In the second instalment of his tour of the Dolomites, Philip Cottam moves east into Ladin country, where vast, impeccably linked pistes, civilised skiing and an unusually persuasive relationship between altitude, appetite and alcohol redefine what a ski holiday might reasonably include…
From my window in Hotel La Majun in the small village of La Villa, on the day before I had to return home, all I could see was falling snow. The fir trees that were green the day before when I was up the mountain now looked winter perfect in their new white coats. Hidden behind the snow-bearing clouds were the dramatic mountains of the north west Dolomites.
La Villa and the Alta Badia ski area are on the east side, adjacent to the Sella massif and all part of the huge Dolomite Superski area that includes the Val Gardena and even the ‘Queen of the Dolomites’, the Marmolada. The latter is also accessible from La Villa, either as part of the Sella Ronda ski circumnavigation of the Sella massif or as a stand-alone outing.
The best skiing at La Villa is accessed by the gondola to Piz la Ila that was only a short walk from my hotel. Once up, a vast ski area that links directly with Corvara becomes accessible with wide open pistes, frequent alpine huts serving food and drink and wonderful views in every direction. Little wonder the region is a UNESCO site, and known for its hospitality. There is certainly an emphasis in the Alta Badia on variety and fun.
Unfortunately, I had arrived a day too late for a wine tour on the slopes. Those taking part skied between a number of different mountain restaurants tasting a different wine from Alto Adige/Süd Tirol at each. Given the number of blue runs available getting between locations as the alcohol content increased should not have been too testing.
Food is also definitely on the menu and there are occasional culinary ski safaris as well as skiing at dawn before sitting down to a hearty Süd Tirolean breakfast at 2000m. Though I should perhaps call it a hearty Ladin breakfast as Alta Badia has one of the biggest concentrations of Ladin speakers in Alto Adige. However, have no linguistic fear as everyone appears to be multi-lingual. In addition to the Ladin spoken in some areas – and the German and Italian everyone speaks – most people speak English far better than my attempts at Ladin.
Alta Badia (photo by Alex Moling, courtesy of Dolomiti Superski)
There is skiing for every standard here starting with the annual World Cup giant slalom held every late December on the black run that ends in the village. There is also access to some superb off-piste skiing not far away on the Marmolada and the Sella. However, one does not have to ski either off-piste, or down the World Cup black run, to ski back to the village. Rather than take the gondola back down there is also a good red. A third alternative is to take a long blue that joins the red as the slope becomes less steep. Given I had only had a couple of days skiing, the soft late season snow and it was the last run of a long day, I went for the easy option.
It is often the last run of the day when things go wrong. This is especially so if adrenaline is allowed to feed an over-optimistic approach that fitness and technique cannot then sustain. Back at my comfortable and friendly family hotel, the sauna and hot tub awaited. It had been a good day and there was still a friendly Ladin evening in the hotel’s cellar-bar full of local wines to come. As for my journey home it, it would arrive all too soon, but fortunately I had one last treat to come.
For more information about La Majun hotel, including details of dining and wellness offerings, please visit www.lamajun.it.
For more information about Alta Badia, please visit www.dolomitisuperski.com.
Next week, in the final instalment, Philip completes the circle in the Val Gardena, where a certain stretch proves that even thirty kilometres of skiing can still leave you wanting more…
Header photo courtesy of La Majun hotel
