TR: Touring/Freeride in Dolomiti

[Huckiavelli]

Her’s a TR about a trip I was on with some friends this past weekend in the Dolomites, Italy.

Joined up with Herr Stoiber and 2 other friends to do some skitouring and freeriding around the Sella group in Italy. The initial Idea was to include a good part of skimountaineering as well but that was prohibited by the sheer amount of new snow the area received during our 4/5-day trip.

I went to Munich to meet Matthias and then teamed up with Herr Stoiber and Wolfgang near Innsbruck. Right after the Brenner Pass it started snowing hard. Unfortunately Italian winter services don't quite hold up to their Austrian counterparts and we were not able to make it up the Sella Pass without chains. So we slept in our vans near Wolkenstein, ready to tackle the Sella group the next day.

Friday, after 4hours of sleep, we had some good Italian coffee after we drove up to Passo Pordoi to kick off our day. Met some guys from Telluride in the parking lot and talked about the days plans. We started out with Canale Joel, one of the classic descents from Sas Pordoi. Conditions were near perfect with a good, stable base with 20cm of fresh on top.




Wolfgang in Canale Joel

Once down we decided to do Canale Holzer so we put on harnesses, packed a rope and up we went. The descent was great and the abseil in the middle part was not very high with a short rope already attached. So we used that and continued our run.


Herr Stoiber dropping into Canale Holzer



Matthias popping a turn




Second run twice the fun. Yes, we did another run as the first one was just awesome. One of the guys from Colorado came bootpacking up the Canale as he had ripped out his Dynafit toepiece on the way down. Ours stood up to the test though. We were even able to jump the abseil part in the middle as there was enough soft.

After a good nights sleep we decided to do a tour from the small town of Misci near San Martino in Badia to do the Canale Nord of Antersacs. Visibility was poor so we were careful on the way up the southern side. We were able to find the entrance to the Couloir which was worth every second of the ascent as you can see in the pictures below.


best sight of the day just as we reached the top


Herr Stoiber in Canale Nord

As it kept snowing all night we decided to skip our plan to do some more mountaineering oriented stuff in order to go freeriding on the Marmolada glacier and some more runs from Sas Pordoi. There was just too much snow for most of the itineraries on our list. So ice axe and crampons stayed in the cars once more.
We were yet to find out that the transition from Arraba to the Marmolada was closed due to high avalanche risk. The gondola from Passo Pordoi was also only taking people without skis to the top (what a waste!!!). Trying not to let that ruin our day we did some nice runs near the Belvedere lift and met some locals that showed us some more runs. We finished the day with a few runs in Corvara were we found some decent sidecountry runs with fresh pillows. Stayed there till the lifts closed and enjoyed the last runs. Unfortunately Matthias hurt his knee on one of the last runs and had to stop a little earlier.

Day 4 had us looking at perfect blue skies yet struggling with the cold night in the cars at Passo delle Erbe (-10° to -15° Celsius). Checking our route for the ascent in a café we were asked where we were planning to go. Our goal was commented by the owner with a remark whether we all had a lot of debts But we knew what to do and felt comfortable with our tour. So we went down a road for 200hm and then started our ascent to Walscher Ring, a beautiful northern couloir embedded in great scenery.


On the road


The approach started through a few trees but we could already see todays goal.


Men who stare at couloirs




Kickturns in the lower part, bootpacking towards the top, we reached the end of the Canale but stopped just before the end as we noticed some wind affected snow in the top part.



Herr Stoiber using the staircase

Herr Stoiber climbed up a little further to top out in the sun. Again, conditions were very good and rewarding.




4km back to the car were the price we had to pay. Absolutely worth it. After yet another great Italian meal me and Matthias drove off towards Munich, whereas Herr Stoiber and Wolfgang stayed for another night.

I think Herr Stoiber can tell you more about that next day and will add some photos later.
I spent the next few days skitouring in the Pitztal region with some other friends. Perfect weather with great snow.

But the Dolomites are worth coming back every time!

[herr_stoiber]

Huckiavelli in the whiteout.



OK, now find the skiable chute...




Cutting cornices for fun and profit:




Huckiavelli skiing.



Where was that car?? Meanwhile, more snow pounding down.


Chilling in Italian villages. Sorry, no food pictures, we forgot ourselves over the calories intake.


Pillowfighting in the Arraba region with Huckiavelli


Approaching Walscher Ring


Up up up..


Boys digging in while I continue further towards the peak. Stopped about 20 meters before the top due to weak layers appearing in the snowpack.


Flat-light skiing, should have spent less time drinking Cafè in the morning :/



No bus service this time of year, preparing for the skin back to passo delle erbe.

[herr_stoiber]

additionally, a classic canale holzer shot. got to pay hommage to those classic descents, even with the abundance of great unknown runs in the region

[herr_stoiber]

Excellent guidebook:

http://www.versantesud.it/italiano/dettaglio.asp?id=367

available in the towns around Sella.

[plugboots]

Great stuff.

[_Aaron_]

ohfuckyes.

[Jupski]

very nice, lots of pic = winning

[AKbruin]

So, the Dolomites seem like they have the coolest couloirs in the Alps from the TRs/vids I've seen. Cool shots!

[blondin]

proper TR and proper skiing lads - well done !!!

[Mike Pow]

Fabulous.

Dolomites hold up until late April / early May this year you think?

[KansasBoarder]

Incredible! New snow and endless couloirs? Wow, thanks for stoking me out right before bedtime. Damn!

[grinch]

thanks for the freeride. well done!

[Incompetent Boob]

Sweet turns.

[herr_stoiber]

Mike Pow, should definitely hold up for spring touring until may. good source for conditions is proguide.it the blog of the guidebook author

[Mike Pow]

Many thanks herr_stoiber

[Slaag Master]

nine! nine! nine! ten!!!!!!!!!!!!! feed the stoke!!!!!!!!!!!!

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Awesome. Can't wait to get back over there.

[Huckiavelli]

Also think the conditions will hold up. The area recieved some new snow in the past few days.
AKbruin, think the great thing about the Dolomites is the abundance off lesser known runs. You can really escape the crowds there.

[Hicks]

Well sayed, gents! Thx for sharing.

[ate'em]

awesome
thanks for the stoke

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Great TR.

[klar]

almost as cool as the Kalkkögl

[IridePow]

$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[herr_stoiber]

almost as cool as the KK

edited for super unknown secret spotness :]

[skiingnow]

nice sunny days!