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The Dolomites: a week on the Sella Ronda
Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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The Dolomites: a week on the Sella Ronda

A ski week for six friends in Val Gardena: a chalet you ski out of every morning, a private instructor who knows every hut, the full circuit round the Sella and Ladin cooking at night.

8 days, 7 nightsFor six friendsSki-in, ski-out chalet hotelLadin and South Tyrolean
SelvaSelvaPasso GardenaPasso GardenaCorvaraCorvaraArabbaArabbaCanazeiCanazei
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ItalyCtrl + molette pour zoomer
The Sella Ronda is one of the great days in skiing: a loop of lifts and pistes round a single massif of pale rock, crossing four passes and four valleys, where the language on the menus changes from German to Ladin to Italian as you go. This week is built around doing it properly, with a guide who sets the pace, in March, when the snow is still deep and the days are long and sunny. The base is a family-run mountain lodge at Plan de Gralba, above Selva, where you click into your skis at the door and come back to South Tyrolean cooking at night. The other days go further: the high ridge of the Seceda, the steep runs of Alta Badia and the circuit of the First World War front.

Up to Plan de Gralba

Day1

Getting there

Fly into Innsbruck or Verona; a private minibus takes the six of you over the Brenner or up the Adige valley to Val Gardena, about two and a half hours.

  • Lift passes for the Dolomiti Superski area and ski hire are ready on arrival

Where you're staying

Chalet Gerard, a family-run mountain lodge high above Selva, with the pistes of the Sella Ronda at the door and the Sassolungo filling the windows.

  • In winter it lets by the week, Sunday to Sunday, with half board
  • Three double rooms in pale larch wood for the six of you, and a small spa for the end of the day
The chalet in the snow below the Sassolungo
Panorama double room
Deluxe double in pale larch
Junior suite
A table laid for dinner, the rock face in the window

Photos: chalet-gerard.com

Dinner

Dinner at the chalet, part of the half board: South Tyrolean cooking, local cheeses and a wall of wines to choose from.

Fish course on a bed of greens
Spaghetti with tomato and herbs
Cheese board with honey and walnuts
The dining room
The wine wall

Photos: chalet-gerard.com

Finding your legs with an instructor

Day2

The day

A private instructor from the Scuola Sci Selva for the whole group, seven hours on the slopes round Selva and the Gardena pass, to find everyone's level before the big day.

  • A full day for a group of six or more is about 789 euros in high season, for the group
  • The same instructor guides you round the Sella Ronda tomorrow
An instructor on a freshly groomed piste
Carving below the Sassolungo
A private lesson for two adults
Two instructors carving side by side
Instructors lined up at first light

Photos: scuolasciselva.com

Lunch

Rifugio Emilio Comici, a hut at 2,154 metres below the Sassolungo, known across the valley for its fish and seafood, a surprise this high up.

  • Ski to the door from the chalet; book the terrace for a sunny day
The hut below the rock walls of the Sassolungo group
Sliced steak with a green sauce
Grilled fish with vegetables
Dessert and coffee
Inside the hut

Photos: rifugiocomici.com

Flagship day

Round the Sella

Day3

Day 3

The circuit

The Sella Ronda is a loop of about 40 km round the Sella massif, some 26 km of it on piste and the rest on lifts, over the Gardena, Campolongo, Pordoi and Sella passes and through Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa.

  • You go clockwise, following the orange signs; the instructor keeps the group on time for the last lifts
  • Start early from the chalet door, lunch in a hut above Arabba, and back in time for a drink on the terrace
  • Any confident red-run skier can do it; the hard part is the length of the day, not the pistes
The rock walls of the Sella above the pistes
A gondola climbing below the cliffs
A mountain hut below the peaks
A gondola over the valley
A chairlift on the ridge

Photos: Wikimedia Commons (kallerna; CC BY-SA 4.0)

Four valleys, three languages

The valleys round the Sella are the heart of the Ladin minority. Village names come in Ladin, German and Italian, so Selva is also Sëlva and Wolkenstein.

The Seceda ridge

Day4

The day

Over to Ortisei and up to the Seceda, for the long run down the valley under the jagged Odle peaks, with a lunch stop at a farmhouse hut on the way.

Alta Badia

Day5

The day

Over the Gardena pass to Colfosco and Corvara, for the wide sunny slopes of Alta Badia and a dinner of Ladin dishes in the valley.

The Great War circuit

Day6

The day

A longer loop along the old front line of the First World War, past the Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, with a horse-drawn tow along the valley floor at Armentarola.

An easy last day

Day7

The day

A slow morning on the gentle slopes of the Alpe di Siusi, then the spa and a farewell dinner at the chalet.

Home

Day8

Getting home

The minibus back to the airport after breakfast.

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