In 2010 I came here for 4 days to snowboard with friends and fell in love with the breathtaking…read moreview of the Dolomites. No wonder Unesco declared these mountains as a world heritage! Alta Badia is considered as the top ski resort for beginners/ intermediate because more than 50% of the pistes are piste azzurre (blue =beginner runs. Equivalent to green slopes in America) and 40 % of the pistes are red/medium-difficulty. It would be an understatement to say Alta Badia has plenty of lifts.... there are more than 50 lifts! The reason why it has so many lifts is because Alta Badia is made of 6 villages - Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, San Cassiano, Padraces, & Sella Ronda. These villages are all linked together so you can ski at any of them except Sella Ronda. Padraces is considered the easiest pistes and Sella Ronda is known for more challenging runs but you need the Superski pass to get a direct access. There are nearly 100 slopes and the snow condition is fantastic!! I personally prefer Obereggen more but Alta Badia is just as fun and beautiful, and perhaps has better apre-ski scene. P.S.- At the mountain huts, try the delicious goulash!!!

I came to Selva Val Gardena/Wolkenstein in August 2017 and stayed at Hotel Portillo Dolomites 1966…read more My friends and I took the train from Rome to Bolzano and rented a car to Val Gardena. We took the lift up to the top and did a 12 mile hike. I should've prepared better than wear a pair of Nike Flyknits during the hike. I felt almost every piece of gravel on my sole. Around mile 7 we stopped at the Riese Haunold Hütte for lunch. Had poltena, sausage and short rib combo along with a beer. Had enough energy to do the next 5 miles. It does get busier in the afternoon and that's when the hike speed throttles with hike guides and other hikers. It's not everyday I get to hike in the Italian Alps and see the typical tourists like Florence or Venice. I think my friends and I were the only Asian hikers along the path. Haha. It was an amazing hike with a lifetime of memories and good eats and beer at the Hütte.

This is one of my favorite spots to ski in Europe (at least of the ones I have been to thus far)…read more There is a ton of terrain easily accessible from the three villages in the valley. While it may feel a bit out of the way to get there, it is totally worth it if you are planning on spending multiple days skiing there. There's a good mix of terrain and if you are looking for some challenging pitches, you will find it from time to time. On my most recent visit to Val Gardena, we stayed in Hotel Antares in Selva (winter 2012). This area is part of the Dolomiti Superski pass, so you are able to venture into other nearby areas if you are willing to do so (places like Alta Badia, Cortina, and Kronplatz are all included). Additionally, if you are looking for a day off to rest the legs, Bolzano is a relatively short bus ride away and is an interesting day trip. While in Val Gardena, if you haven't tried the Sella Ronda, it is definitely worth doing. While it is more of a circuit than a trail, which is 26km long and takes you around the massive Sella mountain. It takes nearly all day, and you have to mindful of the clock to a certain extent as lifts close at certain times and you don't want to get stuck (read: expensive cab ride). Green and orange markers take you clockwise or counter clockwise. Another option is heading over to Ortisei, which is probably the largest town in the valley and skiing some of the cruising trails over there. On a nice sunny day, you will get a great view in what feels like more wide open terrain. I spent a week skiing here in 2012 and never got bored with the terrain. We lucked out with good (not excellent) skiing conditions, but for early March it was better than expected.

A tough mountain to climb as, you start walking uphill straight away and, don't stop climbing till…read moreyou get to the top at 1570m or so. It's a tough walk uphill and, I was exhausted by the end of the climb however, the views are spectacular from up there. I would happily come here again and, struggle to get to the top (which takes about 90-120 mins uphill) and, of course the same time downhill, which is also tough. The descent is steep and good shoes are a must if you want to walk this mountain up and down. We went here after it had rained the previous night and it was slippery and the paths can be quite narrow in parts and you look down a few hundred meters from some part of the path. So exercise caution. Well worth it me thinks :-))

Ski Welt is an awesome resort, truly huge- you can definitely spend several days here. There are…read morelots of different access points to the resort, we used the Scheffau parking lot- convenient enough, there were several gondolas and a ski-out for the end of the day. Make sure you take a map, there are lots of different areas, and it can take several lifts / runs to get back to where you started from, so make sure you allow enough time before closing. Plenty of hospitality on the mountain with bars and restaurants, at the usual ski resort prices. My only gripe- don't go during German or Austrian holidays, the mountain can be a Zoo when full.

This is my only experience skiing in Austria. Resort itself crosses several mountains, so very big…read morewith lots of lifts and runs (not many super long ones though). Has a good number of gondolas too. I dont speak German and thought it was a bit confusing to get around. Especially getting back to the area where you came from. The map has alot of horizontal lifts and runs, which makes it hard to see the direction they go in. Plus, there were several lifts on the map, that were not present.