Our Italian trip starts in February and we will focus on skiing and snowboarding. What is a ski holiday without good food and après ski? Nothing, so we will talk about that as well.
The area of Val Gardena located in the Dolomites arguably is the most beautiful place to ski, hike and bike in Europe. The rocky peaks create an amazing view from almost everywhere you look. There are a couple of popular villages in this region. The three most popular are Ortisei, Selva and Santa Christina. With the Dolomiti super ski pass (prices can be found here: Eshop: Where do you want to ski? | Dolomiti Superski) you can start your ski day from everywhere. The ski resort of Val Gardena gives you access to a total of 178 kilometers of ski slopes. Val Gardena is part of the Dolomiti Superski which has 1233 kilometers of slopes.
This ski resort has many advantages. The fact that there are so many kilometers of slopes makes it that this area is suited for people from all different ski levels. The variety is big. Beginners, intermediates, professionals, everyone can enjoy the snow. A long day of skiing or snowboarding makes you hungry and thirsty, luckily there are lots of restaurants and bars. This region is known for there good food and who needs this more than a hungry person who skied the whole day. The pasta’s and pizza’s are delicious and the restaurants are affordable. Compared to the Austrian après ski, the North-Italian is a little bit more calm, but it still is good. The last but definitely best advantage is the possibility to do the Sella Ronda, one of the most popular and beautiful ski tours in Europe.
Food and après ski
For me, maybe the second best advantage of a ski holiday in Italy is the food. Overall, this ski resort is on the expensive side, but the price/quality of lunch and dinner is amazing. Down town it is possible to get a meal between 10 and 15 euro. A recommendation in the village of Selva is ‘La Bula’. This restaurant runned by a family serves delicious tortellini, risotto and lots of other typical Italian dishes. If you are lucky, the nonna of the family will come to your table to serve the food herself. If you choose to stop to eat somewhere in between skiing on top of a mountain it will cost a bit more, but the panoramic view of the Dolomites during this meal is totally worth it. Rifugio Emilio Comici, the Ciampac hutte, the Gschnagenhardt Alm, the list can go on. There is no place where the Italian kitchen disappointed me.
For après ski, there are not to many places. Luckily, the options there are, are good. Right at the end of the Saslong slope you will find the après ski snowbar. From about 3 ‘o clock this place will be full of thirsty skiers and snowboarders. The party will go on until 20:30. Not tired yet? The Luislkeller located in Selva will be open until 02:00. For the singers between us, you can enjoy karaoke in this bar!
The Sella Ronda
It almost is a duty to do the Sella Ronda if you go on a ski holiday in Val Gardena. A bit of experience is needed, but this tour is doable for the average skier and snowboarder. We started our tour at the top of the Ciampinoi at 09:00 and went for the green route. It also is possible to go the other way around and follow the orange route. Both ways are the same difficulty. If you have a spare day and don’t know what to do, just do the Sella Ronda the other way around. The total distance of skiing is 26 kilometes (40 kilometers including lifts).
We really like to take our time to enjoy the beautiful views. Combine that with the love for food and drinks and you got yourself a day trip. We arrived back at where we started around 15:00 so that makes a total of six hours. If you don’t have so much time, it also is possible to do the Sella Ronda in four hours.
Swipe for some pictures that I took during this tour!
La Longa
The longest slope of Val Gardena is called La Longa. You can ski/snowboard 10,5 kilometers nonstop. The difficulty of this slope is medium and it will take you around 15 minutes.
There are two options to go to the top of the la Longa. For the first one you have to take the ‘Col Raiser’ from the village of Santa Christina. Go out left of the gondola and take the blue path to the lift which brings you to the top of the Seceda.
The second option starts in Ortisei. You have to take gondola number 2 which lead you to the big gondola number 3 which also brings you to the top of the Seceda and the start of La Longa. This last gondola fits 70 people so you will recognize it.
Conclusion
All these important advantages makes it that especially the weekends and the holidays are quite busy. Luckily the slopes are wide and the lifts are big and modern so you always will have enough space to ski or snowboard. Compared to other ski resorts, this one is not the best for snowboarders. There are some areas where the slopes are flat and if you don’t got enough speed as a boarder, you probably have to walk a little bit. For the real daredevils there are not to many good off-piste routes, the Val Mezdi is a good one, but that is about it. Sad enough, snow reliability in Val Gardena is not as good as most ski resorts located more north of the Alps.
Overall, this area is an amazing place to ski and snowboard. Prices are a little bit more high then average in the ski area’s of Italy. The ski pass and the accommodations are at the expensive side while the food is good priced. The beautiful routes and the well preserved slopes and lifts create a good value for money.
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