International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Alleghe

[Ben]

Alleghe is one of the smaller resorts that is part of the enormous Dolomiti Super Ski region. The village lies beneath the immensely impressive Civetta mountain which turns the most incredible red color when the sun goes down in the evening. Years ago, a land shift caused the formation of a lake so the village rests in an idyllic spot next to the lake and shadowed by the huge wings of the mountain.

Civetta Ski includes 4 separate villages which are located around the base of Mount Civetta and linked by just under 100 kilometers of piste. The runs wind beautifully down through the forests with the most incredible views of both Mounts Civetta and Pelmo. It is a gem, relatively unknown and as such, quiet for most of the week until the weekend when the many many Italians drive up from Venice and Padova.

Alleghe is a short drive from Malga Ciapella - the base station to the largest mountain in the Dolomites and home of the Marmolada Glacier. From Malga you can access the famous Sella Ronda resorts and return easily in a day.

Not only are the Dolomites UNESCO world heritage but the food served in the mountain restaurants is truly exceptional and reasonable priced.

 

[AlastairP]

Yep, at the end of January I had a week in Alleghe (with a large group of fellow Brits from the UK based snowHeads forum on one of their organised "bashes") and we had a great time. Actually there'd been very little natural snowfall for several weeks and a lot of the ground was bare, but they have invested heavily in snowmaking and they are masters of piste (trail) maintenance and grooming and the conditions on piste were still fine. . (New snowfall has now thankfully since arrived).
The regular bus service from Alleghe to Malga Ciapella for the Marmolada glacier ski area costs 3 Euros for a day return ticket. Incidentally when snow conditions permit you can ski from Malga Ciapella down through the Sottoguda Gorge on the snow covered footpath (taking care/giving priority to walkers! ). The gorge is beautiful with deep side walls covered in ice in places, and is popular with ice climbers too. Here's a short video I took last year on my smartphone: