Val Gardena Ski Resort advanced

Val Gardena / Advanced

There’s no disguising the intermediate nature of the area but the overall impression as you ski around and through these unique mountains is of extensive and enjoyable skiing.

Throw in a day or more’s guided skiing , exploring spectacular routes and couloirs, and you will realise that there’s plenty to keep you happy. Just avoid high season, when skier numbers turn would-be high speed cruising on piste into a game of skittles.

Highlights on piste include:

Val Gardena - the Ciampinoi/Saslong area between Selva and S. Cristina has the toughest on piste skiing, including the men’s downhill run with its famous camel humps which gives 800 vertical metres of descent down to Saslong. This side of the valley – facing away from the sun and protected by big cliffs to the south – keeps good snow and is quite steep.

Sella Ronda – the main route is easy, but you have to try it if you come to the area, and several tougher diversions are worthwhile: the black and red runs at Porta Vescovo above Arabba; visit the Refugio Vallon above Corvara, set in a natural amphitheatre of rock, with a black run to return to the circuit; the main lift above Colfosco, and on to Forcelles; Piz la Ila, beneath the gondola down to La Villa - this one takes you off the circuit by several lifts but gives a long steep descent through trees.

Alpe di Siusi – conventional wisdom says don’t bother, except to rendezvous with a group of learner friends for lunch. But it’s a special place with a sense of skiing the way it used to be, and from the top of the Punta d’Oro (Goldknopf) lift there’s an excellent auto-timed speed-ski track on which to test yourself: anything under 90kph and you need to wax your skis better, eat a bigger breakfast and try a bit harder.