar junction there would be a sign 5 times the size with clear arrows.
Saying that. My god the runs are lovely. We have mainly skied in France and these runs felt like motorways in comparison. I loved them all. Great sweeping rolling runs through an impressive tree line. The lift infrastructure was excellent with only a few slower/smaller chairs. We barely had a que the entire trip.
Initially we skied over Plan De Gralba way but found that this area tracked out very quickly and was lumpy and rutting by 11am. I think this was due to the increased Sellaronda traffic.
On the second day a storm came in the afternoon and we got a nice 20-30cm of snow. I felt super lucky as this got us through the rest of the week nicely.
We headed out on the third day away from the Sellaronda and skied La Longia. The huge 10km run from S Cristina. What a run. One of my favorites of all time. Large and sweeping at the top and stunningly beautiful at the bottom. We then breaked for lunch at restaurant Daniel and enjoyed the views. At this point members of the group we coming and going so I did another run of La Longia with a friend. On our way back over to restaurant Daniel we saw a rescue helicopter behind the restuarant. As we skied down we saw one of our group being loaded in with the others looking on. It was shocking and scary. A few of the group had gone to do the lovely red above restaurant Daniel and one of the party had collided with another skier and fallen badly. He was airlifted to hospital (he had bad concussion) and released the following evening with 4 broken ribs and a broken shoulder. We then got his gear and partner back to the apartment through some heavy slushy moguls.
Next day we picked ourselves up and went back to S Critina hitting the runs in the Monta Pana area (legendary number 4 earning its name). We then took the high level bus over to Seiser Alm where we had some of the best snow of the trip.
For the following days we hit Seiser Alm and I really enjoyed this area. We would ski down La Longia in the morning and then head across Ortisei and up into Seiser Alm. Ski for the day then take the bus back to Selva from Ortisei when we were done.
We had planned to do the Sellaronda, but the conditions were deteriorating so fast each day we didn't fancy being on busy slush moguly runs so stayed away. We would really like to do this another time though. We had also wanted to do the hidden valley. However being a big group I was worried about time keeping.
Quality of food on the slopes was universally great. Prices were very reasonable too. We had some vegans on the group and it can be a struggle for them. On the last day we went to hotel Paradiso for lunch and had a great meal there which they enjoyed immensely. One to aim for if you are veggie/vegan.
Service everywhere was great. The area doesn't seem to do tipping yet everyone was lovely, I wish more places were like this. When returning skis Klaus from Ski Olga refunded the injured skiers unskied days which was very generous. He was also genuinely concerned. The ski office also partly refunded the unskied days which was a pleasant surprise.
All in all a great trip with one bad accident. Super impressed with the Sellaronda area and will be looking to return.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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No tips and only in in hospital - sounds like great trip 
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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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Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he is recovering well.
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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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| turboblackbeard wrote: |
Hello all,
WTF IS UP WITH ITALIAN PISTE MAPS (https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/dam/jcr:b8977e3a-44c3-4a63-bd80-c17519e677cc/Val_Gardena_Seiser_Alm_DSS_web_2.pdf)
My god. It is not hard. I like to think I am pretty good at reading a piste map yet I have never had so many issues than using this goddamn map.
Why does the piste map show different colours to the runs on the ground? There are only three colours, yet the amount of times red and blue were incorrect was crazy.
Why doesnt the piste map not have more directional arrows? There are a lot of traversing runs, just add an arrow or two and it would help so much.
Why are runs shown linking incorrectly? There were a few times that we went the wrong way because of the way the map showed runs linking to each other giving a false impression of direction.
Why do the maps not show piste numbers when the signage on the mountain mainly refers to piste numbers?
Why do the direction signs on mountain refer to lift names when the piste map mainly shows lift numbers?
Why when trying to find lift names on the piste map the order of the lifts is not listed numerically or alphabetically?
Often where there are critical splits in the routes there would just be a half sunk tiny sign. In France for a similar junction there would be a sign 5 times the size with clear arrows.
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Thank goodness....it's not just me! I had all the same challenges as you in terms of "misreading" the direction of runs, plus also planning a route based on fictional links that IRL was only doable with a steep 50m bootpack between 2 pistes that looked an awful lot like they converged. My sister & I ended up taking the pair of long drag lifts out of Corvara more than we wanted in order to avoid a particular route that kept confusing us. Granted, this problem is solvable with Fatmap, and it's made worse because I ski in contact lenses and am old enough to need reading glasses too so the tiny print of the Alta Badia & Val Gardena maps is extra challenging (I'll need to invest in mini-readers before I return)....I ended up spending time one evening reading the heights of the ski lifts and/or landmark huttes on the map to figure out the direction of each run and marking arrows in by hand for the bits I found confusing.
Should you return & do the Sella Ronda, be warned that despite all the other Snowheads saying the signage is idiotproof etc, perhaps I am directionally challenged (or just too used to the syntax of N.American signage) but I definitely missed/turned too soon at least once and found I had to lap a chair to get back on the SR, plus spent more time standing in front of signs trying to decipher them than I anticipated, all for similar reasons that you listed above.
Wishing your friend a speedy recovery!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Wow, that is pretty good
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The signposting is good enough that I didn't use a piste map. Good TR though 
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I used Ski Olga also - over New Year's. They were excellent. One of our group had a pole stolen - who steals one pole?, there were no other single poles in the area - and at the end of the day Ski Olga just gave him another pair and didn't bill us. Also allowed us to pay at the end of the week. Not a huge bonus, but nice to not have to front load everything.
Didn't care much about the piste map one way or the other. The area is so big you just ski whatever comes next, and use the sella ronda orange/green signs to get to where you need to go when moving from one area to the next.
Based on where you stayed, you might have benefited using the ski lockers next to Campinoi - allows for the walk from the hotel/apartment to be done in regular shoes/clothes. We never used the boot room at our hotel because of this.
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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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Lots of useful information. Love a good TR.
Injuries are always stressful and upsetting for all involved. Hope they make a good recovery.
People should comment more IMV as the comments often add to the resource as the one above about lockers.
The Dolomites are simply wonderful and everyone should try them in winter and summer
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Total agree with you on the Dolomites piste map. It's just impossible! I wouldn't apply the same logic to all of Italy though - I don't have any problems with the Via Lattea map, just the ones for the Dolomite region. BUT - the signposting is excellent. It you know which area you're aiming for, you can use the signposts and you don't need the map much.
I had planned to use the Dolomiti app this year, for some route planning options, but that seemed to be almost as useless - it seemed to give ridiculous suggestions to get from A to B, which were much more convoluted than anything you'd actually do in real life.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@WoottonBecs, yep, useless for routing -- I dearly wish they would go back to the previous 3D version! ; the terrain view was very handy for figuring just how the pistes ran
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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 can recommend Fat Map for piste mappage. I used it to get a feel for the SR areas before I arrived. Made everything so much easier.
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for the video!
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FAQ
