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Why this is the world's most beautiful place to ski

italy ski holiday 2022 Alta Badia dolomites corvara - Alta Badia/Alex Moling
italy ski holiday 2022 Alta Badia dolomites corvara - Alta Badia/Alex Moling

Drifting gently homewards at sunset against a mountain backdrop so surreal that it’s almost impossible to concentrate on what’s going on beneath my feet, the realisation is sudden and overwhelming.

The craggy heart of the Italian Dolomites is truly the most beautiful place in the world in which to ski.

Of course, the Alps, the North American Rockies and the mighty Andes are strong contenders. I love skiing in all of them and each mountain range has a majesty of its own. But, personally, for sheer unadulterated beauty, the Alta Badia end of the Dolomites has no rival.

As I make the descent from 2788m Lagazuoi into the Hidden Valley, the frozen waterfall to my left is suffused in vivid turquoise. Around me, as they absorb the final rays of the day, soaring cathedral-like cliffs of Dolomiti limestone turn slowly from yellow to a delicate shade of pink. This feast of colour that assails you at the end of the day makes it almost impossible not be filled with a satisfying sense of spiritual well-being.

The kernel of this gigantic ski area – no less than 1200km of pistes are included in the Superski Dolomiti lift pass (dolomitisuperski.com) – is Corvara and the Sella Ronda.

Alta Badia italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Alex Moling
Alta Badia italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Alex Moling

The ancient village is the largest and most convenient base of the half-dozen little resorts in the regional ‘county’ of Alta Badia at the North Eastern end of the circuit. The Sella Ronda is the circumnavigation on skis of the giant Sella massif for which Corvara is one of the gateway villages.

Anyone who can ski parallel can do it, but it’s important to note that there’s so much more to this area than this hallmark experience. Yes, it’s well worth doing once in a one week visit here, but my advice is to concentrate on the multitude of usually quieter pistes that lead away tangentially from the actual circuit. Choose a different sector to explore each day.

Lagazuoi, reached by a cable-car on the Passo Falzarego between Cortina and Corvara, was the scene of bitter fighting during World War I between Italian and Austrian troops.

Both sides tunnelled whole garrisons and gun emplacements into the rock faces and used the snow as a weapon of mass destruction by firing shells into the snow pack to bring avalanches down on their enemies. At least half a million lost their lives during what was dubbed the White War. On Friday, December 13 in 1916 some 2000 troops were killed in this way in a single day.

A handful of the ancient gun emplacements remain and it takes a full day to explore the sites on skis. These include the challenging slopes of 3343m Marmolada, the highest mountain of the Dolomites and another theatre of fierce fighting.

Arabba and Passo Pordoi have the most challenging runs. Selva Val Gardena is the setting for one of the classic downhills of the World Cup Circuit, while the black Cir slope at Selva will test anyone’s technical skills. Val Mesdi is a dramatic off-piste route involving a 45-minute hike and a steep descent through the heart of the Sella massif with the exit near Colfosco. Some of the couloirs are extreme experiences for even the most expert skiers.

ski holiday italy alta badia - Alta Badia/Alex Moling
ski holiday italy alta badia - Alta Badia/Alex Moling

However, such runs apart, much of the skiing is ideally suited to confident intermediates who want to put big mileage beneath their feet each day…which brings us back to the Sella Ronda.

The circular route involves using 20 lifts to ski some 25km of mainly intermediate pistes around the Sella massif. You can complete it in either direction (although clockwise is marginally more challenging).

There are lots of variations, but you need to keep an eye on the time and ideally have a local ski school guide. If you stick to the most direct route, you can complete the circuit in under three hours. This is provided that the slopes aren’t overcrowded and you have the physical stamina to ski each run from top to bottom, with only the occasional brief stop for breather.

Dramatic improvements to the lift system in recent years mean that only a couple of ancient double chairs remain and these are scheduled for replacement. However, do note that if you have to wait six minutes in a queue for each lift, that adds two hours to your journey.

After a series of disastrously dry winters in the later 1980s the region set out to develop what is now one of the largest and best artificial snow-making systems. Even if Mother Nature has completely failed to deliver you can still ski here – provided that temperatures are sufficiently low. During a poor snow winter five years ago they managed to open 900km of piste that in places was 40m wide and 40cm deep. Indeed, so good was the snow quality that the number of injuries in the 2016/17 season was far below normal.

The region is also good for beginners, with one school in Corvara and two in neighbouring Colfosco. A friend who took lessons last week with the Corvara Ladinia school described the tuition as ‘friendly and first class.’

But there’s far more than beautiful scenery and skiing to a holiday here. Firstly, you need to get to grips with the cultural heritage supported by three different languages. Ladin – not Italian – is the principal one. This ancient Latin-based tongue is spoken by 40,000 local people who proudly managed to hold onto their national identity through the geographical and political turbulence of the 20th century. Pockets of the ski area in the Sudtirol are also German-speaking.

All three cultures provide their own distinctive cuisine and the whole area has a wealth of wonderful wayside mountain huts where you eat at surprising reasonable prices. I particularly recommend Rifugio Col Alto in Corvara (00 39 0471836324; rifugiocolalt.it) at the top of the gondola of the same name and renowned for its venison cheeseburger, and Rifugio Edelweiss (00 39 0471 836 024; rifugioedelweiss.it) in Colfosco. Expect to pay around €14 (£12) for pasta dishes and €25 (£21) for a main course. Local wines are superb, but not cheap. Both have inviting sun terraces and can easily be reached by beginners.

Club Moritzino (00 39 0471 847403; moritzino.it), on the Pralongià plateau at Piz La Ila above La Villa, is much the most sophisticated of Alta Badia’s clutch of gastro mountain huts. In March, effervescent host Moritz Craffonara celebrates his restaurant’s 57th birthday. It’s adored by ageing Italian and German matinée idols. But these days they are outnumbered by a young, cool and equally wealthy clientele. Fresh fish and seafood, such as delicately flavoured clam and scallop carpaccio, are the highlights of the menu along with grilled meats and innovative pizzas.

Club Moritzino italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Freddy Planinschek
Club Moritzino italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Freddy Planinschek

At Moritzino, as in the entire area, the normally vibrant après-ski has diminished under Covid rules to the point of almost non-existence. Until two years ago the Austrian-inspired rite of dancing in ski boots at teatime was alive and well in Alta Badia as it had been for at least a century. In the era of lace-up leather boots – before these were replaced around 1960 by calf-length plastic – it was a lot less awkward!

In Corvara, the Hotel Posta Zirm was internationally renowned for these sunset shindigs where copious quantities alcohol took prominence over Darjeeling. But sadly the bar and dance floor have been converted into a rather good pizza restaurant.

The tea dance shifted to L’Murin, a nearby converted mill, which is the top spot for a heavy-duty waltz…or was. Right now, dancing in Italy is temporarily vietato (forbidden). You can still mournfully listen to euro-pop and take the edge of your disappointment by downing a traditional Italian alpine tipple such as Bombardino, a leg-melting fusion of eggnog liqueur and rum or brandy. Equally infamous is the Negroni, a cocktail of red vermouth, Campari, and gin. After a couple of either of these you won’t know that you’re not dancing.

Where you base yourself in this long drawn-out village is important. Either choose a hotel within a short walk of the two main access gondolas, or a hotel with a regular and efficient shuttle bus service. Five-star La Perla (00 39 0471 831000; laperlacorvara.it) and Posta Zirm (00 39 0471 836 175; postazirm.com) are central cocoons of hedonism, although you pay heavily for the privilege. Three-star Villa Tony (00 39 0471 836 193; villatony.com) is a less pricey and an equally well-placed alternative.

la perla hotel italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Willeit Gustav
la perla hotel italy ski holiday - Alta Badia/Willeit Gustav

I also recommend traditional hunting-themed Hotel Sassongher (00 39 0471 836085; sassongher.it), which has been run by the same family since 1933. It’s located on a small hill, with magnificent views across the resort and the mountains beyond. The hotel’s two shuttle buses run to and from the lifts and shops throughout the day.

The hotel has a spa with a magnificent roof top outdoor hot tub as well as an indoor pool and spa. Rooms are unusually spacious, but the real highlight of the hotel is its cuisine in both its main restaurant and charming Stube with beams dating from the 14th century.

Chef Raffaele Mattera began his career on the holiday island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples so there’s a strong Mediterranean and seafood influence. But he then moved to Switzerland where he learned about venison which features strongly and deliciously on his menus.

Standing on the roof here at breakfast-time and watching the sun beginning once again to strike the peaks of Alta Badia is the confirmation of what I felt yesterday. This truly is the most beautiful mountain range in the world.

How to do it

Peter Hardy’s trip Corvara was organised by Alta Badia in conjunction with Hotel Sassongher . He travelled from London Heathrow to Venice with British Airways (britishairways.com) followed by a three-hour private transfer. Hotel rooms from €280 (£233) per person, based on two sharing. In February Skyalps (skyalps.com) launches a new service from London Gatwick to Bolzano, which is only an 85-minute drive from Corvara. Returns from €363 (£302).

Entry requirements

Italy's borders are open to British holidaymakers, and vaccinated visitors, or those with proof of recovery, do not need to quarantine. Those who haven't had both jabs do still have to quarantine for five days, at the end of which they must take a test. Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must present a negative test taken in the 48 hours before entering Italy and complete the EU’s digital passenger locator form, via the EU PLF application.

Only children aged 5 and under are exempt from pre-arrival testing. Under-18s do not need to quarantine if they are travelling with a fully vaccinated parent and (for those over the age of 6) have a negative test.

However, the 'Super Green Pass' rules will affect family ski holidays if over-12s aren't double jabbed. A full course of vaccination is required to teenagers wanting to access ski lifts, hotels or restaurants – or proof of recovery (within the previous 180 days). Vaccine-ineligible children under 12 have to prove their age to access key services.