Lying between the Marmolada and Sella Massif’s is La Mesoles and Monte Padon, a geological anomaly. You’d be forgiven for thinking that with a name like the Dolomites, that they are one homogeneous lump of their namesake rock. They are anything but. With the massive calcareous limestone bulk of Marmolada, the Granite of Cima d’Asta and the Lagorai, the underlying Porphyry of Alpi di Siusi and the western regions, this jagged ridge just adds to the variety. Its dark volcanic rock, not only does it provide a substantially different climbing experience but visually its striking, with at points a true knife edge ridge which affords superb, technical, exposed scrambling and climbing with outrageously good, uninterrupted views across the Dolomites. Not only this, but with its rich history as a WW1 front line trench, its hugely interesting. This is absolutely one of the best Via Ferrata I’ve done anywhere!
Approach can be achieved very easily by taking a lift from Arabba to Porto Vescovo, or from Malga Ciapela to Monte Padon. Or if you want to avoid the lifts, either walk up the piste from Rifugio Passo Fedaia until you can walk westwards towards Porto Vescovo, or attack directly from the western end of Lago Fedaia with a steep ascent to the start.
The difficulties commence rather abruptly – the start is technically difficult and it is a rude awakening. Please make sure that you space yourselves adequately in this area, as it is vertical, a little slippy, and a fall into somebody else could be really nasty here. If you are with inexperienced climbers, consider taking a short rope to belay them from one of the higher anchor points. Once over these first 40 feet of climbing the difficulty eases, but the exposure begins. Weaving its way between fantastic pillars of rock the route climbs over the jagged crest of the ridge, hardly deviating from its top, like a crazy Crib Goch; the black rock is grippy and rough and very different to anything in these parts. Looking back along the ridge you realise just how precarious the line is, crossing bridges, circumnavigating slender pinnacles.
And then quite abruptly, in a col, you reach the first of the war remains, some ruined barracks perched nearly at the very crest of the ridge – an inhospitable place indeed to find yourself in the long winter. Walking through, only feet from the edge makes you realise how tough the men who were stationed here must have been. As soon as it arrived it’s gone again as you drop over an edge and into the abyss – following rungs inexorably downwards until you can once again rejoin a flatter section of ridge line. Here end the main difficulties, with the rest being fun walking and towards the end you reach the tunnels. Here having a torch is mandatory!
The tunnels wind their way through the bowels of the cliff with galleries leading off into the darkness and only the occasional opening out to the southern side – presumably gun emplacements. In places they are long halls, in others only just tall enough and wide enough to afford passage whilst bending double. Inbetween there are further sections of ridge line, until finally you emerge out of a tunnel just above Passo Padon. Here, those who approached from Arabba must drop down to the path on the southern side of the ridge and return to Porto Vescovo, whilst those coming from Passo Fedaia can walk down the hillside using the ski slopes, or the lift.
Of all the peaks in the Dolomites, Marmolada is perhaps the most varied. Not only does it have its famous south wall, an 800m high, 2km wide precipice, but on its northern slopes, the largest glacier in these parts and its long crest with its jagged skyline. What’s more, the activities which it can host are just as varied, with glacier piste skiing and off piste, ski touring, ice climbing, rock climbing, pottering in the high altitude cable car station, investigating the WW1 relics… but perhaps the most interesting for many of us are it’s two Via Ferratae. The Eterna is one of the longest Via Ferratae you will find anywhere, whilst the West Ridge is the only truly Alpine route of its type in the Dolomites, where crampons and an ice axe are an essential part of the equipment you take with you.
The ridge is of modest technical difficulty, but don’t be fooled, to undertake this route you must have a good head for heights and be mountain savvy. The narrow descent slopes is not somewhere you would want to practice your ice axe arrest for the first time and the crevasses in the lower glacier slopes are real enough. If you are prepared though this is one of the most rewarding days you can have here. The exposure as you climb the crest of Punta Penia, Marmolada’s highest summit is simply exquisite, with the northen slope curving away to a virtual infinity, the southern side such a savage drop it would make the most seasoned scramblers head spin. That said, the equipment is in excellent condition, the cable mounted like a hand rail for much of the route to help during early season when some of the route will be buried beneath snow, preventing the cable from being entirely submerged. As a rope should be carried for the glacier travel, you could also be able to use it to protect a leader across buried sections if you attempt it under these conditions.
The approach commences at the western end of Lago Fedaia. Here there is a large carpark by the ski lift, it can get very busy during the summer but you should be able to find a spot, especially if you are making an early morning start. Of course if you choose to do this you add a substantial height gain to your day as the lift will not be running. Usually the lifts only start after 8.30am, so if you prefer to be on your own routes, you need to add a good hour and half to your day at either end. Of course there is also the alternative – spending a night at the Rifugio Pian dei Fiacconi, allowing for a more leisurely start in the morning. From the lift and hut, descent westwards on a waymarked path, a little tricky to follow across the screes that brings you around an imposing rock buttress. You drop some 150m in height to reach this point. Once around this you will see a small glacier ascending to the beginning of the cables. Cross the glacier to the right bank of a gully – a fairly easy route in which much of the snow can be avoided by following a rocky ridge in it’s middle. If you have poles it’s questionable whether you will need crampons on to make this crossing as it’s never particularly steep and if you are accustomed to snow travel you shouldn’t struggle.
On reaching the cables you will find new equipment which leads steeply to a col overlooking the mountains to the south. A couple of staples have suffered from the cold on this section with the resin holding them being a touch loose so watch your step a little. At the col there are the first remnants of the war, an old dug out shelter with the left overs of bunk beds – this route was first equipped by the Austrians as it formed the front line between Italy and Austria. There is evidence all up the route, with old pegs to which they fixed their ropes and telegraph poles for communications. That people lived here all year round is just astonishing, let alone with the primitive equipment issued to the troops.
The route climbs to a shoulder and then via many ladders and pegs up onto the ridge with breathtaking views at every step of the way – Gran Vernel to the West, Cima Vernel to the south, the Cantennacio, Sassolungo and the Sella Massif in the distance – you’re spoiled for choice. All too soon the ridge rears in a final flourish before the summit. Here you can either don crampons and cross the glacier or in late season the ridge may be exposed allowing you to walk and scramble most of the way to the top. Here there is a cross for the obligatory photo’s or pull ups on the cross if you dare, and also the highest hut in the region where you can take refreshments or use perhaps the most extreme kharzi you will come across in your life!
Descent is relatively straight forwards, first down a snow ridge, although be careful not to wander too far right in a white out. Soon the ridge steepens and runs to rock where a set of cables lead down and right down a set of grooves and to the lower glacier. As this is the normal route to the summit, it can get very busy, with quite literally every man and his dog coming up – this can make for some exciting maneuvers and you may get to witness some interesting tomfoolery; you’ll know when you see it. Once back at the snow, skirt the bergshrund carefully and then head back to Pian dei Fiacconi, the hut and your egress back to the car park – don’t forget to stop for your summit schnapps though!
The Comici Route on the Torre Piccolo di Falzarego is a great route with a short 45 minute approach and the grade V- climbing concentrated in the first pitch and which if you like can be bypassed. Otherwise it is mostly IV and is ideal for those looking for the next step up from Sass di Stria.
Approach:
The walk in is easy – leave the car at the Lagozuoi cable car lift station. From the back of the carpark a path winds first through a boulderfield, then through the stunted pines of the tree line towards the ruins of a World War 1 Field hospital, well worth a look. The Falzarego towers are two modest but satisfying looking peaks, the Picolo being a fine pointed summit, separated from the Grande by a deep cleft, some 4-8 metres wide. To reach the base of the route, walk steeply up and left behind the hospital to reach more or less the lowest point of the buttress where you will find some earthy ledges to gear up, although it might be easier to do so at the hospital where there is flat ground.
What to take:
Gearwise, you can afford a slim rack; there are so many pegs, that I rarely found myself reaching for nuts. Indeed, we had one small set and Camalots 0.4 – 1 (grey – red) and never felt the need for more. Slings are useful for the numerous threads as the insitue tat although frequent is usually faded and untrustworthy.
Standing in the ruins of the field hospital one gets a sense for the isolation and desperation the men must have felt in a sport like this.
The Climb:
Comici, one of the great pioneers of the Dolomites lends his name to a vast number of routes on an equally vast number of peaks – it’s rare to find his routes disappointing and he is renowned for his bold, aethetically pleasing lines, not to mention their difficulty with many still presenting a serious challange for the aspiring alpine rock athelete. The line on the Falzarego towers does not disappoint, which after a couple of pitches gains the arete of the tower providing great positions. The start seems to have a number of variations at differing grades; we spotted at least 3 different ways to reach the first belay. But as this is a practice area, the route is often marked with red or green way markers, and is very extensively equipped with pitons and cemented in bolts. The third pitch is no less than spectacular, leaving a niche and climbing briefly and steeply up a corner one reaches the top of a flake – step out across air to continue up the arete, which after another 2 pitches leads to the small summit of the tower.
Attacking the first grade V- pitch. The difficulties are not sustained and are found in the groove seen here.
With excellent rock through out, bar the odd loose flake, this is a great introduction to the area. If there is a chance you might feel the need to retreat, or weather is looking a little less than optimal, the belays are mostly bolted, some with new glue-ins, some with cemented rings. Route finding is mostly very straight forwards with waymarkers helping frequently when you are unsure, as does the fixed protection. I would say that a UK leader comfortable leading a multipitch HS would not struggle unduely with this route.
From the top of the third pitch should it be needed, abseiling to the western side of the ridge should see you to an escape route.
Felix Idiens climbing high on the arête with Autumn snows on Averau and Nuvolau behind him.
Descent:
The descent is worth mentioning – once you reach the summit climb quite steeply down the far side of the tower – rings and gear are easy to find so it’s easily protected to a shoulder where you will find three curled steel staples. We used the largest and highest as this was the easiest to access and a 25m abseil landed you at the top of the gully descending between the two towers. This gully is a little tricky in places with two down climbing sections, but could be abseiled with sufficiently long ropes should there still be winter snows in the gully from a ring in the side wall of the gully. Once out of the gully there are two further down climbing sections but they are straight forwards if a little exposed.
Hi everybody, tonight I compiled a fairly extensive list of ice climbing venues within a reasonable drive from the house, no more than 1.5 hours. Its in the form of a Google map – the plan is to add more layers for Via Ferrata’s, Sport climbing, major climbing venues etc, so that you can appreciate the spread of what there is on offer! Hope you enjoy it!
Here are the individual crag logbook pages on the website:
In June 2012 Soph fell pregnant with what was to become the indomitable force that is Alfred. I knew immediately that I needed to change both of our lives to ensure that we never fell into the rhythm of being parents and ignoring our passions. Whilst Soph is highly motivated, I’m fairly lazy and I wanted to provide Alfred with a home from home, a place to have adventures and to explore nature. I realised that if I left it until after he arrived, it would never happen as the daily grind of 5am starts, continual colds and nappy changes would grind me into submission. I had to act whilst the iron was hot.
That summer during a three week climbing trip, Soph joined me to start the search for a home in the Dolomites, which we could renovate and make our own. Initially the idea was to buy a small place and to have it just for ourselves and so we spent 3 or 4 days driving around in our Nissan Navara, looking at beautiful Finiles high up in alpine meadows, old houses around the small villages in the valley and more modern places in resorts. We soon realised that to buy within the confines of a resort would cost an absolute arm and a leg, and that the level of work required to convert an old traditional hay barn would be too much work. Using the Italian equivalent of Rightmove, we identified where prices were more acceptable and explored them to see what area offered the best activities. We came away excited and keen to plunge headfirst into this project.
Roll on February. As the months had passed, our ideas expanded – not only did we want to provide for our little boy, we also wanted to offer the same to mountain lovers. The Dolomites for me had become over many years nothing short of an obsession. Alfred was due to make an appearance in early April – we booked flights out for a 5 day trip. The week before was snowy and we arrived in Venice on a cold bleak night; driving through the darkness, we blindly followed the sat nav over Passo Staulanza on our way to an area we had identified that we felt offered huge potential, Rocca Pietore. Climbing through Zoldo we hit the snow line. Our poorly equipped Ford Fiesta struggled onwards, wheel skidding as I tried to avoid putting the chains we had rented on. We reached the top and stopped to take a photo of the blizzard outside. I pressed on.
Half way down the pass I was wishing I’d been a bit more sensible. I fell quiet as Soph in her highly pregnant and highly excited state bombarded me with ideas. Even at 20km/hr, we were effectively in a wheeled toboggan – why didn’t I insist on snow tyres at the airport? Eventually the gradient eased as did the snow and we reached out destination, Sol e Nef in Sottoguda. Checking in, we realised we had struck gold – our room was immaculate, the hostess was friendly and helpful – we felt inspired. If only we could offer something like this!
Over the next few days we looked at dozens of houses – some only from the outside but we packed in the miles and made sure we saw what we needed to see. From small barns, to massive traditional farm houses high up on the mountain, and from total wrecks, to utterly immaculate, we saw it all. One house I was so in love with, if I’d had my cheque book I would have ended up with a home at the top of a 3 km single track lane, with 30% hills, only rudimentary ploughing and the very real chance of being cut off by snows. But the view! In any case, one of the last we saw was a house we had initially discounted. It need a lot of work to make it what we wanted, but it had potential, and it was a reasonable house. We thought long and hard and decided that most of the places we’d seen were either just far too much work, or were a lot of money and despite that we would still need to invest to make them a business prospect. What we needed was something that we could mould into what we wanted, that provided the bare shell on which to hang our vision.
February 2013 – Col di Rocca. Soph standing in front of Via Col di Rocca,36 soon to become Casa Alfredino
It was decided, we made a series of negotiations and a few weeks later a sale was agreed. We entered the murky world of Italian house sales. Utterly different to the UK system and difficult to navigate. In May I flew out, this time on my own to meet with the owners and the conveyancing solicitors and to sign on the dotted line. That signature bound us to a sale unless we wanted to lose a 10% deposit. We were in; no turning back. Back at home Alfred was with us and I continued working on my engineering projects until finally in mid July we bought a trailer, hitched it to our Subaru and I drove through a German heatwave with the dog to our new place in the hills. Soph and the boy flew out and after a delay of a couple of weeks, the house was ours.
The next three months were spent consulting our Architect, Jacopo Tollotputting into place a scheme to convert the house, working out what we could do and what we could not, understanding what planning regulations required and working out how we would achieve the best possible result with our very limited budget. Originally we had planned to help out where ever we could – it soon became apparent that that’s not the way things work in Italy. It was going to be exponentially more expensive than we had expected – we would need to make it count. We eventually decided to split the house into three flats, each with a kitchen and living space, a shower room and enough accommodation to sleep between 10 and 17 people. We would market it to climbers and skiers – with the famous Sottoguda up the road in the shadow of Marmolada the tallest peak in the Dolomites, we knew we had to appeal to a diverse market. A ski resort this was not. So we would build it rugged and basic but comfortable. Everything a walker, climber, skier or biker could want.
Planning applications went in and took frustratingly long to be granted – but as Jacopo told us, we were in Italy now. We just had to go with it. Work finally commenced 3 months after we had hoped, but it progressed quickly and efficiently. I made two visits, firstly to give direction on finishes and the second whilst on a trip with friends to climb and walk as many Via Ferrata as we could manage between the rains in what was a particularly wet summer. Most weeks we would receive a batch of photos to give tantalising views of the progress. And here we find ourselves at the end of October, preparing once again to make the drive across Europe, plumbing and wiring done, plasterboard up, windows replaced the house insulated to withstand the winter cold, the damp, cold basement transformed and the outside painted and partially clad, with new balconies and a new face. We are both so excited to be seeing the house within the next couple of weeks and we hope that soon we will be seeing you come through our doors, discovering this beautiful corner of these beautiful mountains.Welcome to Casa Alfredino, the most positive panic of my life – without his lordship it would never have happened.
Leaving the Arabba range from Bec di Roces or driving directly to Passo Campolongo (35 mins by car/ 25km) opens a huge area of mixed terrain. It’s well linked and well served with restaurants and bars, offering something for everybody. Facing north towards Corvara, the runs to the left are steeper and more technical. whilst to the right there is a massive area of easy skiing. I’ll talk about this easy skiing first.
Cherz to Armentarola and back
It’s very easy to travel some real distance in this area. All the runs are wide and gentle, often through the trees. This makes it good for poor weather days as the contrast provided by the trees makes skiing far more enjoyable. The runs are also exceedingy well groomed which makes it fantastic for learners, young families and those who want a pleasant day cruising. Restaurant stops are frequent and serve excellent food . All the runs from Cherz are great – fast and fun. Descending to Pralongia gains access to the far side of the mountain and in one long run you can reach Armentarola and San Cassiano. From here either return towards Corvara, or you can take a bus or taxi to Passo Falzarego for a fantastic piste which runs down a hidden valley from the Lagazuoi – if you want a steady days tour on pistes this is it – wait for the sun and this run will not disappoint! Half way down there is a great hut to have lunch and soak up the sun in one of the most enchanting spots one could hope for beneath the huge rock walls of Conturines. A the bottom either schuss back to Armentarola, or jump on one of the horse drawn sledges for a small fee.
Alternatively you can explore the heart of this area from Pralongia or San Cassiano – the runs are endless, blue after blue, red after red, never hard and always fun. It’s only when you find yourself near La Villa that they start to get harder again – the culmination of which is run number 5, from Piz la Villa, a famous black run whose bottom section is used as slalom course during the FIS racing season. Steep and unremitting, this run really is worthwhile if you’re looking for something a little more pokey. But generally the theme elsewhere is steady skiing and returning to Corvara is pretty easy, if a little confusing – leave plenty of time for “detours”.
Western Val Badia, Colfosco, and Passo Gardena
Leaving Passo Campolongo in the other direction the terrain is very different. Skiing at the foot of the Sella Range is steeper and more technical. Crep de Mont gives very quick access to Corvara, from where either you can reascend to the high Boe area with a black and red run in descent or you can take several lifts towards Colfusco and thence either up rightwards into a bowl beneath Ciampatch and Sasshonger or continue up to Passo Gardena. Skiing in the bowl above Colfosco is really nice, nearly always brightly sunlit with few trees gives a spacious set of runs. Going all the way to the top of Forcelles affords one spectacular views towards the Sella Massif, Val Mezdi and Sasshonger, the site of a famous Shane McConkey base jump.
The runs from Passo Gardena are long and mostly fairly easy. Whilst graded red, they are mostly blue in difficulty with just a few harder sections. Again, the views afforded from the top are staggering and a stop at the hut just below the top lift is recommended- despite being rather busy and not cheap- it’s just an awesome setting for a quick refreshment. From here you can continue on the Sellarond down to Selva Gardena, or return on 8-9km of schussing runs past some spectacular ice falls – watch out for them from the chairlift and bubble cars on the way up!
In all, Val Badia is great for the beginner and intermediate skier. You could ski here easily for a few days, hardly ever doing the same run, but we suspect you would find a few favourites and go back over and over!
Val Pettorina is a stones throw from the massive Arabba and Val Badia ski ranges. These offer vast amounts of varied skiing with Arabba mainly offering great steeper skiing and Val Badia having something for everybody especially beginners and intermediates. Accessible either from the 3 chair lift from Malga Cipela, or by a 20 minute drive from the house, Arabba is a small village nestled at the centre of the range, with runs extending up to Passo Pordoi in the west and Passo Campolongo in the north, its a great place to start. Each of these passes give access to yet more skiing, Val Badia and Corvara accessed from Passo campolongo, whilst going over Passo Pordoi brings you down to Canazei and the huge possabilites there.
Arabba – an area of two halves.
Lets deal with Arabba first. The core of this range is on the southern side of the valley and is served by two main lifts running from the same lifthouse – an older cable car lift that takes you directly to Portavescovo and the other which is a detachable cabin lift with a mid height station before the top, a few hundred metres from the older station. This cabin lift is in my opinion the more efficient of the two, as people tend to pile into the old lift as its the first in the lift house, so whilst it might be faster once you’re on board, there is usually a longer wait. From the top, a steep and usually bumpy red run leads to the main areas and you have the choice of 2 red and 2 blacks – as I said – great for those looking for steep challenging skiing!
To get to Passo Pordoi, follow piste 1 and then 36, a super long red run which leads you to a fast 3 man lift on the other side. The ride up is great – if you’re cold these lifts have a shield to protect you from the wind as it’s a long ride up. At the top, the area is really fun, lots of steady reds, especially down from the Belvedere hut, with great offpiste on either side of the run, especially on skiers left where you will find a natural halfpipe! Down right, be careful not to wander too far from the runs as you’ll end up with a walk back, but its nice moderate terrain if you’re just starting to ski the sidecountry. Of course with the Superdolomiti ski pass, you can take the runs over to Val di Fassa and Canazei and beyond on the Sella-Ronda, the circular tour that takes you all the way around the Sella Massif. But that’s a whole different blog! Returning to Arabba you have two options, either a super long blue run – boarders make sure you keep you speed up through the trees as once you grind to a halt it can be a pain to get started again, unless you happen to have a handy skier tow machine with you! Or ski down to the road and rather than crossing it to continue the run down, jump on the relatively new lift which delivers to back up the mountain to join a red run which bypasses the worst of the flat areas of the previous option.
Crossing the road to the north of Arraba takes you towards Passo Campolongo. Here the terrain is significantly easier with mainly blues and reds. Whilst these are really mainly linking runs to get you to Val Badia, they are fun in their own right, the blues being nice cruises back to the village, or onwards to Bec di Roces. Just be aware that the run back is red if you are with novice skiers, although in my opinion it’s not a despertely hard run, very much at the lower end of the grade with only a couple of steeper pitches. Lastly for complete beginners and kids, there is a nice little learners area right by the village with the ski school at the base of these runs.
Sking to and from Val Pettorina
Getting to Arabba couldn’t be easier from our valley. If you drive up the valley from the house (or catch the ski bus), you will come to the Padon lift on the left as you approach Passo Fedaia – if you reach the hairpins you’ve gone too far! The lift delivers you quickly to Passo Padon; the run down the far side is quite a steep red run, so if you are with beginners, be aware of this – it’s a little narrow to start with but soon opens out, although it’s steep for quite a way! Once at the bottom, another lift brings you right into the middle of the Arraba area, but again, as these are harder runs, make sure your group feels comfortable with this sort of skiing. If you’ve come here on the lifts from Malga Cipela, getting back is a little less obvious. From the main Arabba lifthouse, take the cabin lifts and jump out at the mid station – a chair lift on the left as you come out of the station takes you to a gentle blue run and then to a lift back to Passo Padon. The red which descends to Val Pettorina is pretty amenable – over all the ski back is easier technically if harder to find.
Alternatively for those with a stronger constitution, take the cabin lifts to Port Vescovo, duck under the barriers and ski towards Lago Fedaia. Pick your route carefully – ski straight down and you end up at the western end of the lake with a long walk back towards Val Pettorina. However ski left and over a shoulder and this takes you back towards the lift system and you should be able to make it without the walk! Just be careful as these slopes are prone to avalanche after heavy snow, being south facing and treeless.
Our nearest ski range is Marmolada. It’s not on the face of it particularly extensive, but what it does offer is unique in the Dolomites, namely huge uplift to one of the sub-summits of the highest mountain of the range which kicks out directly onto the largest glacier in the Dolomites. The area is split three ways – the big lift, the little lifts and the one in the middle – this is also indicative of their difficulty as I’ll explain…
The three stage lift which leaves from Malga Cipela is approximately 5 minutes drive from the house or a couple of stops on the ski bus which shuttles up and down the valley. Its a well organised cable car and is mainly to be recommended to those comfortable with more advanced skiing. Although the run coming down from Punta Serauta is given a red grading, it’s a narrow piste and can get quite chopped up as this is an obvious goal for the holiday maker – a feather in the cap for skiing the top of the Dolomites. Its understandable as the views afforded not only from the summit, but also the three lift stations are truely breathtaking, especially leaving the top station as you descend to the snow above the enormous 800m high South Face of the mountain.
Where this range really excels is for those who want to find great off piste skiing as once you leave the red markers behind, you will find excellent snow, kept fresh by the ice beneath and often a lack of tracks as Italians mostly stick to the runs. Once you realise this it becomes an enormous playground with fairly moderate offpiste skiing, never too steep and with a lack of difficult terrain to negotiate. Indeed you can also cross the glacier to the opposite end of Lago Fedaia to ski the single lift runs at that end of the mountain- just check they’re open before you do so!
The normal and very long run drops you back to Malga Cipela past several eateries and the lift to Passo Padon, the key to the Arraba range and the Sellaronda. The run from Passo Padon in itself is a nice run, red and well groomed although as its south facing can get melted by the sun in the afternoon and late in the season – its a throughly enjoyable return from Arraba and fairly steady, neither narrow nor desperately steep. Again, those looking for a nifty swoop down the side country will find most agreeable terrain on Skiers left… All these lead back to the base station along some blue runs which are served by button lifts. These are great for taking beginners on as they are wide and shallow without flatspots and and make a great first few runs for young guns, especially as they are quiet, served by button lifts and usually have good visibility because they are lined with trees which help with contrast!
An opportunity not to be missed is the run through the Serrai di Sottoguda. This narrow, deep gorge is strictly speaking offpiste. However it is so frequently run by skiers and boarders that it is nearly always virtually a groomed piste. Its narrow with no safety barriers and several bridges so please take care, but the views of the gorge, of climbers scaling the incredible ice cascades and the impressive rock architecture really are breathtaking. It ends when you reach the village where you must walk down to catch the bus back to the house, but the 5 minute trip can be easily split with a trip to La Tirolese, our favourite pizzeria!
Last but not least, if you fancy trying your hand a something a little different, there are some quite extensive cross-country runs – grab yourself some of those skinny sticks from the De Grandi hire shop at Malga Ciapela and you’ll find some really pleasant skiing in the woods to the south of Malga Cipela which lead up to a small “agroturismo” where you can sample the local cheeses and meats in a really beautiful and secluded spot. There are three circuits, a blue, a red and a black and they all leave from the same spot.
You must be logged in to post a comment.