Best place in Dolomites for expert riders?

Hi there,

My husband and I are planning a trip to the Dolomites for a week or so in February, and were looking for any thoughts on where to base ourselves. We are advanced/expert level snowboarders and want a place that has good on and off piste riding/skiing. We've scoured the internet and travel books, but they aren't quite giving us much helpful info. We were looking into Arabba, Cortina, and Val Gardena, but are open to anywhere.

Hope everyone's having a great ski season so far!

The Alpe di Siusi in the Italian Dolomites is great, also The Carezza Snowpark is excellent for boarders and free-stylers, some days of the week it is even open for night time skiing.What's more there is a chance to win a holiday there! www.suedtirol.info/win

Hi,
I don't know Cortina, but I'd say there are more "Expert runs" around Arabba than in Val Gardena (although in Val Gardena you have the Sasslong, the Ciampinoi black (lovely) the Dantercepies black as well as some other blacks dotted around the area).
Wherever you decide to base yourself, you can reach different valleys via the Sellaronda. Val Gardena, Val Badia and Val di Fassa are all linked.
The area is massive and beautiful and it does offer a great choice for all abilities. There's a nice Snowpark in Plan de Gralba, with jumps, cars and all that jazz.
Not sure about off piste though, as I don't do it myself (not intentionally, anyway!!).
My other half is a good skier (advanced/expert), we've been going to that area for years and he's not tired of it. There is so much to explore.
Seceda is also quite nice (from Val Gardena, via underground train); Alpe di Siusi is a bit tucked away, and if you need to go back to Arabba ...........you don't have any time to waste.
Arabba = Marmolada and from Canazei there's the Ciampac area (which I haven't yet explored).

One suggestion, use the Sellaronda as the M25 of the Dolomites: only when necessary. It's always busy and the runs tend to get quite choppy but they do allow you to reach the different valleys and their gems.
I can't wait to get there myself in a couple of months!!

I was there last year and enjoyed both the Sella Ronda and the Madonna areas ..did a week in both..of the two I preferred Madonna ..more interesting runs, but I will agree with Dellaga on his take of the Sellaronda...the only way to find out is to try

We visited the region around Cortina and we recommend it for you. Especially for experts.
The Piste near the Fondi-Gipfel by the subarea Misurina (Piste 61, 64 and 65) are therefore recommend.

Sabine

Thanks for all of the feedback! From what everyone's describing, it sounds like most of the areas you all listed have great runs as well as access to the other areas. We will hopefully be able to get a guide for a day or two to take us backcountry, and it seems like every area has their own guide company too.

Is it worth getting a car or is public transport easy enough, especially if we are not in walking distance to the slopes? I've tried to find the shuttle schedules, but again without much luck! With booking so last minute, we won't be in the middle of town, where ever we end up.

Thanks again for everyone's input :-)
Amy.

shortstack019 wrote:Is it worth getting a car or is public transport easy enough, especially if we are not in walking distance to the slopes? I've tried to find the shuttle schedules, but again without much luck! With booking so last minute, we won't be in the middle of town, where ever we end up.

Thanks again for everyone's input :-)
Amy.

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the Dolomites is the bus service. It really is pretty poor - not very frequent (and a result often very crowded) and starts late and finishes early - even before the lifts stop in some areas:twisted:. On the other hand, once you get onto the Sella Ronda, it is possible to navigate to pretty much any of the main areas - as somebody already said, treat it as the M25 and use it to get where you want :roll:.

I suspect getting around by road can be quite slow so possibly not a great option anyway :roll:. Having said that we did have an experience on our last trip where we had a guide (and his minibus). When we got to the cablecar in Campitello, the queue was quite long so our guide just turned around and travelled on up to Pain de Frataces which had direct access to 2 chair lifts directly onto the Sella with no queues at all saving us a load of time :mrgreen:. Not an option in poor roads as it was a reasonably steep and narrow road up there. I certainly wouldn't fancy it in snowy/icy conditions :oops:.

Hi Amy,
the need for a car will depend on where you set up camp, and whether you want to be able to go out in the evening.
The valleys around Sellaronda are all reachable via "lifts & slopes" (you may need to cross a road or two)
I understand that Val de Mezdi is good for backcountry and for expert skiers only (and superb scenery) but anywhere you go there will be plenty of expert guides able to help you and suggest areas that are more suited to you and the snow conditions.
Skibuses are normally quite good, (and you don't have to pay) every 10 mins or so, so car may not be required unless you're quite a distance from the main roads. But then again, you're boarding, so you'll be wearing more comfy boots.
The tourist info or skipass office will have the ski buses timetable. Or check the area (valley) website once you've decided where to go.