 Poster: A snowHead
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We are going to the Sella in January will be driving from Austria ( I have the appropriate tyres), we have decided on Selva or Covara as there is more to ski nearby, we can of course drive but would like to avoid it if possible
Should we go half board, or go B&B and eat out in the evening, HB feels like we aren't experiencing the town
How easy is it to get around by bus
How long does it take with a coffee stop and lunch to complete the circuit, what else is a must ski? (we are decent intermediates)
Accommodation, the Flora in Selva was recommended but they have come back as being full, the Corona is available, both recommended by fellow Snowheads, looking for 3 to 4 star properties or a decent B&B , close to bus stop or lifts, with parking, any personal recommendations to share?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| radar wrote: |
How long does it take with a coffee stop and lunch to complete the circuit, what else is a must ski? (we are decent intermediates) |
Probably only 3 to 4 hours total. Just note, the sella ronda route is the busiest pistes in the area, so it's well worth getting off an exploring elsewhere.
The Hidden Valley is one option, you can do that as a day out from Selva pretty easily. The Edelweiß slopes above Colfosco is a nice area.
I'd also say it's worth doing a tour right over to Marmolada one day, and also over to Pozza di Fassa as well. The Seceda area above Santa Christina area is nice also.
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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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Hotel Pralong or Hotel Ingram : both just outside Selva centre ; car parks just across the road as is access to a piste
There is a bus service along the Selva valley
https://www.valgardena.it/en/bus-schedule/
The Ronda has become over popular - I now only use to get to another ski area
I have never stayed in Corvara (but would love to..)
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We've stayed at the Hotel Posta Al Cervo *** directly over the road from the Flora and would go back again.
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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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Second vote for Hotel Pasta Al Cervo. Stayed there last year. Great value. No bells and whistles and amenities - just a plain, clean and comfortable hotel. We did half board because it seems that was the default when signing up, but didn't touch the dinner or breakfast after the first day. Nothing wrong with the food, it was just regional and we were more of a steak/pizza/hamburger crew. At check out they discounted the bill accordingly, which was very honorable of them. Restaurants in Selva are plentiful, good, and reasonably priced. We hit a different one each night and found tons of options for our tastes.
If you stay there, I highly recommend renting a locker at the place below the plaza where the Campinoi gondola is. Large, modern, clean place, and you use your ski pass as the key to opening your locker. Scuola 2000 I think it is called. This way, you are not walking from the hotel to the gondola, and back, with your boots on and skis/polls in hand. You can take a bus from the hotel to Campinoi but the wait plus the slog on the busy main road make walking faster anyway - and far more pleasant. I don't feel like I am on vacation if I am on a bus. The locker is absolutely the way to go.
As for the Sella Ronda, as someone else has already said, we wound up using it just to get to other areas. The best terrain with the least crowds are off of it. And the area is huge. It might take you 3 days just to do all of Val Gardena. Absolutely loved the Seceda area recommended above. To get there from the hotel you walk to Campinoi, go up the gondola, ski down the Saslong run, then hop on the very short magic carpet to get into the subway/underground which is a train running under St Christina and it pops you out at Seceda. The other access point to the slopes, other than Seceda, is the Costabella chair lift, which is right around the corner from Campinoi. This takes you to the Dantercepies gondola.
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It takes longer than 3-4 hours for the SR for intermediates doing coffee and lunch stops. No problem though, just devote one day to it, then you can just have fun and not sweat it if you make a wrong turn or run into a lift line, both of which are possible-especially the latter.
Do it knowing that lots of people, including me, think the SR is overrated. Same for Hidden Valley and Marmolada. There's lots of great skiing with fewer people off the beaten path. I like the Cinque Torri area of Cortina and lapping the Lagazuoi boxcar. Drive your car (or bus from Alta Badia) to Kronplatz for a day, I think for your group it will have a ton of great skiing although candidly intermediates can have fun basically anywhere in Dolomiti.
As for B&B vs HB, I now much prefer half board. Its fun, and you can skip the worry about finding a decent place with a table at a time you want every night. You can check out the town in other ways before dinnertime while its still light out. I've gotten to know some folks who come each year and we dine together, more fun than I'd have guessed. Start your own tradition?
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The hotel Col Alto in Corvara is pretty good with a shuttle bus taking you to & from the lifts
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@radar, The bus stop for the Posta is outside the Hotel Oswald which is next door to the Posta! We used a ski depot by Ciampinoi and walked up. Don't think we used a drag all week. It's as if the clientele don't like walking, there are travelators across car parks to lifts, a tiny funicular in La Villa that rises about two stories and two-way linking lifts. Seriously good lift systems.
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@radar, There are very few drag lifts on the Sella Ronda, and only a couple that I can think of in Corvara/Alt Badia.
They invested millions in upgrading lifts during the Covid lockdowns, and months following. Many now have heated seats, just for your comfort.
As said above, the Sella Ronda can get very busy, and most only use it to get to other areas. That said, you can often complete the circuit on the way home, depending on your day out.
From Corvara, you can easily do Cinque Tori and the hidden valley. There is a new Gondola (15 minutes each way) that takes you down to Cortina. An early start will give you a good couple of hours there, taking in the hidden valley on the way home.
Secceda can be a real sun trap, with options for the run back down the valley, or La Longia down to Ortesei, and a short bus ride back up the valley to Dantercepies and home.
Poza di fassa has some great runs, including the black on the way home.
The WWI tour, which takes you over Marmolada, short bus to Alleghe (some great runs there - well worth a day out - you don't have to take in Marmolada every time  ), bus to Cinque Tori, and home. (or the opposite direction)
Many Snowheads take a trip over to Kronplatz from Arabba. It's even easier from Corvara, allowing a good 3-4 hours there, (+ some great skiing on the way) 20 minutes free bus ride from La Villa. (aim for the 15.20 bus home)
If you want a quieter day, take the chair along the valley from La Villa to Santa Croce. The Monastery is well worth a visit, and a nice easy red back down.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@radar, lift system generally around there is very modern, I can't think of a single drag lift we took on our most recent trip there back in 2022. Possibly there's one on the way back from the Hidden Valley but just a short one for some elevation to get back down in to San Cassiano. My memory might be wrong, but I certainly can't think of any really that spring to mind.
We're actually in Selva on Tuesday night. Our Innsbruck based brass band we play in are doing a concert there on the band stand there. It'll be interesting to see the dolomites in the summer, haven't seen them yet.
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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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@swskier, Thank you, we have visited the Dolomites in the summer driving from Saalbach to Venice through Cortina, stunning
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@radar, I stay in San Cassiano at the Steinrosl.
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You know it makes sense.
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Agree with the folks saying the Ronda is busy but worth doing at least once imo. Did it for the first time last year on a cold blue bird day in 2nd week of January and it's my best day skiing ever. Took all day with a couple of detours up the Edelweiss valley and Arabba, long lunch and coffee stops. Superb experience, the best of life.
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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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We tend use the SR as you would the M25 perhaps? Not to whizz around it for the sake of it, but to use bits to access other areas. At the end of the day we may have completed the SR, but with add ons. This works because Selva out (orange), Dantercepies to Corvara is more skiing than lifts. It's the opposite in reverse. So after Corvara, we prefer to keep going on the orange route to maximise the skiing/lift ratio. I'll also add, we very much avoid peak periods. Dec or early Jan for us. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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With the help of a couple of people who knew the area well I enjoyed the non-SR skiing a lot more than the circuit, which had some big queues. The M25 is a good analogy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for all the useful information, which should I choose Selva or Corvara ?
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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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| radar wrote: |
| Thanks for all the useful information, which should I choose Selva or Corvara ? |
To stay? Totally up to you. In terms of location, there's very little in it. They're essentially one lift apart. Otherwise, quite different. Selva is a busy town with more bars and stuff going on. Colfosco is much smaller, with a quieter vibe. Colfosco is quite chi chi. Nice hotels, popular with the monied, older Italian set. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Mollerski, hadn't thought of Colfosco though from your comment maybe not for us , any thoughts on Corvara?
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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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@radar :: I think Corvara is a little bit more expensive that Selva (blame George Clooney who is rumoured to have a chalet there !) ; But, as Mollerski says there is very little in it :: Selva has more Red runs if that makes any difference to you
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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In answer to your half board question: I am not hugely impressed with the restaurants in Selva, tbh. And we've been there on half a dozen ski trips. (the on-mountain baitas are great). Yes, if you like burgers/pizza then by all means eat out, but if the hotel has a decent dinner with regional dumplings etc. I'd probably do that.
As for where to stay, Selva is more interesting than Corvara IMO, but the home runs and access to the SR is not great for beginners. Corvara has a lot of pleasant blue runs.
There can be some long queues on the SR during peak times/sunny weather. I've actually never done it despite having skiied nearly every main and satellite runs in the area. Just because I like to ski where the snow is good and / or crowds or low, so it's easy to find a little stash here and there and just ski that...
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@Pasigal, thank you, I was leaning towards Selva , while I enjoy a pizza or a burger not for seven nights.
TBH if it comes to it we may skip the SR circuit if it looks busy.
@albob, @Mollerski, thank you both
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I think the Sella Ronda is something that needs to be done once. Perhaps even once each way if you ski in the area more than once.
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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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I did it on an overcast day first week of March. Blasted round. Would imagine it would be much busier with blue skies though. Its a great day (morning really). I would do it again.
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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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I will add, of all the 'must see' bits and bobs in the area, the one that I can't be bothered with these days is the Marmolada. The view from the top is spectacular, but so are all of the high peaks in the region. The drag out to the first cable car station is just that, a drag. Two more lengthy cable car rides and then the run off of the mountain is quickly over, then the drag in reverse to get back onto the SR. This one maybe a little more controversial, I'm not blown away by Cortina either. It's expensive and apart from the Tofana, there's not much there. Unless I'm missing something? TBF, when in Cortina we do tend to clock watch a bit rather than relax into the place, as we daren't miss the lifts back to Lagazuoi.
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@Mollerski, I love the top half of Marmolada, but agree about Cortina - not counting the Ladies' Downhill course, which is talismanic, the runs are either boring paths or difficult runs with weird cambers. I've been three times now and don't think I'll bother again.
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You know it makes sense.
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Corvara has a few restaurants and bars but not lots.
You say you're decent intermediates so be a bit wary of the Marmolada in January, I'm probably a similar level and have done it a couple of times. When we skied it in January conditions lower down were good but there were 4 foot high icy mogul fields on several sections and I didn't enjoy it. I spoke to my instructor who said that when people ask him to take them there he tries to talk them out of it unless it's March when it's softer at the top. It's no problems for a good skier but we were in the area for a month and it was probably the toughest skiing for me, IIRC harder than any of the blacks. There are great views and an interesting museum at the top but if you're going to do it maybe wait until later in the week when you have you're legs and technique back.
There are many threads on the SR so read them before you go as there are lots of trick to avoiding the crowds, the high level advice is
1) obviously check the weather before you set-off as it's fairly common for some lifts to close for a few hours due to high winds (every few days)
2) set-off early
3) don't just follow the SR signs as that is what everyone else does. Simply turning right or left rather than going straight at the top of some lifts can make the difference between a crowded mogul field and a quiet parallel piste but both ending up at the same place!
In reality there are only a handful of pistes that are bottlenecks, it's just that some are quite long and busy... As others have said make a day of it rather than rush around, e.g. from Selva pop over to Corvara and potter around the Pralongia area for an hour or two for some easy reds and blues, then Arabba for a some trickier reds and blacks before heading back via Canazei.
Seceda is a must for us, we stay in Corvara and it's is a great day out from there via Dantecerpies and Saaslong then the long run (10km?) down to Ortisei from the top of Seceda, it's our favourite day trip.
IMHO Hidden Valley is beautiful but a victim of it's own success, lots of people, varying conditions, varying abilities as every wants to do it. last year I got wiped out twice by out of control skiers and my wife swore she'd never ski it again after someone lost control on the horse tow and we ended up under a pile of other skiers.
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FAQ
Not first hand, but I'd guess that Corvara being larger than Colfosco, it will have a few more bars and a bit more going on, but nowhere near on a Selva level. It is a quarter of the way around the SR, so accessing the Val Gardena valley from Corvara will take a little more effort than from Colfosco.