 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi I'm fancying a change this year having done Austria, Switerland and most of the French Mega resorts. I'm really fancying the Dolomites as as change, the scenery looks great and it'd be nice to see how the Italians do it. Val Gaedena comes to mind , but if I could tap into the vast knowledgebase of all things Skiing known as Snowheads if anyone could give me some recommendations for 4 decent skiers who like doing a few miles I';d be grateful. Im thinking the first week in march. Dont need banging night life but would like a nice village - if anyone could recommend a Catered chalet or hotel that would be good or point us in the direction of a decent operator spevilaising in the dolomites.
Cheers Mark
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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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Arabba is nice. Pretty quiet, but there is one lively bar in the village. The more difficult slopes in the area are supposed to be around Arabba too, but we didn't notice a huge difference between the villages.
I don't think any of the villages are mega lively, but Corvara, Santa Cristina and Selva looked a bit busier/livelier.
Colletts specialise in the Dolomites, but we went with Inghams and all was good.
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Arabba has the tougher end of the Sella Ronda skiing, especially off piste, and access to the Marmolada, the highest peak in the area. Val Gardena is a smaller nearby area I haven't skied, and Cortina, a bit further but still close, is more famous than any resort on the Sella Ronda but I'm not so keen - it is a quite large town with different bits of skiing around the edge.
The Dolomites are more spectacular than the Alps and worth trying. Quite a long transfer, though.
I've touted Horizon's TR of our first Arabba off piste holiday often, but here it is again.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Sun 20-01-13 14:21; edited 1 time in total
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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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Thanks guys - really appreciate your help
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+1 for Colletts - and I would choose Arabba too
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There 12 areas forming the Dolomites superski pass with which the holder is entitled to ski some 1200km piste. So if 4 of you like to do a few miles you have come to the mother of all resorts here.
Most overseas visitors will homing in the Sella Ronda a circular circuit formed by Val Gadena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Canazei offering 510km linked piste and over 200 chairlifts. Thus by going into any of these 4 resorts one will not be disappointed because one can go clockwise or anticlockwise for two full days skiing without repeating a single run.
For the first timer to Dolomites Val Gardena is possibly the safe bet if all of you can ski to travel. It got 175km piste. It is the largest of the 12 Dolomites satellite resorts and is comprised of Alpe Di Siusi, Ortisei and Santa Cristina with its own circular loop long enough for a day to pass through without touching the larger Sella Ronda circuit. Val Gardena is of course closest to the main motorway and quickest to get to. All 4 resorts of Sella Ronda are linked by mountain passes liable to be cut off in a big dump and skiing is often the only way to travel.
Alta Badia has 130km piste and is comprised of Corvara, Colfosco and La Vila all known to be easy attracting beginners and early intermediates. Armentarola of this resort is also the arrival point of the Hidden Valley which is just a single run where one takes a cable car to the highest point in Lagazuoi and ski in one direction inside a valley that no one outside the valley could see. Many parts of other skiing resorts also have it but this one is long and most secretive I suppose. I is not marked on the map and itself belongs to area covered by the No. 1 area Cortina Ampezzo. ALta Badia is also handy for visiting the No. 2 area Kronplatz which has 102km piste and very popular with the Italians, possibly because its good facilities for children and young skiers.
Arabba is the smallest of the 4 linked resorts of Sella Ronda as it got only 62km piste. It is however closest to Cortina Ampezzo. Apart being one corner of the famous longest skiing circuit Sella Ronda it is also part of the World War I skiing tour that covers parts of Cortina Ampezzo (Hidden Valley and Cinque Torri) and the No.12 Area called Civetta.
Canazei or Val Di Fassa also has 120km piste and is good for accessing No. 11 area of Trevalli. I haven't explored this area yet so couldn't offer its attractions.
Others Dolomites areas are not large or as concentrated as those around Sella Ronda and can be difficult to get to.
I suppose it is fair to say Dolomites is not known for its difficulties as any skier comfortable with red runs can travel extensively. Steep blacks are available but probably not enough for the thrill seekers. It is a place for enjoyment, scenery and good food.
Cortina Ampezzo to the Italian is same as St Anton to the Austrian. It is one of the places a serious skier must go at least once.
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snowball,
| Quote: |
I've touted Horizon's TR of our first Arabba off piste holiday often, but here it is again.
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I'd never seen it. What a wonderful TR, thanks for posting. 
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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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Any serious skier will know the biggest skiing resort is the French 3V with 600km piste and over 200 chairlifts.
Sella Ronda is the next biggest fully linked area with 510km piste and a similar number of chairlifts which should be an important consideration for the long distance skiing.
While 3V is larger there is no distinct route for a visitor to identify the resort with. Trying to cross the 3 to 4 valleys quickly is often restricted by the bottle necks.
Sella Ronda is less crowded, much wider and more spaced out. The two circular directions of Sella Ronda are well sign-posted so the skiing is more enjoyable even one does not admire the mighty Dolomites scene. When one skis in Sella Ronda one can appreciate what a pair of skis or a snowboard can do in covering some 40km (including chairlifted distance) in a day.
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Pedantica, yes Cortina has some serious skiing but nothing like the extent of off-piste of St Anton. I was slightly disappointed (given its reputation). But then, not many Italians seem to ski off piste.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Sun 20-01-13 15:33; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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snowball, I was thinking more that it was delightfully well written.
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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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Yes, Horizon writes very well . He does write some short stories (or he did, I hope he still has time - I'll ask him in a few days when we'll be in Montgenevre). I was just referring to your comment on Cortina.
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marksovereign, just back from my first visit to the dolomites, went to San Cassiano as wanted nice crusing blues for a very nervous friend. We all had a great time.
We didn't stay here as they only do weeks, but seems to be in a perfect location, assuming you want to stay in San Cassiano.
http://www.mountainsunltd.com/chalet/albergo-frohsinn
cheers,
greg
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You know it makes sense.
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snowball, ah. It was saikee's comment.
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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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Thanks guys one of the party have come up with Sauze d'olux ? Any thoughts?
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Poster: A snowHead
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marksovereign, no real comparison skiing wise. I am in Dolomites next week and Sauze in March. If its the miles your after head to Dolomites. I have stayed in the MountainSun place in San Cassiano and would definitely recommend it. In Sauze we are staying at Orso Bianco which is half way up the mountain so you are a bit stuck if you want nightlife but they will pick you up in a skidoo for a few euros if you want to go down to the village on the last lift.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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As a geometrical approximation Sella Ronda of the Dolomites is a circle with Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Canazei at the 4 corners in clockwise direction.
Milky Way resembles to an inverted T with Sauze d'olux being the left side of the bottom horizontal leg. The opposite end on the right of this horizontal leg is Montgenevre(the only French resort) with Claviere, Cesana and Sansicario sandwiched in between. The vertical leg, after inverted the "T", is Sestriere.
There is a total of 400km piste in the fully linked Milky Way but the above layout means it is very difficult to go from one end to another. This is made worse by the horizontal leg often with just one run and one chairlift at places creating bottlenecks. This conclusion is pretty much the remark of every SH who reported on Milky Way and I found this deficiency every time I went there.
I believe there are more apres or night life in Sauze d'olux but I never stayed there myself according to the accident deaths associated with drunken skiers playing with the protective mattress (to steel columns of chairlifts) to slide down the slope and walked opposite to the accommodation into a steep ravine at night.
I am not shooting Sauze d'olux as I enjoy Milky Way too. However Dolomites is "the" best skiing paradise I have sampled. Milky Way is at least one league below. I will advise to try both to make your own judgement. Milky Way was a recent Winter Olympic venue so its facilities are pretty modern and the French Montenevre has been constantly improved also.
If I have to explain why Milky Way less desirable the example I would table is if one wants to go from Montengevre to Clariere one either ski the bottom green run (by almost walking) or take the black run at the top. Last time I said to hell with the walking and took the black at the top only to find it closed at the middle and had to ski off piste the rest of the way. Also the run from Claviere to Cesana is south facing and I had never seen it open in my two visits there. In contrast I had never run into lack of snow in the 7 out of the 12 resorts in the Dolomites.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sun 20-01-13 16:32; edited 1 time in total
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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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If the choice is a resort on the Sella Ronda or Sauze D'oulx take the Sella Ronda option you cannot go wrong, it is a wonderful place.
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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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| marksovereign wrote: |
Hi I'm fancying a change this year having done Austria, Switerland and most of the French Mega resorts. I'm really fancying the Dolomites as as change, the scenery looks great and it'd be nice to see how the Italians do it. Val Gaedena comes to mind , but if I could tap into the vast knowledgebase of all things Skiing known as Snowheads if anyone could give me some recommendations for 4 decent skiers who like doing a few miles I';d be grateful. Im thinking the first week in march. Dont need banging night life but would like a nice village - if anyone could recommend a Catered chalet or hotel that would be good or point us in the direction of a decent operator spevilaising in the dolomites.
Cheers Mark |
+1 for Colletts, and we have been away with them several times - excellent set-up, nice locations, great staff, free transfers from Vennice. And had Tom Collett telephone ahead of trip to check everything is alright (never had that with Neilson or Inghams etc etc). The Super Dolimiti ski area is excellent (Selle Ronda should be any skiers' bucket list). Arabba is in a deep valley, so sunlight can feel a bit limited - Would suggest Covara or even Pedraces
(the the Santa Croche run is a great way to start your day - and finish with a boot of gluvine too  . PM me if you want any more, or could send you some pics if needs be.
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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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| Ian Kenvyn wrote: |
| marksovereign wrote: |
Hi I'm fancying a change this year having done Austria, Switerland and most of the French Mega resorts. I'm really fancying the Dolomites as as change, the scenery looks great and it'd be nice to see how the Italians do it. Val Gaedena comes to mind , but if I could tap into the vast knowledgebase of all things Skiing known as Snowheads if anyone could give me some recommendations for 4 decent skiers who like doing a few miles I';d be grateful. Im thinking the first week in march. Dont need banging night life but would like a nice village - if anyone could recommend a Catered chalet or hotel that would be good or point us in the direction of a decent operator spevilaising in the dolomites.
Cheers Mark |
+1 for Colletts, and we have been away with them several times - excellent set-up, nice locations, great staff, free transfers from Vennice. And had Tom Collett telephone ahead of trip to check everything is alright (never had that with Neilson or Inghams etc etc). The Super Dolimiti ski area is excellent (Selle Ronda should be any skiers' bucket list). Arabba is in a deep valley, so sunlight can feel a bit limited - Would suggest Covara or even Pedraces
(the the Santa Croche run is a great way to start your day - and finish with a boot of gluvine too . PM me if you want any more, or could send you some pics if needs be. |
Thanks Ian time for a chat with the others , seems like the Sella Ronda is the way to go
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Pedantica wrote: |
| snowball, ah. It was saikee's comment. |
Oh yes, so it was. 
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I've just returned from Canazei after previously staying in San Cassiano. They are at opposite sides of the Sella Ronda, but both have their advantages.
San Cassiano has access to lots of gentle blues in the Alta Badia area, and Santa Croce and the Hidden Valley are both easily accessible. It is a quiet village though. The hotel linked by kitenski is ski in/out. It is fairly basic, but the position above the lift is excellent.
Canazei is a far larger and more lively town. It gives easy access to Arabba and Selva areas (but is much cheaper than Selva to stay). I think the Val Gardena area is my favourite, actually. It is a bit far to easily visit the Hidden Valley and Santa Croce though. No ski in/out accommodation, but you can be near the lift if you choose well, or use the little train to get about.
The Sella Ronda can be done easily from either.
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Any views on which of the resorts would be suitable for early Dec? When do the resorts open, what's the snow like normally at that time of year?
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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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Theres a whole lot to mull over here, Thanks again for all the replies.
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marksovereign, if you do like the sound of Arabba, well worth having a look at the Sporthotel. Several TOs go there. I went with Neilson.
Other than being a fabulous place to stay (loads of character, large rooms with plenty of storage, outstanding food and terrific service) it is in a really great position for heading out of Arabba in both directions - 50m from the piste.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| marksovereign wrote: |
| for 4 decent skiers who like doing a few miles I';d be grateful. |
I know a lot of people here love the Dolomites, so I'll probably be flamed for posting this, but:
I made a sadly shortened trip to the Dolomites last year, but it seemed to me that it was only about doing lots of miles. Miles and miles of long interminable blues and reds, with too many uphill bits requiring poles, and the downhill bits were about pointing the skis on the mile-long shallow downhill and just desperately hoping for the end of the piste to arrive in the hope that the next would be more interesting skiing. It never was... 1200km, I'd guess you'd be able to do a serious chunk of it in a week... It seemed to me about clocking up the miles rather than actively skiing. And the occasional black that was just like the blues, but the cartographer had chosen a different colour for the line.
I cannot comment on the off piste, but (a) you can be fined for going off piste in Italy and (b) it never snows in the Dolomites so it's all artificial snow.
But that I had to return early for domestic reasons didn't upset me one jot; frankly the skiing was dead boring. That might suit you. You might be lucky, it might snow a couple of feet whilst you're there. The scenery is dramatic, quite unlike the Alps and well worth a visit.
Ski Total have some chalets there. So does http://www.pisteandpeaks.com/ (like all (?) privately-owned chalets it's somewhat Fawlty Towerish, e.g. the fourth course at dinner is a glass of limoncello between the starter and the main (!!!), and the (presumably nylon) sheets spark static electricity which can be alarming in the dark; you have to go outside to go to bed, motel-style, but they're nice people.)
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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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| Quote: |
Miles and miles of long interminable blues and reds, with too many uphill bits requiring poles
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Well yes, except they do terminate. 
Alta Badia is not my favourite part of the area, because there are also lots of *short* blues (and requirements for poling) and I've never been able to form a good mental topographic map.
But in addition to that, there are plenty of steeper runs. The World Cup runs at Val Gardena and Cortina (Socrepes) come to mind, Marmolada, one or two of the Porta Vescovo runs, the face at Lagazuoi, the chute from which you exit the Ra Valles area towards Socrepes - and I'm sure there are quite a few more.
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James the Last, Sounds like you only skied the Alta Badia area.
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You know it makes sense.
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| James the Last wrote: |
| it never snows in the Dolomites so it's all artificial snow. |
Its been snowing there pretty much daily for the last 2 weeks! 
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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| riverman wrote: |
| James the Last, Sounds like you only skied the Alta Badia area. |
The link James the Last gave was to accommodation in Canazei which is in the Val di Fassa, not the Alta Badia region....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Alastair Pink, Perhaps he lost his way and skied the cross country routes in the Val di Fassa !
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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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James the Last,
| Quote: |
| It never was... 1200km |
Whether you like a resort/domain is a personal opinion but facts are facts. If you claim Dolomites does not have 1200km piste please supply a proof.
The 12 skiing areas of Dolomites are published officially in a booklet. The totally lengths of piste of the 12 area are
1-Cortina D'AMpezzo - 140km
2-Kronplatz - 105km
3-ALta Badia - 130 km
4-Val Gardena - 175km
5-Val Di Fasa/Carezza - 120km
6-Arabba - 62km
7-Alta Pusteria - 54 km
8-Val Di Fiemme - 107km
9-San Martino Di Castrozza - 60km
10-Valle Isaro - 85km
11-Trevalli - 100km
12-Civetta - 80km
I have skied 7 areas myself (and have 7 piste maps) and also visited/passed Alta Pusteria. From the 140+ facilities I have tried over 14 countries I am convinced the piste lengths are not exaggerated. I always drive to the skiing resorts and have travelled around Dolomites reasonably extensively to survey its skiing areas as this is my hobby. I find it amazing that someone could base one's view by staying in one place only once. I myself at least bothered to take a look or skied 8 out of the 12.
If you add the piste length together the total is 1218km.
Each area issues its own piste map. The true extent of Dolomites skiing should be judged from the 12 different piste maps.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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James the Last, certainly no need to apologise - like all good polemics, yours contained an element of truth!
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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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Can't comment on specific places as memory fuzzy, but we stayed in Ortisei and had a wonderful time in the Dolomites on the Sella Ronda, the skiing was fab, sadly I was out 2 days ill and broke my thumb as well!
But we're going back and staying in Colfosco this March
It is a beautiful place, lovely to ski, and one other thing, PIZZA!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Pizza place in Ortisei is good  Funny trying to confuse them by speaking German. Was with Schneeflocke there - we default to English (her English is a million times better than my German), but we order in German in a German speaking restaurant. They insisted on speaking English back, thinking we're both brits.
Can see why people say "there's no way it's 1200km". It's kind of true, because it's more like 500km linked in the Sella Ronda section. Now from my stats, and ranking up miles/km I think I only ever managed half that in a week! Plenty of steeper, bumpier runs, it's just a lot is linked by blue.
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saikee, the ellipsis marks the end of a sentence!!! But thank you for your statistical feast.
( PEDANTICA help!! Was I that unclear?)
Crazy Jules - you can get Pizza anywhere...
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andy is on the mark - there is an amazing pizza place in Ortisei, the one we went to anyway, really really good. Amazing food and they also looked after me well when I had a full blown panic attack for no reason - very very rare :s
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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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Sella Ronda is only one of the many skiing loops in Dolomites.
It is formed by linking 4 out of the 12 areas. These 4 fully linked resorts are Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Canazei (or Val di Fassa) and have 510km piste in itself. This loop is just under 40km in either direction and is the world's biggest circular circuit.
Over half of the Dolomites is outside Sella Ronda and can take a long time to get to.
Dolomites 1200km isn't fully linked together but scatters over several provinces! Even with car it will still take weeks to go through them.
The super Dolomites ski pass entitles the holder to ski all of them and is only marginally more expensive than skiing one area. It is probably one of the best value ski passes in the world.
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| saikee wrote: |
| The super Dolomites ski pass entitles the holder to ski all of them and is only marginally more expensive than skiing one area. It is probably one of the best value ski passes in the world. |
I think I would go for it if I could only choose one ski pass for life.
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FAQ
