Non Region Specific US vs Europe Skiing Experience (and cost)

[Pumba]

She is on a cruise right now I will ask her the details when she comes back. She did tell me the food was amazing the slopeside lodging plentifull and much cheaper. They got the guide for one or 2 days to show them around the complex terrain and lifts to the best snow. No backcountry adventures since her family are mostly advanced intermediates. Snow was variable since the elevation and aspect and distances are so vast. She said the guide was worth it and not too expensive. Much cheaper than any lesson for multiple people here in Colorado. Amazing food all over.

Sold!

 

[Tony S]

About a nice place in Italy where both alpine skiers and XC skiers can do their thing: Tobblach, in the middle of the Hochpustertal. Xc tracks galore and alpine skiing in Kronplatz, Drei Zinnen, Cortina, etc. On the map below, the XC tracks are in bluish-green, the ski areas are clearly identifiable.

Yes, that was very much on my radar, partly thanks to Primoz. Didn't hurt that they had a big WC nordic race there this season.

It's fairly clear to me that the alpine folks staying in or near Toblach would end up spending some days exploring other areas. Not as clear about the nordic people. (One thing that generally fails to translate here on this alpine-centered forum is that some of our nordic people are very serious about the sport. They are not casual shufflers. They're doing like 30 - 40km days. So if "xc tracks galore" means 35k that's one day's worth before you start repeating yourself, even assuming everything is open.) The logistical issues start arising when you're staying in a place where both groups need/want to begin the day by traveling to a different location. Obviously a day at Alpe di Siusi is a bucket list item, and both groups could do that together.

 

[Cheizz]

Alpe di Suisi is about a 90-minute drive (one way) from Tobblach. There are quite a few XC tracks in Val Gardena too, by the way. Not sure how many in total. I'm sure that's on a website somewhere...

Found some websites for this: https://www.dolomitinordicski.com/en/home.html and https://www.skiresort.info/best-ski-resorts/dolomiti-superski/sorted/cross-country/

Maybe south of Val Gardena is a better option then. XC and alpine skiing day trips to Val di Fiemme (Alpe Cermis)), Passo San Pellegrino, Alpe di Suisi, Obereggen...

 

[Cheizz]

They're doing like 30 - 40km days. So if "xc tracks galore" means 35k that's one day's worth before you start repeating yourself, even assuming everything is open.) The logistical issues start arising when you're staying in a place where both groups need/want to begin the day by traveling to a different location. Obviously a day at Alpe di Siusi is a bucket list item, and both groups could do that together.

Here are the areas within Dolomiti Superski that have 75 km of XC tracks or more.

Alpe Cermis - Calavese: 150 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/alpe-cermis-cavalese/test-result/cross-country/
Cortina d'Ampezzo: 75 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/cortina-dampezzo/test-result/cross-country/
Latemar - Obereggen: 150 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/latemar-obereggenpampeagopredazzo/test-result/cross-country/
Kronplatz: 200 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/kronplatz-plan-de-corones/test-result/cross-country/
3 Zinnen: 225 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-reso...twandkreuzbergpass/test-result/cross-country/
Alpe di Suisi: 80 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/alpe-di-siusi-seiser-alm/test-result/cross-country/
Val Gardena: 133 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/val-gardena-groeden/test-result/cross-country/

Should be enough, even if not all is open.

 

[Tony S]

Here are the areas within Dolomiti Superski that have 75 km of XC tracks or more.

Alpe Cermis - Calavese: 150 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/alpe-cermis-cavalese/test-result/cross-country/
Cortina d'Ampezzo: 75 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/cortina-dampezzo/test-result/cross-country/
Latemar - Obereggen: 150 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/latemar-obereggenpampeagopredazzo/test-result/cross-country/
Kronplatz: 200 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/kronplatz-plan-de-corones/test-result/cross-country/
3 Zinnen: 225 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-reso...twandkreuzbergpass/test-result/cross-country/
Alpe di Suisi: 80 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/alpe-di-siusi-seiser-alm/test-result/cross-country/
Val Gardena: 133 km https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/val-gardena-groeden/test-result/cross-country/

Should be enough, even if not all is open.

Thanks for the research!

 

[Cheizz]

That's my weakness.... say 'DOLOMITES' and I'm off planning a trip for ya

 

[Lauren]

That's my weakness.... say 'DOLOMITES' and I'm off planning a trip for ya

Any wisdom on mountain biking Rifugio-to-Rifugio?

(Page 3 is reasonable time for a good classic thread drift, right?)

 

[Cheizz]

I am not a mountain biker myself, but I know for a fact that there are tonnes of possibilities in the Dolomites. Here are some hits I found with a quick google search:

MTB tour

A dreamlike mountain bike tour brings you to the “Five Huts” in the nature park Fanes Sennes Braies. A landscape that you will never forget!

www.berghotel.com

MB2 Hut to Hut with a Mountain Bike - Alpenventures UNGUIDED

The Dolomites are a MTB paradise! Mountain bike from the most northern city in Italy through the scenic Dolomites, staying in huts along the way.

www.alpenventuresunguided.com

Guided Hut-to-Hut Mountain Biking Tour | Best of the Alps – Bike Austria

bikeaustria.com

 

[James]

That's my weakness.... say 'DOLOMITES' and I'm off planning a trip for ya

So what’s the deal with off piste guided or unguided there? Is it really limited to large snow years which don’t seem to happen? We keep hearing that it’s mostly groomers.

 

[Sibhusky]

That guided link is being flagged as a malicious website by Norton for some reason.

 

[Cheizz]

So what’s the deal with off piste guided or unguided there? Is it really limited to large snow years which don’t seem to happen? We keep hearing that it’s mostly groomers.

I skied simple more or less 'inbound' off-piste on New Year's Day 2018. Again in March 2019. You have to look though, the terrain is not great. No big open bowls or glades. And just a few bits of more serious terrain if you know where to find it. For anything else, I would get a guide in the Dolomites.

If you're willing to go touring, there are more options (including stuff you can do by yourself, if you know avalanche management).

 

[crosscountry]

One thing that generally fails to translate here on this alpine-centered forum is that some of our nordic people are very serious about the sport. They are not casual shufflers. They're doing like 30 - 40km days. So if "xc tracks galore" means 35k that's one day's worth before you start repeating yourself, even assuming everything is open

A "major" 35k xc resort is very much a northeast thing. I started skiing in the Midwest, we have municipal xc networks that are larger than that!

That said, the "Alps" suffers the same as the northeast. Namely, in a mountainous region, the only good geographic location for xc network is in the valley. So you're not going to get huge sprawling networks of hundreds of km of trails. You need wide open country for that. Go to the Nordic countries or Siberia. (Ha, it's called Nordic skiing for a reason. And sadly Siberia is off limit at the moment).

Having said all that, your nordic cohorts shouldn't begrudge the Alps, if they can sustain their love of sliding in skinny skis in the northeast by repeating the same track day after day after day in their local sub-100k network.

In my younger (and fitter) days, I went to St Moritz, packing both my skinny skis and fat planks. On my first day, I easily "exhausted" 30 of the 150k xc trails (mind you, that's at 6000' elevation). But, having had unbelievable lunch at one of the restaurants next to the trail halfway in my 30k loop, I did a slightly different configuration of the same loop for the express purpose of having lunch at the same restaurant!

Had I been only doing xc skiing, I wouldn't have been shortchanged with that somewhat "limited" mileage of the available trails. But since I was doing both, I didn't even manage to cover all of the 100k+ xc trails and all the other little restaurants.

 

[fatbob]

Do we need to start a "missed connections" forum here?

Turns out while he had Ski Talk stickers he didn't really follow stuff here and couldn't remember his forum name.

 

[Itinerant skier]

Pretty soon we’ll have a gathering in Krygyzstan and someone will say, “I was there and saw you guys, but just didn’t meet up.”

Some folks like to keep a low profile... But about this Kyrgyztan gathering??? In. Went there for work once and have wanted to ski it since.

 

[James]

Some folks like to keep a low profile... But about this Kyrgyztan gathering??? In. Went there for work once and have wanted to ski it since.

Look in the trip report section. @Mattadvproject took a small group there.

 

[Mattadvproject]

Look in the trip report section. @Mattadvproject took a small group there.

You speak the truth.....

 

[Mattadvproject]

https://www.skitalk.com/threads/2023-kyrgyzstan-trip-report.30184/ is my blog on Kyrgyzstan.....