Dolomites Recommendations?

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Originally Posted by subtle plague

But they cover only a part. I haven't skied much in italy but there should be Italian equivalents.

And I didn't want to come across as a douche but I was slightly surprised when I saw that people actually think people in Europe don't go off Piste.

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Dude, thanks for the map tip! I've been on the DAV site and missed that. A friend explained how the Swiss are producing extremely high quality maps, while other nations won't prioritize it.

I think hutash was implying, the casual, Bogner one-piece wearing vacationers, not the European back-country or freeride skiers. Lots of American skiers, especially mags, understand and respect the role Euros have played in pushing the limits of steep skiing and ski mountaineering. File under: Chamonix.
(And my bashing the Bogner wear is confirmation of my low self-confidence. I secretly want to own and wear this: https://www.bogner.com/en-us/ski-ove...avy-86942.html

No worries. My comment was more ironic than pissed. :)

I don't really know about Italian maps, but the French ign ones are horrible compared to the Swiss and dav ones. Austrian standard maps (non ski touring) are good but not as awesome as Swiss which are the best maps ever.
For the Swiss Italian border and French border I try to use them as well because the Swiss are very thorough when covering their country....

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Originally Posted by subtle plague

No worries. My comment was more ironic than pissed. :)

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Cheers.

Obviously some of the best extreme skiers come from Europe, and they have set the standard for years, but you have to admit, that the vast majority of European skiers (and that includes Americans skiing in Europe) ski between the 'boos. It never ceases to amaze me how much fantastic terrain remains untracked weeks after a storm in Europe, even extremely easily accessed options. Try and find untracked pow in the Jackson side country even a couple of days after a storm.

Just look a ski shops in Europe and compare the huge numbers of carving skis vs fat board compared to the US. I am not saying euros are rad skiers, they are fucking amazing and I pee my pants a little at seeing the lines they ski, it just seems it is a different proportion of on/off piste skiers.

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Originally Posted by hafjell

I think hutash was implying, the casual, Bogner one-piece wearing vacationers, not the European back-country or freeride skiers. Lots of American skiers, especially mags, understand and respect the role Euros have played in pushing the limits of steep skiing and ski mountaineering. File under: Chamonix.
(And my bashing the Bogner wear is confirmation of my low self-confidence. I secretly want to own and wear this: https://www.bogner.com/en-us/ski-ove...avy-86942.html

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Eactly

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.

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Originally Posted by hutash

Obviously some of the best extreme skiers come from Europe, and they have set the standard for years, but you have to admit, that the vast majority of European skiers (and that includes Americans skiing in Europe) ski between the 'boos. It never ceases to amaze me how much fantastic terrain remains untracked weeks after a storm in Europe, even extremely easily accessed options. Try and find untracked pow in the Jackson side country even a couple of days after a storm.

Just look a ski shops in Europe and compare the huge numbers of carving skis vs fat board compared to the US. I am not saying euros are rad skiers, they are fucking amazing and I pee my pants a little at seeing the lines they ski, it just seems it is a different proportion of on/off piste skiers.

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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.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Thanks for the report. Love to see final bill on the car rental.
Looks like you got a little snow in those trees.

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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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

I have a Citi card that waives a lot of fees and costs in Euro land and works everywhere. Good points, too. Mastercard.

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Good to know. We tried Chase, Fidelity and PenFed and none worked.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by hutash

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.

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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.


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Originally Posted by hafjell

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.

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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.
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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Originally Posted by ski whore

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Choucas

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.

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There is no reason to hire a guide for Val Mezdi if you are a competent skier with a bit of sense.

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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Originally Posted by ski whore

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.
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

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Originally Posted by ski whore

Ok so maybe bail on sella Ronda, worth driving to and spending day in Arabba and Marmolada it sounds like?


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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.

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.