 Poster: A snowHead
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@Rowlski, @geoffknight
I have posted this in another thread
When I had a non- skier with me I went to Canazei. She really enjoyed - went on a guided snowshoe walk ; plenty of walks along the valley ; used ski bus to access the other villages so she could meet up with the skiers ::
Alba - a gondola and cable car : Canazei - bubble : Campitello - new gondola : Pozza - gondola
The old centre of Canazei village is quaint - but the rest of the village is strung out along the valley bottom (some of the accommodation is a good distance from uplift)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Controversial opinion? Looking for “fairly nice village resort” … I thought the bulk of Canazei was pretty ugly, especially the long street with access to the main lift, scruffy hotels and businesses. The historic bit is cute but tiny.
Arabba and Corvara for example had more of an attractive Alpine feel.
But someone in my family who’s retired and has to watch the pennies, is drawn to Val di Fassa including Canazei because the Crystal deals are a level down on price.
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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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@Snow&skifan, I agree the main road isn’t attractive at all imo, if I wanted an attractive Main Street I’d go to Courmayuer, or Aosta with its Roman interest, it’s ugly away from the centre though, whereas I agree with @albob, if they aren’t interested in shopping.
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@Snow&skifan, I'm drawn to val di fassa for the same reason as your family member : cheaper because it is not directly on the 'ronda' and only one 'return' piste -- if your family member is booking, be careful with accommodation location ; some is a long way from uplift.
if @Rowlski's priority is nice village for a non-skier, Arabba would be a no no for me :: Orteisi would be my choice
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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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We did the Ronda today. Fairly sunny, dry and cold. Still dry powder being pushed into bumps on the steeps.
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Thanks all, a couple of conflicting views then on Canazei. Not sounding like a standout amongst them, perhaps Selva given scale.
Haven't really looked at Alba so will have a look. Probably a case of too many good choices!
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| Quote: |
But someone in my family who’s retired and has to watch the pennies, is drawn to Val di Fassa including Canazei because the Crystal deals are a level down on price.
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We went to Campitello with Crystal last month. I wrote a review about it here https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=175737 . The resort is typical Dolomiti village, smaller and more conveninent for skiing than Canazei and much smaller than Wolkenstein. There is no return piste; you have to get the lift down or ski into Canazei and get the bus back. One of its many plus points was that the main lift out of town had virtually no queues. It was usual to walk the 500 or so metres to the lift and get straight on it.
Having spent a long time all over the Alps I have no idea what an "Alpine feel" is. Every valley has a different feel.
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@Rowlski, ski resorts are never great places for non-skiers, but of the 3 you mentioned, Ortisei has the most non-ski life about it, with a pretty little town centre with a few shops.
The best place for a skier would be one of the resorts directly on the Sella Ronda, like Selva. There are frequent buses down the valley to Ortisei though, so maybe this would be the best option for you.
When it comes to meeting for lunch, the restaurants at the top of pedestrian friendly lifts are generally not the nicest and most authentic, though the views will be great. The nicest restaurants are generally the ones that are located piste-side.
If you wanted to save some money, the Val di Fassa resorts of Campitello, Canazei & Alba, offer access to the same ski area. Canazei has the most life and a kernel of an old centre and there are frequent buses between the 3 and further down the valley to Pozza & Moena.
Nice spa at Pozza...QC Terme and another in Canazei...Dolaondes.
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Hope this question makes sense.....place the sella ronda on a clock face....where are these resorts...selva. arabba. Val Gardena. Cortina?? Etc...
Just trying to orientate myself!
Ta
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Arabba 4 o'clock
Corvara 2 o'clock
Selva about half past 10
Canazei 7 o'clock
Alba/Penia just after 6 o'clock
Campitello 8 o'clock
Colfosco 1 o'clock
Ortisei is not directly on the 'Ronda but is lift linked (or bus from Selva or Santa Cristina) and is about 7km west of Selva.
Cortina d'Ampezzo is not on the 'Ronda; it's 20km east of Corvara and is not lift-linked to the main circuit.
"Val Gardena" isn't a resort; it's the valley containing Selva, S. Cristina and Ortisei.
Hope that helps! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Cheers that's great. Presumably 5-7 oclock are nearer to the airports??
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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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Presumably you've heard of a "map"? 
Northern villages are closer to Innsbruck; southern ones tend to be Verona/Venice. But tbh it's marginal on any given day.
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Maps??? They're so yesterday! It's all on SHs forums these days....
Keep up 
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You know it makes sense.
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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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I chose Selva partly as great motorway / main road access so less worry about snow chains in a rented car.
Something like 6in of snow last night and today in Val Gardena. Stopped snowing about 4pm.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@luigi, we're going pre Christmas so hopefully not peak prices (or crowds). We've been to some resorts (mainly in Austria and Switzerland) which were really good for non skiers before with nice villages and pedestrian access up the mountain to good huts and winter walks. We fancy trying the Dolomites for a change of scenery though as well as Italian food 
Ortisei sounds the best village but least good access up the mountain for a non skier or at least only one gondola without getting a bus hence dilemma.
@johnE,
Now read your report too, thanks. Sounded generally good though bit worrying about a lot of speeding nutters on the pistes! Hope your wife now fully recovered. I imagine when we're going mid December would be quieter in general ...
Will have a bit more of a think and also look at Val Di Fassa.
Conditions look fantastic out there at the moment!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Rje66 wrote: |
| Cheers that's great. Presumably 5-7 oclock are nearer to the airports?? |
I wouldnt say near
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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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The asterisk with South Tyrol Italian food is that it's definitely more Austrian tinged in vibe (my Roman wife said it was a notch below). Still pretty delicious - in particular the meats of deer filet or lambchops were superb.
We were just in Oristei which my wife picked as she wanted a pretty village, bigger than expected (in a good way). My wife is a "barely skier" who likes to stick to bunny slopes, and she had easy access to the bunny area up on top of Siusi (you can skip the blue to access it by downloading on a 2-person lift if you want, pedestrians allowed). Up on Siusi they do have roads around and lots of walking paths I saw many people taking, not sure exactly the ease of access, but there were even hotels slopeside (like Panorama) up there which you could definitely walk from. They had horse drawn carriages taking people around, even saw a dad walking, towing a baby in a car seat strapped to a sled.
I'd be curious to hear the oddity of the amazing 6-person chairlift in the middle of Siusi that looks to serve a mini-race course. It's seats are heated, the only heated seats I've ever seen had in Italy, and my son was bitterly disappointed that it was such a short lift.
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@newmanium, There are a lot of new lifts on the SR since Covid. Quite a few are heated, but not the ones you might hope. 
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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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It looks like the Dolomites reached their "season" average, last few weeks helped but that's from where I'm sitting at and what I'm reading ...
Looks like somewhat warmer spell on the horizon.
Any updates live from the snow ?
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I just did SR last week, I think at least two heated chairs, we didn’t get to Seiser Alm.
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I only did halfway around the SR, must've missed the heated chairs. One of those luxuries I almost wish I didn't know about when I'm stuck in -20C on a chair that's stopped in the wind.
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| Cheapski wrote: |
Any updates live from the snow ? |
I posted a trip report over the last week. Snow is cold and soft but pushed into (soft) bumps especially since the ?6in dump on Thursday.
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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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Just back from a fantastic week in the SR, staying in Colfosco. It's my first time skiing in the Dolomites, after mostly skiing in France, so couldn't help doing comparisons.
It was a bit of a tale of two halves - Sun-Tues was fantastic skiing, the piste management is brilliant and it's amongst some of my favourite days skiing ever. We only had one bad one in those 3 days - a horribly busy, and cut up red run that was part of the SR route, which I assuming was the reason it was so busy (not only busy but busy with lots of beginners trying to snow-plough down a mogully red!). We soon learned that if we headed off the beaten track to the lesser travelled runs that we had them almost to ourselves - paradise.
We had two boxes that we wanted to tick off before the holiday. Complete the Sella Ronda, and ski the hidden valley. On the basis that the worst runs we'd done were the SR ones, we ditched the idea of doing the SR and focused on finding quiet runs in the Corvara/Colfosco area. I'll never know if that was a bad choice but we found some fantastic ski runs!
On Wednesday we decided to ski the hidden valley - it's a beautiful run and I'm glad we did it but won't do it again now it's ticked off. We spent 40mins queuing for the bus, 40mins queuing for the gondola, 20min queue for the toilet at the top and then once we made it back it was another 20min queue for the button. First day that I've actually spent more time queuing than skiing!
Thursday was a complete white out - we had great fun skiing some runs in the powder but gave up by early afternoon as it was hard to see all the bumps that were forming.
Friday was a beautiful bluebird day, and we had a glorious morning but by early afternoon all that fresh snow had been pushed into bumps - and it felt like it was one mogul field after another.
It didn't feel particularly cheap compared to France- eating out was marginally cheaper, lift passes about the same. But it's such a stunning place to ski - the dolomites are absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to go back!
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There are a couple of pinch points on the SR that do get pretty bumpy, but equally there are lots of bits that are nice to ski! Even if you don't 'do the Sella Ronda' it's still a brilliant way to access different areas. For me, the big draw of having it as one of our 6 days in the holiday is that you just set off and follow the signs - someone else has done the route planning for you, and you just go along for the ride. And once you've been round once, it gives you a really good feel for how long it takes to get between the different 'corners', and which parts you'd like to go back and do again.
We've had 3 trips to the Dolomites now (Selva, Arabba and Corvara) and on our first 2 visits we went round each way once. This time we just went the clockwise way. But we now have a few favourite slopes either on, or just off, the route, so we have just used it in the same way we'd use the M25. You said you'll be back, and I'd say it's definitely worth one trip round the SR!
I would agree about the Hidden Valley. Great to do once, but a lot of waiting around for 1 long run. I'd still like to do the Cinque Torre, and I believe the way back from that is down the HV route (?) so I guess I'll be doing it again at some point!
It sounds like you were there at half term? Hopefully at some point you get to go when it's not so busy (we go in late Jan, and when we did HV we got straight in a taxi (no queue) and maybe 15 mins at the cable car. I don't remember a queue for the button back up, but I think we were at the front of the horse tow rope).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| WoottonBecs wrote: |
There are a couple of pinch points on the SR that do get pretty bumpy, but equally there are lots of bits that are nice to ski! Even if you don't 'do the Sella Ronda' it's still a brilliant way to access different areas. For me, the big draw of having it as one of our 6 days in the holiday is that you just set off and follow the signs - someone else has done the route planning for you, and you just go along for the ride. And once you've been round once, it gives you a really good feel for how long it takes to get between the different 'corners', and which parts you'd like to go back and do again.
We've had 3 trips to the Dolomites now (Selva, Arabba and Corvara) and on our first 2 visits we went round each way once. This time we just went the clockwise way. But we now have a few favourite slopes either on, or just off, the route, so we have just used it in the same way we'd use the M25. You said you'll be back, and I'd say it's definitely worth one trip round the SR!
I would agree about the Hidden Valley. Great to do once, but a lot of waiting around for 1 long run. I'd still like to do the Cinque Torre, and I believe the way back from that is down the HV route (?) so I guess I'll be doing it again at some point!
It sounds like you were there at half term? Hopefully at some point you get to go when it's not so busy (we go in late Jan, and when we did HV we got straight in a taxi (no queue) and maybe 15 mins at the cable car. I don't remember a queue for the button back up, but I think we were at the front of the horse tow rope). |
Yeah, we'll definitely do the SR at some point - it's good to get confirmation that it's not like that the whole way round. At the time, I just didn't want to risk it and have the family/OH saying why are we doing this while all these other slopes are empty. But will definitely do it next time.
We kinda guessed the HV was particularly busy due to half term, still glad we did it and over time everyone forgets the queues and it just becomes a funny story.
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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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Did the Sella Ronda both ways, at Christmas the year before last (statistically only slightly less busy than Half term week), without serious queues. That was to tick both boxes with the kids, although they didn't all do it so it's probably going to have to be done again, but not necessarily both ways because we are going at New Year next time. It is best seen as a means to an end, not a goal in itself. There are good areas of blue runs off the SR in Corvara (which it seems the OP found) and above Plan di Gralba and red areas in Arabba, above Canazei and between Santa Christina and Ortisei, which I'd like to try. I'll probably skip the HV and the Marmolada until I can go at a less busy time (when I say "I", I really mean "everyone else but me").
Does anyone know if there is significant snowmaking on the Gardenissima and La Longia runs given that they face South and South West and natural snow was scarce on slopes with that aspect this New Year? As far as I can see those are the two runs near the SR with the most vertical after Marmolada.
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thank you for your feedback. we are off to Corvara in 3 weeks so hoping the slopes will hold up and wont be too mogully by the afternoon. I am a confident blue skier, but show me a red and I recoil, I usually avoid red like the plague and I definitely am colour scared! so I am really hoping to build my confidence up with some nice cruisy reds in Italy as it is the first time. OUr adult son is coming with us this time and he is a really good skier, he wants to do a black this time out, can anyone recommend a nice black for him to do for the first time, that maybe has an optional blue or easy red on the other side so we can go up together then meet at the bottom? We would like to do the Sella Ronda, is there an "easier" way around or one that is in the sun more?
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You know it makes sense.
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@polo99, Black - Edelweiss valley above Colfoscovo is probably your nearest : short slope with alternatives : Vallon above Passo Campolongo - no alternative, but it isn't too long and you could wait at bottom
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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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| albob wrote: |
| @polo99, Black - Edelweiss valley above Colfoscovo is probably your nearest : short slope with alternatives : Vallon above Passo Campolongo - no alternative, but it isn't too long and you could wait at bottom |
Edelweiss would be a red in France - it's wide and short, so an easy intro, especially if you do it early doors.
I'd also say the runs above Corvara are an intermediates paradise (they are also fun for good skiers too), and there's absolutely zero need to be concerned whether the poles are blue or red.
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Poster: A snowHead
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A good starter black I tried would be run 2b off lift 107 near Belvedere (Val di Fassa) on the SR - it's short, you can go another way if you want.
The "Tremor" black variant to the Sassolungo was surprisingly accessible, just the initial part is steep and then it opens up into a very wide pitch - snow stayed very clean, no bumps compared to other areas. You then ski down to where the Sassolungo splits into black or red variant.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| polo99 wrote: |
| thank you for your feedback. we are off to Corvara in 3 weeks so hoping the slopes will hold up and wont be too mogully by the afternoon. I am a confident blue skier, but show me a red and I recoil, I usually avoid red like the plague and I definitely am colour scared! so I am really hoping to build my confidence up with some nice cruisy reds in Italy as it is the first time. OUr adult son is coming with us this time and he is a really good skier, he wants to do a black this time out, can anyone recommend a nice black for him to do for the first time, that maybe has an optional blue or easy red on the other side so we can go up together then meet at the bottom? We would like to do the Sella Ronda, is there an "easier" way around or one that is in the sun more? |
For the blue/black option, go to Colfosco (Boret gondola) and go up the Col Pradat Gondola: you can see the bottom station on the right from the Colfosco gondola. You ski down and right onto the Colfosco 2 (45 Blue) then down to the Col Pradat. From the top there's a very forgiving black: Col Pradat, also 45. Basically, it's a steep but wide red but if your son wants a black in the bag, it counts. If you stay right off the top, you are on the Variante 45A blue. It's a road and therefore a bit dull but it joins the black just below the Edelweisshütte.
To "cure" your colour-scaredness, the Forcelles 50 Red in Colfosco is a nice run and you can use the width of the slope near the top to effectively flatten it out a bit by skiing over to the right hand side before going down. In Corvara, there are three reds clustered together between Piz Sorega and Piz La Ila: Bamby 1 & 2 (16A and 16B) and La Fraina (23). All of them are wide and forgiving. Do them in the morning, before they get clumpy.
I imagine your son would want to do the Altin (17 Red) down to La Ila and the Piz Sorega A (12 Red) down to San Casciano, although the gondola queue back up can be quite bad after lunch, as it gets the returning Cinque Torri and Hidden Valley traffic. You could do Piz Sorega B (11 Blue) while he does the red: it's a lovely wide blue run (marred by the occasional idiot, unfortunately, IME). The Boè (1 Red) by the Boè gondola doesn't have the same appeal (for me anyway). If your son wants to do it, he should catch it first thing in the morning (if the day before wasn't too warm unless he likes hard corduroy) before the SR traffic clogs it up.
OpenSkiMap piste maps for Colfosco and 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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Wow thanks all for your help. Im going to have to write all this down lol. Ive looked at a lot of videos and the reds definitely dont look any worse than some of the blues ive encountered in 3 valleys in particular monte de la chambre which was hideous ans moguled and creux. Also another particularly bad blue in la plagne, I can't remember if it was top of lovatiere to the left or funiplagne. Saying that conditions were just horrible and I k ow that makes a difference but they really knocked my confidence. Also pavene in la plagne is another hideous run but better since they added the reservoir bit. It was particularly icy in la plagne.
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| polo99 wrote: |
| Wow thanks all for your help. Im going to have to write all this down lol. Ive looked at a lot of videos and the reds definitely dont look any worse than some of the blues ive encountered in 3 valleys in particular monte de la chambre which was hideous ans moguled and creux. Also another particularly bad blue in la plagne, I can't remember if it was top of lovatiere to the left or funiplagne. Saying that conditions were just horrible and I k ow that makes a difference but they really knocked my confidence. Also pavene in la plagne is another hideous run but better since they added the reservoir bit. It was particularly icy in la plagne. |
Piste maintenance and snowmaking in Corvara, and the rest of the SR is excellent. They can't perform miracles but they will get everything that's going to be open in tip-top condition for when the lifts open. Then a bunch of skiers and snowboarders will scrape all the snow off the hardpack, but that's life really. Making snowploughs and heel slides illegal might work (or making offenders put the snow back where they found it) but it hasn't happened, yet
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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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@polo99, I'm there week before you by the sounds of it so I'll post snow reports on here to let you know how its looking.
Seems it might be warmer over the next week so hoping the temps drop a bit.
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| slider24 wrote: |
@polo99, I'm there week before you by the sounds of it so I'll post snow reports on here to let you know how its looking.
Seems it might be warmer over the next week so hoping the temps drop a bit. |
That would be fab. We go 14th March
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Problem is that the new natural snow doesn’t mix well with the drier artificial snow. It’s not really the fault of Snowboarders 
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| polo99 wrote: |
| thank you for your feedback. we are off to Corvara in 3 weeks so hoping the slopes will hold up and wont be too mogully by the afternoon. I am a confident blue skier, but show me a red and I recoil, I usually avoid red like the plague and I definitely am colour scared! so I am really hoping to build my confidence up with some nice cruisy reds in Italy as it is the first time. OUr adult son is coming with us this time and he is a really good skier, he wants to do a black this time out, can anyone recommend a nice black for him to do for the first time, that maybe has an optional blue or easy red on the other side so we can go up together then meet at the bottom? We would like to do the Sella Ronda, is there an "easier" way around or one that is in the sun more? |
As others have said, in Corvara you will be able to ski anything blue, and many of the reds are also very skiable. I particularly enjoyed 17, and there was a very nice lunch stop half way down too!
I am not at all a fan of bumpy snow, so we booked a lesson at the ski school in Corvara for our first afternoon (booked before we left home to be sure we could get the time/day we wanted). I gave the instructor the brief that I wanted tips for skiing bumps and he was brilliant. We went up the Boe gondola and came down red 1, which is pretty bumpy at the top by 3pm, and he gave me loads of tips. Then we went back again and went down red 22 (or maybe 22a). Possibly the bumpiest red on the SR, and particularly so at 3.30pm. Having got down that comfortably, my confidence was then restored for the rest of the week. Helped by the instructor telling me that was the worst thing I'd encounter on the SR (and he was right, based on this visit and our 2 previous visits).
I would highly recommend an 'end of day' lesson if bumps are not your bag. It made such a big difference.
I'll add to the list of 'nice' blacks - the one from the top of Dantecepies down into Selva. I love that run so much, and I'm not a black run skier at all. It's not one I just 'get down somehow', it's one I go down and then just want to get in the gondola and go straight back up and do again. I'm sure it would be red in many places, but it does have some pretty steep bits. But it's as wide as the ocean, and the views all the way down are just amazing. And it never seems to be that busy. It's WAY nicer than the corresponding red!
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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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some good tips, thank you. I am wondering if there are some blacks that he should definitely avoid? we had lessons last time we went skiing but I lost my confidence so much I had pretty much resigned myself to never ski again! I have since lost nearly 6 stone so feel much fitter. one of worries was that if I fell over nobody would be able to pick me up and I wasnt able to get up on my knees by myself without at least a table or sofa to grab onto and those are pretty rare on the slopes! lol. Now i can get up from kneeling no trouble at all so my confidence is much better than it was.
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If conditions are good, then both the Gran Risa runs should be fine for your son, especially in the mornings. Probably best avoided in the afternoon if runs start cutting up.
Shortest route from Corvara, Costes chair, left off the lift, then right under the bridge, Col Alto, short run down to Braia Fraia, then keep left to Bambi chair. You can be there in less than 30 minutes in the morning.
Both the dantercepies blacks are pretty straightforward. Most people miss the bottom on No2, Cir because the sign points left for the SR, so it's quiet.
I took 2 intermediates down there on the BB. Their first blacks and they loved it. Gave them confidence for take on others.
Nice place for a coffee/chocolate break at the bottom. Short lift back up, then the red down to dantercepies.
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FAQ
