I first came to Italy in a mini bus and as a hang glider pilot, in 1990. Twenty two years on, having married fellow hang glider pilot Louise, we live on the Umbria Tuscany border and, for the last five seasons ( 2012/13 is our sixth ), we relocate for the winter, with our four dogs and two cats, to the Italian Dolomites, specifically Val Gardena.
Probably, the first thing that strikes you on your first ski holiday here, is the lack of fellow Brits! Officially, only 2% of ski visitors are from the home Isles, which is surprising, very surprising!
On that basis, you probably don’t know a heck of a lot about the Dolomites! Here’s a short intro:
The Dolomites is the ‘South Tyrol’ (Tirol?). Yes, this is the same group of mountains that the Brits flock to in Austria! The Dolomites are roughly NW of Venice, NE of Milan and south of Innsbruck. Officially the region is known as Trentino-Alto Adige and apart from skiing, I highly recommend you try the wines – Lagrein can be outstanding.
A recent article claimed the two top criteria for a ski holiday are price and guaranteed snow. Louise and I skied today – Thursday 13 Dec – and had lunch, two beers, one small, one large, a spaghetti Bolognese, a pasta al pomodoro, bread and two coffees for €21! A high season ski pass this year is €254 for 6 days ( €6 less than the 3 Valleys. The 7 day pass is €31 cheaper ). Accommodation – options are many and varied, but note, whatever your ski company tell you, you do not get catered chalets in Italy. There is a good range of apartments but in the main, hotel accommodation is the norm, from five star with spa and luxuries, through to mountain top refuge’s from €50 per night, if you know where to go!
As for guaranteed snow. Since 2003, Lou and I have skied here every season except one, and spent every full season here since 2006/7. Conditions vary, of course, but we have always had good skiing. The snow is guaranteed because the Dolomiti Ski company has invested heavily in snow canon and nearly 100% of the 1200k of skiing is covered. So long as its cold, we have snow! A simply amazing feet!
There are lots more facts ( and secrets ) that make the Dolomites an amazing area to ski. Here are a few:
- Skiing in Italy – fly to Italy? Wrong – fly to Innsbruck, its closer; about a 90min transfer to the Val Gardena.
- 8 of 10 days are sunny.
- Piste mix: Blue 30%, Red 60%, Black 10%.
- The Dolomites is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site…
The Dolomites are widely regarded as being among the most attractive mountain landscapes in the world.
from the UNESCO web site.
We’ll keep a few facts back and drop them into articles over the coming weeks.
For the current season we arrived Sunday 9th December and expect to be here until late March/early April, subject to weather and business. Our apartment is the ground floor of an old Austrian farm house clinging to the valley wall of the Val Gardena at about 1500m ASL. The owners still keep a few sheep and a family cow, despite their 80plus years.
Its great here for our dogs. We take them for an hour long walk in the snowy woods above the farm and leave them home alone while we ski. The cats simply eat and snuggle up!
Being here for nearly four months gives us the great luxury of picking our ski days. In an average season we will ski between 1,100 and 1,500k. We can be accurate about this because of the tracking technology offered by the Dolomiti Ski company – they have an online tracking system!
About the Author: At 52 years, Tim Hudson is a businessman, veteran adventure sports enthusiast and expedition leader on skis, sailing and hang gliding.
Tim’s company, Inspired ITALY this year launched The Ski Safari – a mountain top refuge-to-refuge ski tour of the Dolomites. Having led seven Dolomite Ski Safaris in the last five years, there is no one better equipped to ‘Ski Lead’ you through this Ski Safari adventure and to discover the best cuisine experiences – Tim loves his food and wine!
He is a member of the Ski Club of Great Britain, British Association of Ski Patrollers and British Hang Gliding Assoc. He holds a current BASP mountain first aid certificate, and is a qualified hang gliding instructor and coach. He loves mountains!
Since 2003, Tim has lived full time in Italy, dividing his time between Umbria/Tuscany and the South Tyrol.
Ask Tim about his hang gliding adventure along the Kenyan Rift Valley in 1992 – he’ll bore you for hours!