Dolomites Recommendations?

[hafjell]

And do you remember what this is? I'm guessing you hired Tremolada out of Corvara?

[Thatcher]

And do you remember what this is? I'm guessing you hired Tremolada out of Corvara?

That is just in the middle of Marmolada. Sort of the direct route down from the top of the tram.
I hired Tremolada via email, months prior to the trip. But his guide outfit's offices (Alta Badia guides) are in Corvara.
Oh, and Holzer was filled in that year, so no rappel.

[hafjell]

Oh, and Holzer was filled in that year, so no rappel.

Thanks. Taking the rappel out of the discussion, how steep was the line?

[Thatcher]

It's certainly steep - maybe approaching 50 degrees in sections. That particular day in my photos, the snow was perfect and the couloir skied like a dream. Visibility wasn't great, so it was hard to really gauge relative steepness, but it was certainly my kind of steep and my kind of run.

[hutash]

We passed on the Holzer because the snow was pretty bad. Another group did it the same time we did canale Alton, and ended up having lunch with them once back to the road (great restaurant right where you hit the road, btw). Rappel was necessary and it was skiable, but not fun. We would have done it if conditions were good, (so it can't be that hard, I'm not the greatest steep skier.) Another advantage of a good local guide, knowing what is in and when to go/not go.

[hafjell]

We passed on the Holzer because the snow was pretty bad. Another group did it the same time we did canale Alton, and ended up having lunch with them once back to the road (great restaurant right where you hit the road, btw). Rappel was necessary and it was skiable, but not fun. We would have done it if conditions were good, (so it can't be that hard, I'm not the greatest steep skier.) Another advantage of a good local guide, knowing what is in and when to go/not go.

Yep. This is the problem with getting attached to ideas about the hit list: you can talk yourself into terrible snow. Good reminder to wait until you arrive and accept conditions on the ground.


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[Benny Profane]

How much does a guide cost with tip?

[hafjell]

How much does a guide cost with tip?

I was quoted €320 for the day without tip. In USD that’s almost $400.


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[Benny Profane]

Zounds

[hafjell]

Zounds

14 months ago that would have been $333 USD. Brexit, why aren’t you hurting the Euro more?!


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[Benny Profane]

14 months ago that would have been $333 USD. Brexit, why aren’t you hurting the Euro more?!


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Yeah, FX, strange world. Somebody tried to explain it to me, but, I don't get it.

Could I elbow into a group for less money? Is that done?

[charles martel]

Sasso lungo, the views, plus the Sella Ronda, done easily in five hours with a nice restaurant stop. And wicked fast runs in Alta Badia.

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[I've seen black diamonds!]

Could I elbow into a group for less money? Is that done?

I've done it. It was not a strong group. Did one lap with about 800' of skinning (that took forever) and people flailing down 3000' of perfect snow. Then everyone decided they were tired and wanted to call it a day. The guide led us back to town. The end. I was pretty pissed off.

Val Mesdi and Marmolada can be done without a guide with basic map reading, terrain management and common sense. I'd ski them solo on the right day. But the best terrain on the Sella, accessed by the Pordoi tram, is worth hiring a guide for. You can get four runs in a day, even starting from another town.

[abraham]

Agree with you on that. Here are photos from a few years back.

Canale Joel:

Wow! A Thatcher sighting.
. Great pics

[hafjell]

Could I elbow into a group for less money? Is that done?

Yes. I’ll post a link tomorrow to a guide service that accepts walk-ins for €100 to €140–essentially 1/3 of normal price. Normal caveats apply. You might lose control over terrain selection. And you might dislike or wait for your group. Also, if they don’t get three clients, they don’t go. 33% of list price is pretty generous though.



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[hafjell]

Could I elbow into a group for less money? Is that done?

ALta Badia guides out of Corvara run what they call their Weekly Program.
http://www.altabadiaguides.com/eng/W...age_8_953.html
Register by 7pm the day before. Itineraries look promising; I have no experience with this.

[Benny Profane]

Now we're talking. Thanks.

[patxi]

Could I elbow into a group for less money? Is that done?

My wife and I got into a guided group (4 of us in total) the night before in Val Gardena. We went with Ivo Rabanser from Gardena Guides and did a traverse of the Sella Massif from Pordoi to Val Setus. Decent price from what I recall.

[Kevo]

Thanks again for all the info. Been here for two days. Skied Schemmalm yesterday with some friend from Germany which was fun. Reminded me of a Tyrolean A Basin. So chill and reasonably priced with beautiful views. Wine is €1.60 per glass on the mountain. Dolce vita!

Today we skied the sellaronda counterclockwise and sent some time exploring side lifts. Had a few good off piste turns above Arraba and out of this world views. The expanse of the terrain here is hard to wrap my head around. 490+ lifts all connected. You get on top of something and every ridge line as far as you can see has a lift or tram or gondola running up it.

Will get out for some touring tomorrow. Maybe Marmolada or something near San Pelligrino. No two ways about it, the Dolomites need snow right now. Fingers crossed for later this week.

[Benny Profane]

Nice. Enjoy. Yeah, ridiculous how cheap good wine is. Beautiful place.

[Benny Profane]

Where are you sleeping? Like it?

[Kevo]

Where are you sleeping? Like it?

Staying at Hotel Gran Mugon. It is a pretty sweet place with a friendly family that runs it and an onsite Michelin star restaurant, but a bit removed from town. I'd be bored if I were here solo, but it is great with a friend or SO. Solo room + breakfast at the restaurant is less than $70 per day. The food here is some of the best food I've had in recent memory. They make everything here from scratch- yogurt, jams, pastries, pasta, gnochi. It's really impressive.

If you eat dinner here they ask for your order at breakfast, then prepare a 4 course meal for you that is ready when you are back from skiing. It costs 20 euros for dinner, but you can get a package if you book the hotel direct.

Edit to add- the family is very into skiing and ski touring. They've been a great resource for local info on where/ what to ski.

[Benny Profane]

Wow. Just wow. Thanks.

How do you get back and forth to skiing?

[Kevo]

Wow. Just wow. Thanks.

How do you get back and forth to skiing?

We rented an AWD diesel Volvo V90 wagon with snow tires in Milan that we've been driving around. The hotel has a free shuttle service, but they also know where you can park 20 feet from a gondola for free and then be on your own schedule.

Couple shots from today-

[Benny Profane]

Nice.

I'm trying to avoid a car, which is obviously a major expense. But, if you tell me that I can stay in a hotel and eat five star for about 100 a day, with a shuttle, that is cool. I'll figure it out from there.

That's Arraba in the third pic, right?