There's Always Snow In The Dolomites

Written by Tim Stevens

Never have I skied in the shadow of such dramatic mountains; every run in the Dolomites was dominated by craggy vistas that diverted your attention; pure magic. OK, the Matterhorn is stunning but is not the focus on all points of the compass.  There was drama on another front as well; there had been no snow for weeks and this was mid-January; the plan was to tackle our ‘Ski Safari & Gourmet in The Dolomites’ so we were expecting to cover a large number of different runs. I had been depressed at the prospect of little snow but a very pleasant surprise was in store; the whole of the enormous Dolomiti Superski area with its famed Sella Ronda has a forest of snow cannon plus Piste Bullies, so virtually every normally pisted run was open. Quite an achievement as, amongst other matters, they claim it to be the largest ski lift linked area.

The main attraction for many people is the variety of activities in the various resort villages, much of the pisted slopes could be deemed intermediate with plenty of easy runs. However, normally there are a vast number of real challenges off piste to keep most advanced skiers happy.

There is a very appealing trend to create signed and patrolled off-piste slopes that graduate in difficulty which creates an effective and safe means for skiers to advance their skills. Back on piste, the manicuring of the runs with man made snow produces a consistency of smooth runs. We did not encounter any moguled slopes at all so the few black pisted runs could be tackled by skiers who would normally he happier on red runs.

Read the full article here.