 Poster: A snowHead
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worz666, Like pjd said - I think Covara would be good, but there is an easy chair that takes you between Covara and Colfosco in both directions, so you can be based in either and get easy access to the other. Covara is bigger than Colfosco but in my opinion Colfosco looks more scenic.
If I remember, I'll have a look when back at home in case I have any photos that can be uploaded to show some of these slopes.
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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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The Men's World Cup Super G was held on the Saslong in Val Gardena today, see this.
It says tomorrow's downhill race may be cancelled due to forecast heavy snow and gale force winds.
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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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Any word from someone who has already been to the dolomites this season?? we will be in Cortina the week of Jan 8, looks like there is severe need for more snow.
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I read the answers on your other post, they indeed were encouraging. Thx!
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asael, I've been for the last 4 years and always have snow. The last time I was in Cortina it was knee deep on some of the pistes. The good news is that the Milanese types that frequent Cortina only seem to come out when it's Sunny, so if it snows you have the slopes to yourself. At least this was the case for us.
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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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asael, sorry the web cam is currently showing darkness, take a look in the morning and you will see the piste grooming.
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Thanks Pokemon and mfamily! knee deep from artificial snow or natural snow? At this time they only have 18 lifts working out of 42 in Cortina. I hope it improves.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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asael, It was natural. Not on all pistes though, else I would be stretching the truth. Photo of empty piste below, with just my wife in the distance.
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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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Resurrected this thread that was languishing on page 7!! Where are all the Sella Ronda fans this year??
I'm off to Arabba tomorrow, looking a lot better after the cold snowy weather this week, 20-30 cm has fallen across the area, piste snow depths are looking respectable, might see if I can do a trip over to Kronplatz which seems to have caught more of the snow this season, may also try Cortina, certainly Cinque Torri, love it there it's always so empty, will report back on conditions.
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luigi, Some of us are still here! I would be interested to hear what you think of Kronplatz if you make it over there as we will be staying in San Martino in Badia, which is close to Kronplatz, from 12th Feb for a week. We intend to try the 'local' area as well as getting out on the Sella Ronda, Marmolada, Hidden Valley, Cinque Torri etc.
Have fun 
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You know it makes sense.
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worz666, those runs off the Sodlisia chair and Plans gondola near Colfosco that Pokemon posted pics of would be perfect for a nervous skier to build confidence on. There's quite a bit of accommodation on the road out of Colfosco that leads up to the Gardena pass, pretty much ski in ski out to these runs. Google a map of Hotel Luianta, Colfosco which is in a perfect spot near the top of the Sodlisia chair, there are apartments and B&Bs around it marked on there with links to their websites, you can see them in the middle ground of his last pic, not a more beautiful place on earth to ski too with the huge buttresses of the Sella looming over. When she gets more confident she can head up higher on the Gardena pass and over to Selva, up the Edelweiss valley behind Colfosco or over to blues of Corvara. Happy hunting!!
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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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| CP wrote: |
luigi, Some of us are still here! I would be interested to hear what you think of Kronplatz if you make it over there as we will be staying in San Martino in Badia, which is close to Kronplatz, from 12th Feb for a week. We intend to try the 'local' area as well as getting out on the Sella Ronda, Marmolada, Hidden Valley, Cinque Torri etc.
Have fun |
Never tried Kronplatz before, always looked a bit boring compared to the spiky Dolomites further south, but the runs over from Piculin past San Vigilio look quite interesting.
Found the bus timetable between Pedraces-Piculin-S.Martino linked here:
http://www.altabadia.org/en-US/skibus-connection-plan-de-corones.html
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Poster: A snowHead
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asael, looks like Cortina is a lot more open now, they even had 10cm more fresh yesterday to add to the 25/30cm? that fell on Monday. The whole valley and roofs in the town look snowy on the webcams, which is a good omen! Have a good one!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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luigi, Apologies for lack of activity, but we have had medical things on the mind lately. Off to the other end of the Italian Alps next week too. Will be turning my focus on to the Sella Ronda when we gat back, as we are not there until 11th March. We will be at the Mountainsun place in San Cassiano again, and they have invested in a place in Kronplatz. They promised to give us a day there, so that will be good. I feel like some new territory.
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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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I've never been to Kronplatz, but would be interested to hear from others what they think of it. From what I can gather it's a dome shaped area, with gentle runs on the top, with steeper runs as you go lower down.
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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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| luigi wrote: |
| worz666, those runs off the Sodlisia chair and Plans gondola near Colfosco that Pokemon posted pics of would be perfect for a nervous skier to build confidence on. There's quite a bit of accommodation on the road out of Colfosco that leads up to the Gardena pass, pretty much ski in ski out to these runs. Google a map of Hotel Luianta, Colfosco which is in a perfect spot near the top of the Sodlisia chair, there are apartments and B&Bs around it marked on there with links to their websites, you can see them in the middle ground of his last pic, not a more beautiful place on earth to ski too with the huge buttresses of the Sella looming over. When she gets more confident she can head up higher on the Gardena pass and over to Selva, up the Edelweiss valley behind Colfosco or over to blues of Corvara. Happy hunting!! |
Thanks for the extra info luigi. That Hotel looks lovely!
I am really struggling with DiYing my trip, transfers to the Corvara, Clofosco area, seem to be the biggest problem. Taxis seem to want approx £500 for the return trip for 2 and the coaches that are supposed to serve the area look like a 4 hour transfer including stop and changing coach. I am a bit nervous of hiring a car. This is no doubt why it is so lovely and quiet.
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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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worz666, you could try Alice at www.simplydolomiti.com. They are an independent company but have a lot of local contacts and advertise Corvara and Colfosco. They also do transfers but unsure of the price. You could probably tell them what hotel you prefer but may be limited to what accommodation they offer. I'm assuming you tried Colletts already?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We are going to do the sella ronda tomorrow starting at dantercepiies, from selva. Mmmmm where shall we have lunch?!!
Today was great. The snow was perfect with blue skies above us. Wonderful!
Another 7 days of bliss hopefully!
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daveqpr, Switch to Brentford and your life will be complete! Enjoy the circuit. Out there myself soon. Looks like you are having snow tonight. Say hello to the DJ at the Luiskeller.
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| daveqpr wrote: |
We are going to do the sella ronda tomorrow starting at dantercepiies, from selva. Mmmmm where shall we have lunch?!!
Today was great. The snow was perfect with blue skies above us. Wonderful!
Another 7 days of bliss hopefully! |
Lunch?? Halfway round would be Arabba, but the restaurant at the Porta Vescovo is a bit of a soulless cafeteria, so best to stop before dropping into Arabba or wait until you get to the Belvedere sector above Canazei, where there are lots of nice huts.
Don't forget apres at Piz Seteur above Selva, special treat served on the bar for the guys on Tues & Thurs from about 2:30pm!!
http://www.pizseteur.it/en/events.html
Pic taken from this blog of the Sella Ronda area, lots of nice pics and descriptions of some of the routes available:
http://www.welove2ski.com/snow-report/Canazei/
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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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| pokemon wrote: |
| worz666, you could try Alice at www.simplydolomiti.com. They are an independent company but have a lot of local contacts and advertise Corvara and Colfosco. They also do transfers but unsure of the price. You could probably tell them what hotel you prefer but may be limited to what accommodation they offer. I'm assuming you tried Colletts already? |
Thanks Pokemon, I will contact them, on first glance, they mainly do Arraba.
Yep tried collets they are fully booked.
Is San Cassiano just as good for quiet beginner slopes? though transfers will still be the same problem.
Worz
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worz666, They do list Corvara and Colfosco on the website but agree that Arabba is their main resort. I think San Cassiano may be OK. There is a snowhead on here who runs a hotel there so they may be able to help out on both counts.
Their website is http://www.mountainsunltd.com/chalet/albergo-frohsinn
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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San Cassiano has masses of blue cruising territory. Mountainsun offer low-priced transfers to San Cassiano from Innsbruck and Venice. There is nothing like the flat places at Colfosco that attracted you, though we accompanied a capable but very cautious skier there last year and she loved it.
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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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worz666, Just back from Kronplatz. Will post a fuller trip review later but if you are after a fantastic beginners slope, 2km blue Miara is the best I've come across and is served by a gondola. Run ends in San Vigilio which is a good base. Access to the rest of Dolomites requires a couple of cable cars, a steep black (or cable car down) and a ski bus.
You can see a video of the run on the bergfex website
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You know it makes sense.
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Bartezki, Looks dreadful. Who would want to go there?
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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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Do any of you have experinece of early April skiing in the Selva area? What are conditions typically like?
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Poster: A snowHead
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pmercer, we were in the Sella Ronda at the end of March/beginning of April last year at it was very good (much better than the most of the Alps in fact, but that was because of a better than average season I believe). Even though temperatures were higher than average everything was open, with brilliant piste conditions. It was a bit icy for the first hour of the day, and a bit slushy for the last hour of the day, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment not least because of the excellent piste maintenance. We were also blessed with a week of almost unbroken sunshine, so all in all a very wonderful time  That was my first visit to the Dolomites in a very long time, so no idea if those were typical conditions or not.
You can see a gallery of photos from that trip here.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Chris Bish, We suffered a week of that weather and the scenery kept distracting us from the serious business of finding lunch with a view!!
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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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| worz666 wrote: |
Thanks for the extra info luigi. That Hotel looks lovely!
I am really struggling with DiYing my trip, transfers to the Corvara, Clofosco area, seem to be the biggest problem. Taxis seem to want approx £500 for the return trip for 2 and the coaches that are supposed to serve the area look like a 4 hour transfer including stop and changing coach. I am a bit nervous of hiring a car. This is no doubt why it is so lovely and quiet. |
worz666, which airport are you flying into? If flying to Venice then check out this company www.cortinaexpress.it
They do transfers from venice direct to Corvara and Colfosco
If you are flying into Innsbruck then you can get a train to Fortezza and then change onto another train to Brunico or St Lorenzo. From either of these places you can then get a bus to Corvara or Colfosco. See below website and enter the start/end destinations to see the options available. I can assure you the cost will be far less than the 500 Euros return you have been quoted.
http://www.sii.bz.it/index.php
Alternatively you can get a taxi from Brunico/St Lorenzo to Corvara/Colfosco though the taxi will cost about 90 Euros. Overall it will still end up cheaper than a taxi transfer from/to the airport.
If you are concerned about the transfer time of public transport then rent a car. The main road from Innsbruck to Brunico should be straightforward driving wise. However I'm not sure what the road from Brunico to Corvara/Colfosco is like in the winter. I suspect you will need winter tyres on the hire car and possibly snow chains as a last resort just in case.
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Innsbruck to Brunico by car is fine. From there to Corvara gets a bit steeper and some hairpins, but nothing too bad. Wintertyres definitely, chains... I'd take them, just in case. From Corvara to Arabba, over the pass, is definitely a winter tyres and chains job (nearly needed them once, but got away with winter tyres). PS every time I've been, there's always been a massive traffic jam at the bottom of the road back down from Corvara to Brunico (and also from there back to the Brenner autostrada/autobahn) on a Saturday am, so I'd consider going in the afternoon for a late flight, or leave shed loads of time. Fortunately half of the traffic jams have been cars leaving while I've been arriving.
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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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Should I believe the tour operators estimate that a transfer from Innsbruck to Selva takes roughly 1hr 45min by coach? I am travelling with a 3 year old so every minute matters? Also does anyone know where we stand with 3 year olds and ski lessons in Italy/Selva?
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pmercer, Probably not. Google Maps says the shortest route is 144km and takes 2 hours 1 minute as opposed to 225km from Verona airport. For the last 2 years the transfer to Arabba from Verona with Neilson has taken about 4 hours. Based on this I'd estimate 3 hours by transfer coach from Innsbruck, possibly a bit shorter as the passo campolongo pass may be less time consuming than the passo pordoi pass, used when arriving via Canazei.
This year I'll also be going via Innsbruck with Neilson as they have changed airports.
Re: lessons I'd suggest contacting the Val Gardena ski school directly. From what I've seen in Arabba they are brilliant with kids of all ages.
Just looked on their website and it looks like 4 years old is the starting age but they do provide a mini club for younger children http://www.scuolasciselva.com/en/corso-mini-club-selvi.asp
It looks like the ski schools in nearby Ortisei and Santa Cristina both offer "baby" lessons for children under 4. It may be worth emailing both the Selva ski schools to see if they could offer the same. See the following page for a list of the Val Gardena ski schools http://www.val-gardena.com/en/ski-schools-and-ski-guiding/page23.html
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Thanks for all your Help, Transfer is sorted via Collets of all people.
However with Collets being fully booked for accommodation. Has anyone got any other Corvara Hotel/Pension?Chalets?
There seem to be plenty available looking on Google. I was just wondering if anyone had any first hand experience.
Regards
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| pmercer wrote: |
| Should I believe the tour operators estimate that a transfer from Innsbruck to Selva takes roughly 1hr 45min by coach? I am travelling with a 3 year old so every minute matters? Also does anyone know where we stand with 3 year olds and ski lessons in Italy/Selva? |
Very unlikely. Taxi transfer from Siusi (which is in the next valley from Val gardena) down to Ponte Gardena (which is where the motorway is) and then onto Innsbruck airport took an hour and a half and that was with the driver travelling up to 100mph most of the way. In a coach it is going to be more than that. I reckon it will be more like 2hrs 15 to 2hrs 30 minutes. Still a lot less than the transfer from Brescia airport which we had two years ago which took 3hrs 30 minutes.
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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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| worz666 wrote: |
Thanks for all your Help, Transfer is sorted via Collets of all people.
However with Collets being fully booked for accommodation. Has anyone got any other Corvara Hotel/Pension?Chalets?
There seem to be plenty available looking on Google. I was just wondering if anyone had any first hand experience.
Regards |
Glad to hear you sorted your transfer. Will you have to wait long at the airport before Collets take you to the resort? I'm sure I read either on their site or the mountainsun site that the transfer may have to wait for other flights to arrive before it leaves.
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Back from a week in Arabba, outbound flight was diverted from Innsbruck to Friedrichshafen in Germany which meant for an interesting 6hr transfer through the snowbound Arlberg region, at one point we were diverted off the dual carriageway in heavy snow due to accidents ahead and we winded through the village of Klosterle am Arlberg gawping at the winter wonderland with 2 metres of snow piled on the roofs, along with tales off Lech and Ischgl being cut off due to avalanche danger and St Anton only having a couple of runs open.
It was quite comforting to arrive in Italy knowing that only 40cm had fallen in the previous week and sunshine was forecast for most of the week, long lunches on sunny terraces beckoned!
Wind at altitude was a bit of a problem on a couple of days and it did get perishingly cold on Friday & Saturday, but it was mostly sunny weather in which to enjoy the good conditions and extensive skiing.
Day trips to the Hidden Valley, Seceda-Ortisei run, Civetta & Kronplatz were very enjoyable. I was impressed by the quietness midweek and the magnificent views of the Pelmo in the Civetta area. Kronplatz was a lot better than expected with serious lifts, a good variety of challenging runs and wide motorways along with some of the best snow in the area.
The Dolomites could now do with some more fresh snow, all the snow-cannoned pistes are complete but the south facing off-piste ares are now patchy brown grass and a few exposed pistes are a bit windblown and hard-packed. But there's still some great piste skiing to be had.
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