Travelled with Collett's Mountain Holidays who were excellent as always, flying KLM from Newcastle into Venice. Apart from a delay with our luggage we had a 'rapid' transfer to the resort thanks to an Italian Taxi driver intent on breaking the land speed record (journey normally takes 3 hours, we did it in just over 2.....)
Settled into our apartment, which having been twice previously feels like home from home. Apartment was spotlessly clean, well equipped and central. The village is small but has the essentials including a few bars and restaurants as well as 2 small supermarkets, butchers, bakers and greengrocers for those who self cater as we prefer.
Arabba is best suited to those confident on reds as there are few easy runs in the area. Beginners and novices are better staying in Corvara/Alta Badia, with the option to ski in Arabba when they are comfortable enough to do so.
I'm at a stage now where there is nothing in the area I'm not happy to ski (unlike our first visit in 2009 when the whole area seemed difficult) so it's not a resort for experts looking for constant challenges. That being said, many of the blacks are no walk over so there are trickier slopes to keep the better skier amused. In good conditions (such as this year) there are a lot more off piste opportunities than I realised (apparently there is a large book of routes) however many need a guide. In a bad year (such as last) off piste could be non-existent. The area ideally suits those looking to ski for miles on perfectly maintained pistes in beautiful scenery. It's becoming more popular with Brits however they are still in the minority.
Food on the slopes is excellent, particularly if you find the smaller refugios rather than larger self service options. Our favourite lunch stops were Biok and Piz Sorega, the latter also had amazing placemats. :D
Costs are reasonable with pizza € 6-10, same for pasta dishes. Both were plenty big enough to share which we frequently did. The best hot chocolate we found was at Il Tablia above Corvara. 2.80 for a large mug + a Malteaser like chocolate. Biok was also excellent.
Day 1 Prolongia
To get our ski legs back skied with our Collett's guide (Tom 2, they have two guides called Tom this year...) to the Prolongia plateau above Corvara. This area is a maze of easy blues and a beginner or timid intermediate's paradise. However this day confirmed to both me and OH that we don't like skiing blue runs and in future we will probably do our own thing and head for the great selection of reds in the area instead, as we had done on previous holidays.
Day 2 Alba
Having never skied this area headed from Arabba towards Canazei with another of the Collett's guides (Tom 1). Keeping left it's best to take the gondola down into Canazei as although there is a run it brings you out at the other end of the village to the bus stop for Alba meaning a long walk in ski boots. A short bus ride takes you to Alba from which there are some fantastic and very quiet runs.
There is also a ski tour in this area which is apparently very good but not really do-able from Arabba in a day, even skiing first to last lift – you really need a car to do this and make it back. The bus runs 'supposedly' every 15 mins.... After a great morning's skiing we stopped for a late lunch at the top of the main gondola back into Alba for a delicious Tyrolean lasagne (think lasagne carbonara) before taking the black run back down (which is excellent) to catch the bus back at 2:30. The ski bus does not run between 12 and 2 (hence the late lunch) however think they were having a siesta the day we went as it was well after 3 before it turned up. From Canazei it's about an hour's ski back to Arabba via the Belvedere ski area. There is a slightly intimidating section from the top of the ice bar (which you can traverse to the right and avoid) which looks pretty much vertical but is actually fine (and not massively difficult) once you've plucked up the courage to drop over the edge.
Day 3 Hidden Valley
Having never skied the famous Hidden Valley I looked forward to this trip however would have to say I was disappointed. The skiing to get there is a bit flat as is the valley itself – expect a lot of poling, bad enough in good conditions but I imagine a nightmare on a powder day. In addition a taxi/bus is necessary to get to the start (6 euros pp). The views are good but no better than the rest of the Dolomites in my opinion.
There is an excellent lunch stop half way down, however because of this it is extremely busy so expect to wait for a table. The food is delicious but a little more expensive than other places we ate. There is a nice red run which returns to the base of the cable car which I enjoyed and the horse tow at the end is a novelty but overall not a day out I would do again. It is possible to ski this area as part of the WWI ski tour which also takes in lots of other ski areas and according to others is more scenic than just the hidden valley. However this day is ~ 50 km with skiing pretty much first to last lift so not for the feint hearted. Apparently there is also quite a bit of walking involved which put me off trying it this year, especially as I've done most of the route already, just not in one go.
Day 4 Ortiesi
Having skied this route last year and failed to make the last lift I wondered how we would cope a second time round.... The answer was fine (improved skiing ability?), helped by the fact that we could ski direct (last year we took a detour as the main route into Corvara was shut). The area around Orteisi is lovely with lots of nice reds (including a great 10K run) which I'd recommend. Getting there also takes in the Sasslong world cup run which is fantastic. The very top is steeper than I remember (actually skiing on the piste helps, oops...) but short. There is an easier red option to the right which ends up at the same place. All tolled the day was 41 km (vs 43 km last year due to detour) and we made it back in plenty of time without rushing. Well worth doing from Arraba for anyone who is a competent skier, access from Corvara is much easier.
Day 5 Porta Vescovo
Due to plumbing issues that I won't go into it was after lunch before we made it out, by which time the runs towards Corvara were pretty cut up. After a couple of blues headed back where OH called it a day due to dodgy knee and I headed over to the reds and blacks from Porta Vescovo. I love the runs in this area (which mostly tend to stay in excellent condition all day) and spent a happy few hours on my own.
The only mistake was trying to ski Red 1 from the top of the cable car which is a key link on the Orange Sella Ronda. By 3pm the slope was waist high moguls littered with bodies and I was relieved to get down in one piece. As I mentioned on a Sella Ronda thread what is a fantastic run first thing is definitely best avoided later in the day unless absolutely necessary. Personally I think this should be black based on other runs in the area, however being a key link it is never going to be graded as such – much better to let people suffer.....
Day 6 Pedraces
Again a new route for us despite 3 previous trips to the Dolomites. From Arabba head towards Corvara and then on to La Villa, either via red 13 or the Gran Risa world cup run. There is also a blue (which I can't remember how to get to) which is probably the best bet for anyone of a nervous disposition as the top of red 13 is one of the trickier reds in the area and the top gets cut up quite quickly. There is also the option to take the gondola down. From here there are several up/down chairs/runs which take you to a two way chair across the river towards Pedraces (or Badia as I think it's now called). There's then another couple of chairs which take you to a church and the top a great long red. From here there's the option to do the run again or head back, which we did, playing around Corvara and La Villa in the process.
Day 7 Marmolada
Day 7 was clear blue skies and sunshine so headed from Porta Vescovo towards the highest point in the Dolomites, the Marmolada. Having nearly wiped out on a pot hole in the piste (VERY unusual in the Dolomites, the piste bashing is normally excellent) it took us about an hour from Arabba to the base of the cable car. We have skied this run from the top previously but were both feeling a bit shaky so decided to go from the mid station instead and glad we did. The top of this run isn't an easy red and is usually quite busy. For some reason our skis were sticking to the snow making getting started and skiing in general pretty difficult. I could understand this is it was really cold but it wasn't at a level where I'd expect problems. The exit from the mid station is not very well signposted and you go across a metal grille, into a concrete 'bunker', down some very icy steps and through a long tunnel. There is then a flat section to get on to the run which was scattered with small stones (think there must have been some sort of rock fall) which did our ski bases no good whatsoever. The run itself was very busy and the snow was not in great condition with balls of ice/hard snow scattered about rather than a smooth piste or powder. Got down perfectly safely but wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it. It is definitely worth doing the Marmolada at least once, if just for the views which are spectacular. The following picture was taken above Porta Vescovo but you get the idea....
The afternoon runs below Porta Vescovo and then on the other side of Arabba towards Corvara were much more fun. I tried the black under the Burz chair lift for the first time which is excellent and has off piste opportunities in the right conditions. Photo is of OH on this run taken later in the week.
The sign at the top ('difficult run, good skiers only' ) was a bit off putting (particularly as I was skiing on my own) however I wonder if this is stop novices ending up on it by mistake as the top section is quite flat and could be mistaken for the blue. You'd think that would be difficult however we managed it in Ortisei, only realising part way down when we passed a Collett's group and they pointed it out! Probably a good thing they did as we we'd have hit a sharp drop going rather faster than we would have liked! :shock:
Day 8 Prolongia and powder
Having seen the weather forecast we expected heavy snow however it was quite a shock to realise just HOW much snow when we started skiing. The powder on piste was knee high which I really struggled with at first. Add in the fact that I couldn't see due to steamed up googles and it made for a pretty scary first couple of runs. I got a bit better as the day progressed however never really felt comfortable. Still skied until mid afternoon on the great reads above Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano but not one of our longest days.
Day 9 Prolongia, Colfosco
More fresh snow (and lots of it) however I'd decided to hire some different skis which made a massive difference. OH also decided to try some new skis (in his case some Stockli 77s) however due to knee problems and low blood sugar didn't get very far on them before calling it a day. Very glad he didn't like them given their rrp of £1000 without bindings! I carried on and had a fantastic day's skiing with Tom 2 in Colfosco and above Corvara. My confidence improved exponentially on the new skis and I was happily flying down everything despite the tough conditions. Didn't want the day to end and eventually ended up doing several runs from the Burz lift, black and blue, with the Collett's guides, them off piste, me (mainly) on, however there were a few bits of untracked powder with my name on them and it would have been rude not to.....
Day 10 Prolongia, Colfosco
Yet more snow and had a fantastic (but knackering!) morning skiing knee high powder on the pistes in the Colfosco bowl, this time with George and a group of other Collett's guests. There's not a massive amount of skiing here (a couple of long reds and a black) however what there is is good. The area also seems to have its own microclimate and visibility was better here than in the surrounding areas. After a late coffee stop the rest of the group carried on around the green Sella Ronda whilst we wound our way back via Corvara and Prolongia.
Days 11 and 12
Yet more fresh snow and a happy couple of days skiing around Arabba and Alta Badia. Got a little over confident thinking I could ski powder just of the piste however quickly realised it was a lot deeper than it looked (above my knees). Fine whilst I kept my speed up but the run was flat ish, meaning I ground to a halt and ended up having to dig myself out and back on the piste. Oops. Having laughed at me, my OH did the exact same thing about 2 minutes later but only lost one leg off the side of the piste before stopping. Oh the lure of untracked powder.....
Day 13 Orange Sella Ronda, Selva and Prolongia
As we had only ever passed through decided to spend our last day skiing the runs around Selva which are many and excellent. The black (3 I think) which runs under the gondola is apparently the women's GS course and was a particular favourite.
Access to Selva is via the Sella Ronda in either direction and we chose to go orange (clockwise). After lunch in Selva, where we found a fantastic place slightly off the beaten track we headed back towards Corvara. It was here, skiing from the top of the Dantercepies gondola that I had my most spectacular wipeout to date. Red slope, covered in moguls, decided I was going to try and follow our guide and ski them properly/quickly. Hit a large bump accidentally traversing the slope and before I could recover planted skis firmly into the next one (which wasn't solid....) Bindings released, somehow managed to swivel 90 degrees in mid air and then slid down the rest of the slope head first with my legs tucked up behind me. Think I had Tom our guide a bit worried as it was one of those worse than it looked crashes – I actually slid down laughing and apart from a slightly bruised right side for the next couple of days was fine. If you don't like skiing moguls I can recommend this as a fun alternative to get down. :lol: We then skied back to Arabba via Prolongia and finished the holiday with a couple of well earned beers in Peter's bar.
Overall had a fantastic time again in Arabba and will definitely be back next year - in fact have already priced up a season pass. :D