International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Val di Fassa?

[Crank]

Anyone been?

My ski club is going next March. Thinking about joining the trip but details are still sketchy at this point.

Has anyone been?

What should I know?

Should I stay or should I go?

 

[sbooker]

I've stayed in the neighbouring village of Arabba.
Many people say it is the best mountain scenery on the planet. (I'm one of those).
Fantastic on mountain dining (cheap too). Proper sit down table service at about 8 to 12 dollars for a beautiful pasta for example.
Wonderful atmosphere.
Amazing history (WW1 was fought on the slopes of the ski area and some artifacts still remain). Search Marmolada glacier.
*You should know it is best suited to those that like skiing groomers (or piste skiing as the Euros call it). There are miles and miles and miles of linked villages, runs, etc. To give you a sense of perspective of the size of the area I would suggest you think about Whistler if you have been there. Whistler has about 40 lifts. The Dolomiti ski area has 479 (that's four hundred seventy nine). Most are high speed chairs or gondolas.
Every skier must tick that area off their bucket list.
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en

 

[MasterHero]

If you like skiing on groomed . . . best place worldwide ! ! !

 

[Cheizz]

I have been there a few times. If you have specific questions, contact me.

 

[P-Ute]

I have stayed twice in Selva (Wolkenstein) which is the northwest corner of the Sella Ronda. I have skied through Val di Fassa several of times. Agree with everything said so far.

-Best Grooming of anywhere I’ve skied in Europe or North American.
-Best on Mountain Food of anywhere I’ve skied, but the cafeteria type can be hit & miss. IMO the smaller family owned & operated mountain huts are the best choice.
-Best Mountain Scenery of anywhere I’ve skied!
-Great Après Ski.

-Off-piste is very limited, unless you hit a very good snow year.
-Val di Fassa is a little off the Sella Ronda proper, which may make it hard to ski to Kronplatz or Cortina. A few friends have skied Val di Fassa area and loved it. Val di Fassa is close to Arraba and Marmolada which I have not had a chance to explore, yet! If there is available off-piste, it is likely to be in Arraba and Marmolada.
-Spring comes early to this area. You may want to investigate this if your trip is in late March.
-When traveling between areas make sure you make that last mountain pass before the lift closes, or you may have an expensive taxi ride back to your hotel.

I will be skiing Madonna di Campiglio in early February 2020 and can’t wait to get back to the Dolomites!

 

[Cheizz]

What I like about Val di Fassa is the access to smaller, less known and less crowded areas (ie NOT the Sella Ronda areas). Obereggen, Vigo di Fassa, Pozza di Fassa, Passo San Pellegrino, Alpe Lusia, Alpe Cermis, Civetta... If I had the choice, I would stay in Moena. Very nice town, central position in the valley to ski all areas above and also the Sella Ronda (Civetta is furthest @ 45 minutes, the rest is within 25 minutes by car), bus service is well organized too.

I have been to all these places multiple times.

 

[Cheizz]

Some impressions from last March (15-22 March, 2019)

Alpe Cermis:


Obereggen:

Alpe Lusia:


Passo San Pellegrino:

Vigo di Fassa:



Pozza di Fassa:


Alta Badia:

 

[Crank]

Thanks for the info.

I am getting more details - mainly where we are staying at a meeting next week and will likely be back with more questions then.

Extensive groomer skiing is definitely not me. However I do love Italian food and beautiful mountain scenery and history. Plus the price is right and we have the option of adding 3 days in Venice.

Would likely do a few days of guided off piste or touring if available.

 

[Cheizz]

I will be in Val di Fassa again next season, the last week of January. In for some great groomer skiing. But allso for some off-piste skiing and alpine touring, if conditions allow.

 

[Rod MacDonald]

Last two years we've been there in February, staying in canazei. I love the skiing, and its utterly beautiful. So much cheaper to eat and drink than the rest of the Alps, and the best snowmaking coverage in the world. Easy to travel round the sella Ronda.
Can't find much to criticise at all.

 

[VickiK]

Hi @Crank , could you please share the details when they're available from the ski club? It sounds fantastic; I'd like to show it to my ski club. Thanks.

 

[Jacob]

Extensive groomer skiing is definitely not me. However I do love Italian food and beautiful mountain scenery and history. Plus the price is right and we have the option of adding 3 days in Venice.

Would likely do a few days of guided off piste or touring if available.

If you enjoy your Italian trip and would like to do another that's more off-piste oriented, I highly recommend the Monterosa area. The layout of the lifts and the terrain makes it easy to do a lot of off-piste skiing without too much climbing or traversing.

 

[Cheizz]

The Aosta Valley (where Monterosa is) has a very different vibe from the Dolomites, however. Quite different in every respect.

 

[Crank]

Here's the info on our trip.

Staying in Vigo de Fassa at the Alpen Hotel Corona (4 star). Half board, meaning breakfast and dinner is included.

Immediate access to Ciampedie ski area and, via a "short" shuttle ride, the Buffaure and Ciampac ski areas that connect to the Stella Ronda circuit.

Price is $1,540 and skis fly free. Does not include lift passes. $280 right now for a 5-day Dolomiti SuperSki Pass. Another $300 for 3 days in Venice after the ski week,

Pretty sure Robin and I are going to join this trip. Thank you guys for some good info. Keep it coming please! Especially anything specific to Vigo di Fassa and the ski areas we will be adjacent to.

If anyone wants to come along send me a pm for more details... but, you will have to shell out an additional $35 to join our club. I am not sure where we are flying out of but it will be either JFK or EWR.

 

[Cheizz]

If you want to ski the Sella Ronda, I would suggest you take the bus to the Campitello lifts (Col Rodella gondola). If you ski from Pozza di Fassa, it's a much longer trip, meaning less time to ski the Sella Ronda and adjacent areas.

The Vigo area is nice, but not so big. And groomers exclusively. Very quiet though, and perfectly groomed. So, if you want to feel like Alberto Tomba, take the black run with the same name (black in Europe is Double black in the US, Red in Europe is black in the US, blue is blue and green does not exist in Italy). Great skiing and no-one around.

 

[VickiK]

Thanks for sharing that--it sounds great!

 

[Crank]

If you want to ski the Sella Ronda, I would suggest you take the bus to the Campitello lifts (Col Rodella gondola). If you ski from Pozza di Fassa, it's a much longer trip, meaning less time to ski the Sella Ronda and adjacent areas.

The Vigo area is nice, but not so big. And groomers exclusively. Very quiet though, and perfectly groomed. So, if you want to feel like Alberto Tomba, take the black run with the same name (black in Europe is Double black in the US, Red in Europe is black in the US, blue is blue and green does not exist in Italy). Great skiing and no-one around.

Thank you Chiezz. I have skied in France a few times but never Italy. Do you know how long a bus ride it is to Campitello lifts from Vigo?

 

[Cheizz]

10-15 minutes.

Her is info on the bus services in Val di Fassa: https://www.fassa.com/EN/Skibus-service/

 

[Cheizz]

I will be in the region in January, so I will be able to give a bit more up to date info. If you have specific questions or need for tips, let me know. I will try to find out. By the way, a lot of information is available online (practical things, such as opening hours and timetables); Google Maps has all pistes and lifts on the map.

https://www.fassa.com/index.asp?l=en
https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en
http://www.opensnowmap.org/?zoom=12&lat=45.10267&lon=6.13483&layers=mapquest&marker=false

 

[sbooker]

For a bit of novelty be sure to ski anti clockwise around the sella through Arabba and down to Armenterola. A short taxi ride will take you to Lagazuoi cable car. Once you've taken the tram to the top you can take a long and very very scenic ski down the 'hidden valley'. It's about 5 miles I believe. Once you get to the very flat run out you can catch a 'horse tow' for a couple of Euro back to Armenterola before heading back to your lodging via San Cassiano.
It's a great day out.
Horse tow is under.

The trip through Arabba (south east corner village of the Sella Ronda) up to the Marmolada Glacier and World War 1 museum is another great day out. The Austrians and Italians were involved in bitter fighting in this area for many months (it was once part of the Austrian empire - hence a lot of German or Ladin speaking in the area). There are still canons and other world war one artifacts littered throughout the area. Some are right next to the pistes.
Just before getting onto the three stage cable car to the top of the Marmolada you can makea diversion to a very scenic gorge called the Sottoguda Gorge just past the town of Malga Ciapela.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sot...24rjAhVbdCsKHYciBukQ_AUIESgC&biw=1920&bih=937

Have fun.