Where To Ski And Snowboard This Winter And Why
Dolomites, Italy
Just about my favorite place to ski in the world, and one I’ve written about before at Forbes. This region is so rich in slopes that you can keep going back again and again without repeating, thanks to the main event, the second largest interconnected ski resort system on the planet, and several other great satellite areas around it, including this hidden gem I’ve also explored here. The 2026 Olympic Winter games were just held here, and it was the best venue in decades.
In fact, the Dolomites have so much skiing it can be hard to wrap your head around even for people who know skiing. As an example, consider the recent Conde Nast Traveller 2026 Best Ski Resorts In The World Awards. In Europe they listed three Italian resorts in the top seven, including Cortina d’Ampezzo (7th), Corvara Alta Badia (6th) and Val Gardena (4th). But the magazine got it wrong, as these are not separate ski resorts per se, they are three different areas within the one interconnected area most people simply call “The Dolomites,” and it’s common to ski two or even all three in the same day, often without knowing it. To pretty much everyone in skiing besides the magazine they are all one “resort”—one resort that has three of the top seven spots in Europe. That kind of says it all. Except it doesn’t.
Besides the sheer amount of skiing and a super-advanced lift system full of heated high-speed bubble chairs, gondolas and trams, what the Dolomites delivers in spades is charm, and the vast trail network also includes more than a dozen villages and towns, each impossibly loveable and full of great food and lodging. Up on the slopes are rifugios, or alpine “hut” restaurants (and often hotels), far more of them than are found anyplace else in the Alps. You can ski from rifugio to rifugio and never stay in a town below, mix mountain and village lodging, or simply use them for fantastic lunches—it is Italy, after all.
Because the area is so big and there are almost no chain or big brand hotels (it’s very mom and pop even at the luxury level), and knowing the routes and where to stay and eat is so important, I recommend using a local specialist. My favorite, who I have skied (and hiked) with before, is Dolomite Mountains, a full-service travel company with amazing guides and local connections that has all the expertise but is squarely aimed at the U.S market. They offer a mix of scheduled group trips such as 7-day fully guided “ski safaris,” and private custom trips with amazing itineraries such as the Gourmet Ski Safari I am doing, combining the best of skiing and culinary, with local comfort food specialties and Michelin-starred dinners. They also have hut to hut trips, hotel to hotel trips and off-piste ski touring vacations.
Read the full article here.