 Poster: A snowHead
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My wife and I arrived in Corvara yesterday and first day skiing today. FYI They were snowmaking around the village last night and it looks like maybe elsewhere.
We spent a chilled day around Alta Badia so avoided the SR but popped over to Santa Croce and did a few circuits there.
We’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the piste conditions. We feared the wind and lack of snow would have caused problems, the good news is all is well. E.g. We did the blue and red down to San Cassiano late afternoon and both were holding up really well. No icy patches, no mogul fields just a little bit choppy but pretty much as good as you could hope for at nearly 4pm. We came back via piste 8 which has a sticky patch by the bottom of Pralongia 2, last time we were here this was a small mogul field at the end of the day and a problem for less experienced skiers, today a bit patchy but not a meaningful bump in site. (Of course this may be good or bad news depending on your preference  )
It was a beautiful day but clouded over late on, some local weather reports are predicting snow showers this evening. Fingers crossed….
Lesson until 10 tomorrow then we’ll do a loop around the SR.
We were sat on the long chair lift up to Santa Croce around lunchtime, the sun was shining on the cliffs above the church and it made us feel lucky to be alive, this place is beautiful.
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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 the update!!! Sounds fabulous!
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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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@richb67, Having just got back from 2 weeks in Alleghe then Arabba on the preBBWUW and the Birthday Bash I never cease to be impressed with how the Italians maintain the pistes in very good condition even when there has been little or no natural snow for quite some time. They really are masters (or should that be maestri?  ) at piste maintenance.
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@Alastair Pink, yes we were in Madonna last week and it was very similar there. I was amazed how quickly they got ‘snow’ back on the pistes after several days of high winds. Though evidently there has been such a high reliance on artificial snow some of the reservoirs are starting to run dry 
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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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On a different subject I can confirm that 168cm skis fit in the rear of a Fiat panda with at least a couple of cm to spare, well… as long as the driver or passenger has short legs
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I came back from Selva yesterday -- I estimated 4 to 6 inches new snow in Selva Tuesday/Wednesday. Snow conditions are very good (hard, but no ice) ; Relatively quiet Pistes ;
FFP2 wearing enforced everywhere (People were not allowed to enter the Ciampinoi base station without the correct masks..)
Green Pass asked for three times (I think, if you look like a Skier they do not bother asking as they know the Dolomitisuperski pass has already checked your status..)
Only my 'Carrier' (TUI) checked for PLF/AntiGen test
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 7-02-22 10:46; edited 1 time in total
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Thanks for the updates. Sounds grrrrreat! 
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Thanks for the positive updates! Hopefully it will be more than a dusting tonight and maybe something more Friday night! 6 sleeps to go! 
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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 areas are claiming 5-15cm overnight. Areas further north closer to the Austrian border got more, Speikboden got 35cm. Even Plose area near Brixen, within spitting distance from Val Gardena, got 30cm.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yes. Probably 3-4 inches of fresh snow in Corvara and 5-6 inches up the mountains. Lots if wind today so almost all the high up lifts are closed. We're keeping our fingers crossed they'll open this afternoon. Colfosco is very busy as it's quite sheltered.
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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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| olderscot wrote: |
| Yes. Probably 3-4 inches of fresh snow in Corvara and 5-6 inches up the mountains. Lots if wind today so almost all the high up lifts are closed. We're keeping our fingers crossed they'll open this afternoon. Colfosco is very busy as it's quite sheltered. |
Yes the Edelweiss side valley at Colfosco is a good call when it's windy as it's more sheltered than many other areas. Plus it has some nice ski runs and some excellent restaurants. 
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| olderscot wrote: |
| Yes. Probably 3-4 inches of fresh snow in Corvara and 5-6 inches up the mountains. Lots if wind today so almost all the high up lifts are closed. We're keeping our fingers crossed they'll open this afternoon. Colfosco is very busy as it's quite sheltered. |
Concur with this, I had a lesson first thing and the instructor had me practicing turns in 6 inches of powder down the easy side of the black on Colfosco, evidently we went there because nowhere else was open. The other (steeper) section only 50m away is more exposed so bare ice at the top. Winds so high even the lifts in Colfosco were stop start this morning with snow devils swirling around. Bergfex is estimating force 8 today. The forecast is slightly lighter winds tomorrow then back to good conditions from Wednesday so should be good from then onwards.
For those of you who know the area, the wind is so strong it was difficult to get any momentum skiing back into town alongside the long drag lift on piste 8 
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You know it makes sense.
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We were staying just down the hill from Arabba: a few inches or so fell overnight but high winds at altitude. Skiing around yesterday there’s an impressive amount of artificial snow they churn out. Only time I’ve ever skied off the side on windblown snow machine pow. We decided to up sticks and adventure road trip to Austria for a few days in search of some off piste.
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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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| Sharkymark wrote: |
| We were staying just down the hill from Arabba: a few inches or so fell overnight but high winds at altitude. Skiing around yesterday there’s an impressive amount of artificial snow they churn out. Only time I’ve ever skied off the side on windblown snow machine pow. We decided to up sticks and adventure road trip to Austria for a few days in search of some off piste. |
There's been loads north of the border. Let us know how it goes and if you have to do more Covid tests to enter Austria.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@luigi, knee deep+ but will be dangerous today. Not doing anything steep just now. For Austria you need either 3 jabs or 2 jabs (last one within 6 months) and a negative PCR to do anything or go anywhere.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A bit windy in Corvara first thing so looked at the weather forecast and popped over to Kronplatz for the day. We arrived late morning but Piste conditions were very good all day. it’s a bit browner over there so maybe they missed the snow from the other night, but there is still lovely snow on piste and some people were off pisting through the trees so good coverage.
We parked in St Vigil and headed up to the top of Kronplatz from there. I’m not a big black run guy but but my wife is a good skier so as the conditions were so good on the reds and blues we headed down black 4 (after Googling on the way up in a Gondola to make sure they were the steepest blacks in Europe!) It was mid afternoon and still in good nick. We didn’t see any ice all day but the red from the top towards St Vigil was pretty cut up at 4ish.
This was our first visit to Kronplatz and for some reason I wasn’t expecting much, the piste map looks so …dull! However we had a great day, there were some lovely runs through trees, fantastic views and no queues. We left thinking we will go back and even consider it for next years group trip as it looks a great resort for all abilities including less confident improvers. The only down side was the amount of walking between gondolas, it’s the first day I’ve done 10k steps whilst skiing
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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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@richb67, the main two runs back to SV from the top of Kronplatz are Sonne and Furcia. They do get cut up. Try the alternative Blue Furcia which tends to stay better. Can’t remember the piste number. 9?
Piculin is the sustained steep black but enjoyable. If you parked in SV you may have bypassed that one
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I was blown away by Kronplatz the day I went there. It is surely the pinnacle of managed skiing but in a good way.
I’ve never skied on such consistently wide runs before. I’m afraid they did entice me into some rather fast speeds. The run down to Reid is superb and incredibly long. The blacks are immaculate but on the easy side because they are so well groomed. The Piculin however is the steepest on piste run I have ever skied. There must be some epic pile ups at the bottom. What a resort and fairly under visited by the British.
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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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Sounds interesting! Will take a look if we hire a car. The taxi costs from Innsbruck to Corvara are quite eye watering 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Kronplatz is definitely better than the piste map might suggest. It is the complete antithesis of the usual wild natural Italian ski resort. The South Tyroleans have manage to completely tame the mountain and stuff it with all the latest snowmaking and lift technology. Probably helped by the fact that they have managed to class ski lifts as public transport, so they attract all the tax breaks and subsidies as such. Italians love going there as it's all so swish and efficient.
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| luigi wrote: |
| Probably helped by the fact that they have managed to class ski lifts as public transport, so they attract all the tax breaks and subsidies as such. Italians love going there as it's all so swish and efficient. |
It definitely seems to be the most integrated public transport I’ve seen. This picture of a train arriving at a platform was taken from a gondola
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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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We went on one of them trains when we went to Corvara a few years ago. Clean, efficient, spacious, comfortable and cheap. I was totally shocked, considering its not a main line.
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@luigi, re your upcoming trip. We found long queues for lift passes so if your accommodation picks them up it’s definitely worth doing. It was frustrating as we bought online but at Corvara couldn’t collect at a machine and still had to queue. We didn’t queue twice because we thought it was a one off ‘just bad timing’ but had to relent and join one in the end.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Very sunny and spring like in the dolomites today. The blue at the top of the Edelweiss valley on Colfosco was pretty slushy by the afternoon and the bottom of the Pralongia chairlift was showing 15c at 2:30pm. 
We did the Sella Ronda this morning. At first I thought it was going to be busy but a lot of people headed off towards Marmolada at Arraba and after that there wasn’t really much in the way of queuing.
The pistes are in great condition as always but the surrounding slopes are starting to look a bit bare again.
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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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| richb67 wrote: |
| @luigi, re your upcoming trip. We found long queues for lift passes so if your accommodation picks them up it’s definitely worth doing. It was frustrating as we bought online but at Corvara couldn’t collect at a machine and still had to queue. We didn’t queue twice because we thought it was a one off ‘just bad timing’ but had to relent and join one in the end. |
Thanks for the heads-up!
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi all - we're heading out to Arabba on Saturday for half term for what will be the 2nd time staying around the Sella Ronda (last time we were in Val Gardena side).
Does anyone have any recommendations for how to spend a day skiing in Cortina D'Ampezzo? It is feasible to ski to Armentarola first thing, get a taxi to the bottom of Armentarola and ski all the way, or better to just get a taxi out from Arabba (if so - how much would it cost?). As a family we are quite quick skiers, so can cover ground fast, although i'm worried about half term lift queues. All wisdom gratefully received!
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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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| ma94jcg wrote: |
Hi all - we're heading out to Arabba on Saturday for half term for what will be the 2nd time staying around the Sella Ronda (last time we were in Val Gardena side).
Does anyone have any recommendations for how to spend a day skiing in Cortina D'Ampezzo? It is feasible to ski to Armentarola first thing, get a taxi to the bottom of Armentarola and ski all the way, or better to just get a taxi out from Arabba (if so - how much would it cost?). As a family we are quite quick skiers, so can cover ground fast, although i'm worried about half term lift queues. All wisdom gratefully received! |
I presume you meant to type "get a taxi to the bottom of Lagazoui" ( from Armentarola)? Yes it's possible to do that, from the bottom of Lagazoui (i.e Passo Falzarego) you can ski across to you bottom of Cinque Torri ( there's a few flat sections which involve some poling and schussing where possible) and from the bottom of Cinque Torri you take the brand new gondola link that takes 13 minutes to get you to the slopes of Cortina. Alternatively if you wanted to maximize your time in Cortina you could as you say start the day with a taxi all the way from Arabba to Cortina (or possibly Cinque Torri if that's a bit cheaper), ski for some time in Cortina then get the new gondola back to Cinque Torri, go up to the top at Averau then part way down the rear side of Cinque Torri turn right for the Croda Negra chair that allows you to get to Passo Falzarego, take the cable car to the top of Lagazoui then ski the hidden valley, getting a taxi from the second restaurant (Capana Alpina) direct to the San Cassiano gondola (cost €4 per person) which cuts out the delay of waiting for the horse tow (now €3!) and subsequent poling.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| ma94jcg wrote: |
Hi all - we're heading out to Arabba on Saturday for half term for what will be the 2nd time staying around the Sella Ronda (last time we were in Val Gardena side).
Does anyone have any recommendations for how to spend a day skiing in Cortina D'Ampezzo? It is feasible to ski to Armentarola first thing, get a taxi to the bottom of Armentarola and ski all the way, or better to just get a taxi out from Arabba (if so - how much would it cost?). As a family we are quite quick skiers, so can cover ground fast, although i'm worried about half term lift queues. All wisdom gratefully received! |
I presume you meant to type "get a taxi to the bottom of Lagazoui" ( from Armentarola)? Yes it's possible to do that, from the bottom of Lagazoui (i.e Passo Falzarego) you can ski across to you bottom of Cinque Torri ( there's a few flat sections which involve some poling and schussing where possible) and from the bottom of Cinque Torri you take the brand new gondola link that takes 13 minutes to get you to the slopes of Cortina. Alternatively if you wanted to maximize your time in Cortina you could as you say start the day with a taxi all the way from Arabba to Cortina (or possibly Cinque Torri if that's a bit cheaper), ski for some time in Cortina then get the new gondola back to Cinque Torri, go up to the top at Averau then part way down the rear side of Cinque Torri turn right for the Croda Negra chair that allows you to get to Passo Falzarego, take the cable car to the top of Lagazoui then ski the hidden valley, getting a taxi from the second restaurant (Capana Alpina) direct to the San Cassiano gondola (cost €4 per person) which cuts out the delay of waiting for the horse tow (now €3!) and subsequent poling. |
Thanks! Yes..did mean Lagazoui. What would be the total travel time (roughly, in half term assuming setting off close to first lift) to get to Cortina skiing via Armentarola/Cinque Torri? Trying to weigh up whether a taxi out and then ski back might be the best option to maximise time in Cortina for minimum cost.
Is it easy to get a taxi from Capana Alpina? Did the horse tow last holiday and whilst it's a novelty I wasn't overly enamoured with the whole rigmarole
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The biggest queue is likely to be at Armentarola for the taxi or bus up to the laguzoi lift...
Even if you are on first lifts from Arabba to ski to Armentarola its still probably an hour to get there ? By which time the wait could be quite long....
Then you still need to ski down to Baiti Bai des dones and get the new gondola to Cortina.
You might not get there until late morning and will be constantly wondering about when to set off back .
It might be better to get a taxi directly from Arabba at say 8 AM ? It takes about 35 mins in good weather ? Might be expensive.
Drop you at carpark at bottom of Socrepes lift (Roncato on 3D map?). Next to chalet Tofane
You could time it to arrive there for first lift to maximise the time on Cortina
Stick to that side - Tofana and Pomedes (not done other side of Cortina but seems like a schlep across town for a smaller area).
Get new lift over to cinque torri and have lunch at rifugio Averau. ski back to Laguzoi . Then hidden valley run and quick dash back to Arabba on skis!
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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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| sheffskibod wrote: |
The biggest queue is likely to be at Armentarola for the taxi or bus up to the laguzoi lift...
Even if you are on first lifts from Arabba to ski to Armentarola its still probably an hour to get there ? By which time the wait could be quite long....
Then you still need to ski down to Baiti Bai des dones and get the new gondola to Cortina.
You might not get there until late morning and will be constantly wondering about when to set off back .
It might be better to get a taxi directly from Arabba at say 8 AM ? It takes about 35 mins in good weather ? Might be expensive.
Drop you at carpark at bottom of Socrepes lift (Roncato on 3D map?). Next to chalet Tofane
You could time it to arrive there for first lift to maximise the time on Cortina
Stick to that side - Tofana and Pomedes (not done other side of Cortina but seems like a schlep across town for a smaller area).
Get new lift over to cinque torri and have lunch at rifugio Averau. ski back to Laguzoi . Then hidden valley run and quick dash back to Arabba on skis! |
Thanks. This sounds like a plan! Having done the Armentarola taxi queue last time I was there for the hidden valley I am keen to avoid
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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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| ma94jcg wrote: |
Is it easy to get a taxi from Capana Alpina? Did the horse tow last holiday and whilst it's a novelty I wasn't overly enamoured with the whole rigmarole |
Yes they normally like a minimum of I think 4 people in a taxi from there, if your group is smaller you may be able to share with others. There's often a series of taxis coming and going from there, but if not the phone number of the taxi service is prominently displayed.
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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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Has anyone flown to Italy with BA recently? Trying to check in and they want us to upload Covid test and health declaration form…what the *** is that?? Do they mean passenger locator form? Italian ministry of health says no health declaration form needed!!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Petra wrote: |
| Has anyone flown to Italy with BA recently? |
Yes
| Petra wrote: |
Trying to check in and they want us to upload Covid test and health declaration form…what the *** is that?? Do they mean passenger locator form? Italian ministry of health says no health declaration form needed!!! |
Yep, the BA online digital check-in is a right pigs ear! Some people managed to register, some didn't, some managed to get their boarding passes without registering. On my BA flight on Saturday 22nd January they were giving out their own health declaration form on the aircraft for everyone to fill in. I believe people flying out a week later said they were no longer doing that...
If you're unable to check in online you can always check-in at the airport, when I did that the check-in agent asked nothing about vaccination status or health declaration forms.....
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@ma94jcg, You could skip the hidden valley and get a taxi back from the Pass to San Cassiano. You might be able to book it on the way up, or at least get a card with a number. Would save a fair bit of time that you could spend in Cortina.
Allow about 40 minutes to get back to Arabba, via Compolongo, add another 20 it you get dropped back in Armentarola.
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We are planning on doing that cortina trip from Corvara…head off first lift, hopefully at falzarego in about an hour, quick nip down to cinque torre (I love CT) then go on exciting new lift!
If you do go to cortina AVOID the restaurant at the top of the 26 cable car - worst service I have ever had in any ski restaurant!
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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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Oh and if you do the super 8 route back from cinque torre to falzarego watch out for the uphill in the middle of the red run 92
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FAQ
