EactlyQuote:
Originally Posted by hafjell
https://www.bogner.com/en-us/ski-ove...lor-38903.html
So true, but this is what I secrectly long to sport on the slopes...give a Steve McQueen/Monaco vibe.
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EactlyQuote:
Originally Posted by hafjell
https://www.bogner.com/en-us/ski-ove...lor-38903.html
So true, but this is what I secrectly long to sport on the slopes...give a Steve McQueen/Monaco vibe.
Here's a mini edit of some of the pow we found. Kinda low quality Instagram version. May do Vimeo or something better later-
https://www.instagram.com/p/BflT8bql_ao/
Italy has been awesome. We finished the trip with some tram laps at Pellegrino on some steep terrain. The trip couldn't have gone any better. Will try to post more pictures later. Thanks for all the recommendations everyone!
Thanks for the report. Love to see final bill on the car rental.
Looks like you got a little snow in those trees.
Yeah, when I was in Arraba and Cortina in November (they were skiing a little) I went into four shops checking out rentals for future reference, and did not find much in the way of big skis. So, I'm bringing my own.Quote:
Originally Posted by hutash
Bill was the same, except for a 140 euro fee for returning the car empty. We got screwed because we couldn't find a gas station that took visa, Amex or debit within 30 km of the airport. Went to 4 different places and then ran out of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
All gas stations were closed for the weekend and only accepted some kind of italian credit card chip. They gave us errors with every card we tried.
I have a Citi card that waives a lot of fees and costs in Euro land and works everywhere. Good points, too. Mastercard.
Good to know. We tried Chase, Fidelity and PenFed and none worked.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
They are available, but can be hard to find. Shops that rent touring gear are the best bet, which apparently don't exist in St Anton. Rumor has it that there options in the Dolomites, but not sure where.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
Two shops in La Villa rent AT gear. Will post the names after the weekend, but I think they are Sport Tony and Ski Renato. The latter quoted us €115/week for skis and bindings and €53/week for boot then subtract 15% discount. So roughly €20/day.Quote:
Originally Posted by hutash
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Actually, not sure about the big boards. Sorry, misread the original need. These guys in La Villa might be able to help.Quote:
Originally Posted by hafjell
Ski Renato
Sport Tony
Reviving the thread for a couple questions. I’m so excited to ski in the Dolomites for the first time mid March. I have heard that it is not a very good year so far so somewhat bummed about that, but stoked nonetheless!
Heading there w my fam, two kids and wife, competent expert levels for all of us, but my kids are so young that I won’t be touring with them. Was thinking sella Ronda for sure, but groomers are not really our thing. Anything other than groomers at the moment or is the season that bad?
Considering hiring a guide for a day if any couloir skiing is in form, we will be basing out of Val Gardena. Any help for 2020 season would be great, thanks
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I'll be in Val Gardena the last week in March. Could use a partner for couloir skiing.Quote:
Originally Posted by ski whore
Edit to add: https://www.fassa.com/EN/Webcam-Val-...i-Pordoi-Pass/
Judging by this coverage looks pretty terrible.
I did an easy off piste day trip out of Val Gardena with Stephan Comploi a few years back. He works with these guys: https://www.gardenaguides.it/en/. Worth a look. I was in the Dolomites in late January. The coverage was good on north facing slopes, but there was darn little new snow and the off piste was highly wind affected.. I'd suggest keeping an eye on the weather and see if they pick up any new snow as you get closer to your dates and if so, book a guide then. If you get a good freeze thaw cycle , you might be able to get some good spring snow off piste in late March. Otherwise, it's piste skiing pretty much all the time. The Sella Ronda can get very crowded. There are good options off the Sella Ronda that have less traffic and some very good skiing. Good luck. The Dolomites are a fantastic place and if the off piste conditions are favorable, it's as good as it gets particularly if you're partial to steep, narrow canalonis. P.S. The Val Mezdi is the go to off piste route for the guides. It can be quite good, and it is spectacular, but it's heavily trafficked and often ends up being a mogul field. There are lots of other better options if the conditions allow.
There is no reason to hire a guide for Val Mezdi if you are a competent skier with a bit of sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Choucas
Sells Ronda - my experience as that the actual routes around Sella Ronda are super crowded but there is some excellent skiing around Arabba/Marmolada/Val Gardena. Prolly want to just take advantage of it instead of focusing on the Sella Ronda.
Thanks for the info
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If you hire a guide ask about skiing touring in the Lagorai range like Colbricon. You could do this without a guide if you have skills, but more likely to have a good day with a guide. If it fills in. Family can ski across the way at Alpe Lusia.Quote:
Originally Posted by ski whore
Sella Ronda is not all that. Before high speed lifts and installation of some bridges it was quite the adventure.
Arabba and marmolada are the best parts so peel off for a few there.
There is some good sidecountry stuff off of the pala di santa lift down towards obereggen. I am talking more val di fiemme stuff is what I know.
Have fun! Watch out for drunken Polish skiers!
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Ok so maybe bail on sella Ronda, worth driving to and spending day in arabba and Marmolada it sounds like?
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https://www.hotelmesdi.com/hotel-arabba.htm
I have my eye on this place, all seasons except mud.
Edit: I stole this from one of Kevo's posts earlier in the thread. Hotel Mesdi is the larger building in the lower right, right on the road and next to the quad to take you out of there.
Attachment 225005
The "Sella Ronda" is a bunch of interlinked trails and lifts that go around the Sella Group, which is a collection of peaks with a high plateau in the middle that can be accessed via the tram at Passo Pordoi, and a couple other lifts of the East side.Quote:
Originally Posted by ski whore
I agree that there is nothing special about the Sella Ronda. Strongly disagree when it comes to skiing off the Pordoi tram. Yes, the two most obvious ski lines (Forcello Pordoi and Val di Mesdi) get tracked and bumped. Val di Mesdi is still worth skiing for the scenery alone, plus it has a number of alternate entrances. The two easiest to access steep couloirs (Canale Joel and Canale Holzer) also get skied a lot but they are also among the best lines I've ever skied. There are numerous other great lines on the Sella group that get skied much less with approaches between 10 minutes and two hours. Some will require a rope to get into or out of, especially in a low snow year. Some of them get skied much less that the more obvious routes around Arraba and Marmolada.
Sella Ronda is good with the familyQuote:
Originally Posted by ski whore
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My FIL eye doctor, Mina Chung, fell and died skiing Cortina d’Ampezzo this past week. Has anybody me heard about this and have more details? When he told me about it, he only said she had fell 1000 feet. I did a google search, as I’m
Curious about how this might happen. She is a solid skier from what I was told, but unclear if she was even off piste. Online I can only find obituary style pieces coming out of her hometown of Rochester New York.
Italy now shutting down due to the bat virus. It's all over the Veneto, Venice carnival now cancelled, villages near Milan locked down.
^^^^^^ Sud Tyrol ok for now, especially if you fly through Munich. But I'm preparing myself for upcoming trip to be cancelled. Especially since my step dad (who I'd be visiting) is on perma-chemo. Fuck.
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Was told by a local guide friend in Cortina that an American woman skier in early 50s lost edge in the Bus de Tofane and began a slide. Her guide tried to arrest her slide and they slid together for about 400m vert but he lost her and while he arrested, she could not and slid the remaining way down to rocks below. Until this recent snow, Dolomites have been icy and hard windboard in shaded couloirs. We had to adjust our expectations and objectives but still had an epic trip. More corn than powder.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ottime
Dolimiti are closed for the season for Corona
According to a directive by the Italian Government, we have to inform you, that all Italian Ski resorts will be closed already from tomorrow morning, Tuesday March 10th. We are sorry about all inconveniences and hope to see you soon again in our beautiful Dolomites. [emoji170]
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/lp-2019-20/Covid-19_en
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Thanks to recommendations from the Ikon thread, I just booked tickets for early February. Likely hiring a guide out of Corvara for at least a chunk of the trip. Send any specific recommendations you might have my way for food, lodging, or transit - I'll fly into Venice.
Looks like there are a ton of little B&B/apartment hotels.
Tell me more about the guides you found in Corvara, please
These are the two frontrunners:
https://www.explore-share.com/mounta...homas-gianola/
https://www.proguide.it/en/info/
For transit, you can take a train to Bozen/Bolzano (should go without saying, but it is the same city name in different languages) from Venice/Milan/Munich and then find transportation from there to wherever you are staying.
Renting a car opens up a lot of options for skiing different ski areas. I rented an AWD Volvo wagon in Milan for my Dolomites trip and was glad to have it to get around easily. My understanding is that AWD or chains is must have to drive in the mountains of Italy in the winter, but that most rental car companies won't let you put chains on so you have to go AWD.
Alta Badia guides are located in Corvara. There are also ski school guides that take people off piste.
There is seemingly infinite off piste skiing. I felt comfortable skiing off piste and ski touring without a guide. I maintain that touring some of the classics like Val Mesdi is definitely possible without a guide for people with experience/ backcountry knowledge/ avalanche education. My buddy and I had no issues.
For lodging, pick a town with good access. I loved staying in Val Di Fassa. This hotel was amazing, mainly because of the family that runs it and the Michelin star restaurant that is attached. You get breakfast at said restaurant with your room booking.
If you are in Val di Fassa, my cousin-in-law owns and runs this shop that sells cured meats (speck) and is very popular with Italians.
https://www.carpanoshop.com/
Some of my most memorable meals are at Rifugio Fuciade. I always took the snowmobile in at night with my kids, but I think you can ski tour over from the resort and drop in there for dinner and even sleep. That has always been on my list of things to do.
https://www.fuciade.it/en/
If you stay in Val di Fiemme (just below Fassa) my friend who is an amazing skier and career instructor Sandro runs this little place in town and I have recommended it in the past and people loved it. I have never stayed there since I have family down the street.
https://www.dolcerelaxtrentino.it/en/
I did a guided day near the Marmolada. The other skier dislocated his shoulder half way down so it wasn't a great day.
The other place I toured was the Lagorai above Predazzo.
If there is snow, the "freeride" area under the Col Margherita tram is, IMHO, the best skiing around there. Most of the lift served inbounds stuff there is very tame groomers.
Bolzano is wonderful and worth a day if you have it. Same for Trento.
Enjoy!
What kind of guided skiing do you want to do?Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
Simple, safe off piste, but nothing involving climbing or ropes.
I want to pick somebody's brain about off piste. I still get the impression that it is actually illegal in some places without a guide in Italy.
Also, I don't want to die in an avalanche.
I would just talk to the guide service in Ortisei (if you're staying there). That way you don't need to figure out how to meet a guide somewhere else. I've slowed with the a couple times and had a great experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
There are also some place you can (and should) safely ski without a guide under most conditions.
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https://www.catores.com/en/
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Hit me up if you have specific questions.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
I doubt you'd regret going with a guide if you don't mind spending the money, especially if you are traveling solo. That said, there seems to be a lot more options for mellow off piste in the Dolomites than a heavily glaciated place like Chamonix. There is a lot of straightforward off piste powder without crevasses and without major exposure that you can see and readily access. I recall there being signs requiring all the appropriate gear to go off piste, but I don't recall anywhere that forbids it.
FWIW, I brought my airbag pack and rented a cartridge for it in Fassa.
Well, I am alone, too, so, that's a no no. Thanks.
I assumed that you could not reach Cortina by ski slope from the Sella Ronda, but it seems that you can, looking at maps. Can I?
I just reserved a hotel in Corvara, easily canceled. Cheaper, better location. Sorry, social circle.
Val di Mesdi, the obvious wide couloir under the Pordoi tram (usually covered in bumps), and the obvious off piste slopes on Marmolada get hammered by skiers constantly. You can ski these solo without a guide under most conditions. Don't waste a day of guided skiing on Val di Mesdi. It is exquisitely beautiful, easy to find, and full of skiers who have no idea what they are doing. Yes, it is 100% worth skiing for the views alone. But paying a guide to help you would be a waste of $ unless you're a complete jong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
If I were going to hire a guide for a couple days (and wasn't looking to do much skinning or climbing) I'd do one day of laps off the Pordoi Tram and one around Arabba. Both areas have loads of good terrain. Skins can help, but generally aren't even necessary, and few lines require you to gain much vertical. A guide will get you to better snow (the easiest to access lines are typically quite busy unless they require a rappel) and help keep you safe.
If you do a Pordoi day with a guide he might want you to start by skiing the couloir under the tram (mentioned above) to get a sense of your ability. It often has bumps at the top and mediocre snow all the way down (it faces south and gets skied out quickly). Say, "no". Maybe tell him you already skied there. The exception would be if there is new snow and he wants to polk around to assess stability. It is a good place for this and a good place for a quick pow lap that takes you right back to the tram. But without a whole bunch of fresh snow it's a line you can ski on your own before heading back up and doing Val di Mesdi.
Edit to add:
If you're staying in Corvara and skiing off Pordoi with a guide, Val Mesdi at the end of the day makes sense because it will lead you back home. But ask about alternative entrances. With a little extra hiking you can drop into untracked instead of a throng of gapers sideslipping down between bumps.
Yeah, that's where the guide bucks pay off, I guess.
Just looking is wildly overwhelming.
Is there a consensus on the best place to stay for a couple? She's a very, very strong skier but definitely not super BC experienced.