Corvara/Colfesco - Beginner Areas for Complete begineer - Free lifts? Tips?

so, we're off on a group holiday to Corvara. I've skied for quite a few years, but the new girlfriend has never been.
She's just done a learn to ski in a day session at one of the UK centres and got on ok and is excited to get to go properly.
We shall be getting lessons for her (so i don't get in the way) for some of the time, but I anticipate she will be on the green runs/ beginner area for the first few days.

So looking for some pointers.

Does Corvara have any free lifts she could use to practice on without buying a pass? i can't see them on the map anywhere. Are these the 'Family fun' areas?

Any recommendations for ski schools? beginner group probably. although i'm tempted to suggest we get a one on one session early in the week.

Is it likely (i've never had them properly) that she will need a lift pass to go with the ski school as a complete beginner?

Thanks
Steve

Hi! Sounds like your girlfriend has taken to skiing, lovely. I would definitely get a lift pass. There's a nursery area but honestly that's for the little kids and you don't want to get stay there. Would book a private lesson(s), whilst more expensive than a group lesson rate you learn much quicker. Group lessons are good if you want to socialise :) Corvara has some easy runs where a beginner can practice their new skills. Scenery is fantastic, your girlfriend will love it! Enjoy!

Corvara is an excellent resort for beginners, with lots of wide, shallow blue runs (there are no green runs in Italy - blue is for beginners.)
I would recommend tuition - if you can afford private lessons rather than ski school, progress will undoubtedly be much quicker. Mario Delmonego is an excellent instructor; he transformed my skiing, although I think he is based in Arabba. (Arabba is NOT a good resort for beginners!)
The Dolomites is a beautiful ski area and I am sure that your girlfriend will fall in love!

If you want some tips on routes for yourself, some amazing descents are The Hidden Valley - where you will find the world's only horse-drawn lift, the 'James Bond Run' to Ortisei, the Marmolada glacier and the Giro Della Grand Guerra - a 50 mile circuit of the WW1 sites, which is joined up by buses. You can do it clockwise or anti-clockwise. Depending which way you go, it takes in the Hidden Valley and Marmolada, but allow plenty of time as there are a couple of pinch points at peak times, such as the cable car at Passo Falzarego and the cable cars to Marmolada from Malga Ciapela.
Have a fab trip. The Dolomites is one of my spiritual homes!

https://worldwidewalkies.blog/2018/10/28/dangling-in-the-dolomites-climbing-via-ferrata-michielli-albino-strobel-italy/

flat country skier wrote:Hi! Sounds like your girlfriend has taken to skiing, lovely. I would definitely get a lift pass. There's a nursery area but honestly that's for the little kids and you don't want to get stay there. Would book a private lesson(s), whilst more expensive than a group lesson rate you learn much quicker. Group lessons are good if you want to socialise :) Corvara has some easy runs where a beginner can practice their new skills. Scenery is fantastic, your girlfriend will love it! Enjoy!

I am not sure that I agree with this advice! My view is that total beginners should always go to ski school. While it is true that the learning is slower than private lessons, the instructor will keep them safe and they will learn the basics, albeit at a slower pace. It is generally fun learning with a group as well. If you choose to with private lessons, you would probably be thinking of an hour or two of private lessons for a couple of days (unless you are absolutely loaded) and to have her ski with you the rest of the time. With the best will in the world "friends" are poor judges of what a beginner might be able to manage and this is rarely a successful arrangement. Worse, it can lead to unnecessary risks being taken and serious rows with your girlfriend!

Leaving aside what is best for her, if you are a normal person, you will want to get out and explore the mountains. If you are babysitting her, you will be very restricted in what you can do. I know I would find this very frustrating (I know this sounds very selfish but I think it is a realistic view).

Beg to differ Sleekpony - there are marked green runs at some Italian resorts.
Just come back from Bardonecchia where my daughter's boyfriend spent a deal of time on the greens in Campo Smith & Mezelet with Amy barking instructions tio him when he was out of ski school.

As a rule of thumb in Italy there is a bit more consistency about the grading of pistes compared to some of the resorts in France. (Where they have been known to label easier reds as blues so they can say there's a blue back to town!)

I know what you man...Ciampinoi 5 down to Sassolungo is supposed to be red ...but its steep its icy and usually littered with bodies...I love the Dolomiti Superski

I have never seen green runs at an Italian resort but am happy to bow to those with knowledge of places that I have never visited.
I agree that Ciampionoi is a properly exciting red!

I've never seen any green marked slopes in Italy either but haven't been to Bardonecchia yet.