Most outdoor enthusiasts know the Dolomites as a climbing El Dorado. For a long time, only a few were aware that the same applies to the freeride potential. Nowadays, the majority of freeriders know the powder hotspots of the Dolomites. However, due to the vastness of the areas, untouched slopes can still be found several days after the last snowfall. When it became apparent that a southerly storm would dump an acceptable amount of fresh snow in the Dolomites, the decision was quickly made - we set off for northern Italy in search of deep snow and steep gullies.
Alta Badia and Corvara as a base for the four-day trip
Corvara was to serve as the base for the trip. A small tourist resort on the north-eastern edge of the Sella massif. It's easy to reach if you're coming from the north, especially as you don't have to cross any mountain passes on the way there. We would have liked to take advantage of this, but contrary to expectations, the valleys were all green and dry. No way 'Big dump in the Dolomites'...
The Alta Badia ski area is connected to the other ski areas around the Sella massif and was to be our first stop despite its manageable size. At the valley station, the first thing we did was sober up. It looked like a maximum of 5 to 10 cm of fresh snow down here. The only person who was positive about the whole thing was our exclusive guide Francesco Tremolada, who greeted us with a grin on his face. He can justifiably be described as a Dolomite freeride veteran, and not just since he published the first version of his freeride guide book 'Freeride in Dolomiti' in 2004. (To the review...)
Francesco was also the one who quickly turned our initial skepticism about the supposed lack of size of the Alta Badia ski area into enthusiasm. We should wait and see and he would show us one or two challenging variants. Well then, we practiced our Italian nonchalance. By the way, there were no Italian policemen to be seen.
We then took the Boè gondola to the top. You cover a respectable 660 meters of altitude in quite a short time. Once we reached the top, we realized what Francesco had already talked about down below: 'Today we have to stay low - in the trees. Bad visibility and strong winds in the alpine!" To warm up, we used the Cherz chairlift a few times and realized what we had already suspected: there was a lot more snow in the forest and it wasn't too bad! On the first descent, we took a few photos and skied down an untracked slope far away from the marked pistes. At the bottom, we waited for our photographer and recognized another freerider who was painting a few short turns in classic style on the slope and skiing towards us. It took our breath away when we realized as we approached that it was actually a carabinieri in uniform! The first descent and already a fine! That couldn't be true. I was already preparing for a lightning start and a few quick turns through the forest when he waved past us with a grin and a friendly greeting... Francesco immediately set us straight: as long as you don't ski next to the piste and endanger other skiers, the issue is far less problematic - and freeriding is tolerated here.
Espresso and gaining altitude in the afternoon
At lunchtime, Francesco left us - but not without telling us a few more worthwhile options. There are several downhill runs directly from the top station of the Boè gondola, but some of them require you to pass the mountain restaurant and it is more than clear that only those who want to enjoy themselves off-piste will pass by. And as the freeride devil would have it: the piste manager and a carabinieri are standing comfortably at the bar sipping an espresso! A little unsettled by the absence of our local Francesco, we decide to have a quick coffee first. However, it seems to be too short, as the gentlemen are still hanging around the bar after half an hour. Only those who suspect evil could think that it might also be due to the two young female waitresses dressed in skintight tops who were showing off their charms all too freely... However, the literal "freeride bumblebees in the butt" drive us on and we try to get past them as inconspicuously as possible (which is not possible in brightly colored freeride clothes) to get to the entrance...
There is no resistance from the uniformed front and somehow we are very happy about the southern disposition of the Italians. Back to the essentials: Francesco didn't promise us too much! With slightly improved visibility - it has stopped snowing - we find a very playful terrain with lots of small, steep gullies and plenty of cliff drops and pillow lines. Our fellow rider Fabian Lentsch from Innsbruck - a gifted freerider at the tender age of 17 - shows us in impressive style how to move fastest in such terrain towards the valley floor. In places, there is well over 30 cm of fresh snow on a soft base and when we see a face covered in pillows, it's clear that after the last ascent, we'll have to make an arduous ascent before we get our well-earned pizza. The variants in the afternoon in particular lived up to our expectations and showed us that the Dolomites still offer treeskiing variants with little traffic. And at the latest after the very cheap and all the more delicious pizza, we are happy about our decision to be in the small home area of Corvara.
Best mountain weather and wide slopes on the Marmolada
The forecast for the next day promises the best mountain weather and therefore excellent visibility. The decision is quickly made: we head over to Arabba early by car. As part of the legendary Sella Ronda, this can also be done by lift and skis from Corvara, but takes considerably longer and, as we know, every minute sometimes counts on the first beautiful day after fresh snow. It proves once again that most Italians are fair-weather skiers. We are a little shocked by the crowds at the Malga Ciapela gondola. However, the impressive 1800-metre gondola ride up to Punta Rocca on the Marmolada makes up for every minute of queuing - especially the almost 1200-metre descent to Passo di Fedaia before returning to the gondola on the piste. We opt for the wide, open slopes of the "Intra i Sass" variant between Sasso delle Dodici and Sasso delle Undici, as a short traverse with an insignificant ascent takes you straight back to the piste and back to the gondola in no time. Alternatively, you can descend to the old basket lift to Fedaia. This is very worthwhile, but you should enquire beforehand, as the private lift is usually only open from February and can no longer be used with Ski Dolomiti ski passes.
For all other options further west (skiers left) down to the pass road, you should either have money for a cab with you - for which you also need a lot of luck - or you have to allow for a long walk back to the Fedaia Pass.
The snow conditions up here are very windy, but the wide terrain and the fast, long turns put a smile on our faces. We do a few laps on the aforementioned variants and then use the lift and muscle power to get to the start of the gullies below the Padon summit. Surprisingly, we haven't encountered any carabinieri all day and it's only up here, with a view of the slopes below us, that we remember that you should always be on your guard. However, there is no danger of an avalanche reaching the piste in the run-out zone and we enjoy the little-used, north-facing main gully.
As a rewarding end to the day, we treat ourselves to one of the variants described by Francesco in his book and descend through the valley of the Rio de Pestort to Alfáuro. The small village is located approx. 2 km below Arabba and unfortunately we have to realize that the 0815 skiers from Milan are not particularly interested in picking up hitchhikers - although there would still be plenty of room for skis and riders in the expensive pearlescent SUVs. We don't really succeed in convincing ourselves that the "short" hike is good for the muscles after all. After all, the thought of the next delicious stone-baked pizza makes us feel good...
