Page 10 - SRCG_HTML_2012

Destination Report: Europe By Bill Gleason

It’s possible to set up an ambitious
itinerary that allows ski groups to visit
multiple resorts in the Dolomites,
Italy’s craggy rooftop.
SKIING ACROSS THE
DOLOMITES

W the Dolomites from one side to the other (Cortina to

ith 12 main ski resorts (actually regions) each consisting of
many ski areas all on one lift ticket, you would think that there
Obereggen), from resort to resort, and rifugio to rifugio (hut
to hut), with small lightweight backpacks holding our clothes,
would be an abundance of ski trip opportunities to be had in
the Dolomites, the Eastern and Central Alps of Italy.
week's ski trip would be stored for the five days in Cortina
and delivered to us in Obereggen at the end of our ski
However, it seems like every time a club runs a ski trip there, toiletries and other necessities. Our luggage from the previous
they go to only two resorts—Cortina or Selve-Wolkenstein in journey. From there, we would travel to Munich using a
Val Gardena. Why? Maybe it's because they are the biggest chartered shuttle taxi, spend the overnight at the Holiday Inn
and best known resorts in the area. But what about the other Express at the airport and fly home the next day.
10 resorts? The problem, it seems, is that the other resorts
are perceived to be too small for one week of skiing, and The reason I was able to consider such an ambitious program
that they are spread out all over the Dolomites and are not was that I knew the base core of skiers who would be going
connected by lifts. on the trip and their skiing ability. All were advanced skiers

I had been wanting to see and ski these other resorts for
some time to know what they were like, and “because they
were there.” I just didn't know how to do it. Last summer,
when I was looking for ideas for a new ski trip for my club,
I found a way to ski a number of these resorts on one trip.

While discussing ideas with one of our tour operators, Ron
Berlind of High Alpine Adventours, he mentioned to me a ski
instructor and guide he had used for skiing around the Sella-
Ronda area, Giorgio Peretti. Familiar with the entire Dolomiti
area, he could set up a program, show us how to visit the
resorts by bus and guide us around so we wouldn't get lost.

I asked Ron to set up a five-day trip for our group, Fleetwind
Ski Club, using Giorgio as a ski guide, and to arrange the
route and accommodations. After several attempts at various
plans, we settled on a very ambitious program to ski across The amenities of a rifugio (mountain hut) await skiers in the Dolomites.

10 ❖ SKI & RIDE CLUB GUIDE 2012/2013 DIRECTORY ❖ www.skicmsc.com