Corvara, Italy

Henry from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

I have been going to Colfosco, a small village outside Corvara for the past 7 years. This does sound sad but I have skied in France, Austria and Switzerland for the previous 15 years. The French seem only to want your money. In fifteen years of skiing in France I have only one good experience. In a local bar in Italy you will always be made welcome. The first year in a local bar they even made a cake for the last night, not ideal with beer but what a gesture. Now we are welcomed back as part of the family.
The skiing is fantastic if you like hard packed, well groomed pistes. They are looked after so well you will not have rocks coming through like my last visit to Tignes (after only two day after 500mm of snow fell.) 90% of the Dolimiti super ski area is covered by snow cannons. I skied in Selva at the new year and it had not snowed for 3 weeks but the pistes were perfect so you don`t have to worry about it snowing as long as it is cold enough. The off-piste is very limited and not so good for boarders as some blue runs are a bit flat. The best piste for me is the hidden valley at Lagazuoi; steep, flat, wide, narrow, frozen water falls and you get pulled in the last km behind a horse and sleigh. Sella Ronda in both direction are a must, at 27km it can be skied in about 3 to 4 hours. At Utia la Cruc above Pedraces you will find a church. A short walk higher than the top lift it's a fantastic place to stop for lunch. Next to the church is a very good restaurant. A day in Alpe di Siusi is a good day out it's a bit flat but at the top they have a speed radar on a special run to see how fast you can go, our record is 105.78km/hour, see if you can beat that.
Be careful not to miss the 3.00 bus back from Sultra or you will not get back for the last Dantercepies lift back. The Marmalada is the highest at 3342m but sometimes there are queues to get up the three cable cars. It is always cold at the top and the piste is in the shade and quite steep at the top. The food is fantastic on the mountain and in the village there are tens of restaurants. The black hill fpr pissa`s Peter`s stude for meat and local dishes and there are some a` la carte restaurants as well. The local wine is very good and not expensive.
The lift system is second to none. Every year one or two lifts are built or upgraded. You can go 'round the Sella Ronda without going on one drag lift.
Don`t fly to Innsbruck, fly to Bolzano, only 38 km away. Colfosco has an apres-ski bar 1 km up the mountain. It's open until 8pm which sound early but you try skiing down after four hours of beer and grappa. The piste is now floodlit but if you can`t manage that because of wobbly legs you can get a lift down on the back of a skido.
There are no English tour companies that go to Colfosco so if you like to see and hear lots of English on your holiday it's not the place for you. Colfosco is the best kept secret in skiing. But now you know about it don`t go there it's rubbish.

2008-01-22