Val Gardena info please

yes, a good choice for a beginner.

flat country skier wrote:yes, a good choice for a beginner.

Selva itself is probably not a brilliant base for beginners. There is an area for pure beginners near the bottom of the Dantercepies lift but I am not sure where you would progress to from there. Most of the runs back to the valley are black or relatively difficult reds, especially for the evening home run. Even up on the mountain, there can be a few tricky link runs that would be challenging for beginners. Alpe de Suisi would be a great area for beginners with lots of fairly easy slopes and nice blues to progress on but would be a little bit of a journey from Selva (lift out of Ortesei). There are a few easy blues in the Monte Pana area as well but again beginners would probably have to travel down to S. Christina and take a lift up from there.

I normally stay at Monte Pana.
I only started skiing 10 years ago, so I very well remember what it's like to learn in that area (as an adult……..)
Obviously I will never be Lyndsey Vonn but I now come down all those slopes in most conditions. Actually I "come down" in all conditions, but I "ski down" when it's not wind-swept icy (scary) or mogul-high choppy
With regards to "Episode 1" I have done the tour to Seceda and Alpe di Siusi a few times, so it's definitely doable but you need to keep an eye on the time.Check the bus timetable, I think there's one every 20 minutes.
Florian and Goldknopf are great long runs and there are a few good ones at the far end of Alpe di Siusi (also extremely beautiful in the Summer, by the way)
Although the map shows a sea of red, they are actually very wide and good for beginners and intermediates.
There are also giant slalom runs (you can time yourself), and a speedtrap. Now, the speedtrap………..I know you probably know but…………just remember that at the end of the steep slope, the run goes uphill (so that you lose speed), and ……….brace yourself for the compression!!
Back to the main ski area, for beginners and and just to practice your technique, there are some long blue runs in Plan de Gralba. You can drive there, although I am not sure the skibus will take you to the start of the cable car. If not, the bus may stop by a 2-seater lift which must be the slowest in the North of Italy ! From there you join run no 6 and… see below.
Alternatively you can go up Ciampinoi (to the very top, where the restaurant is) and take either number 5 (which is steep, and it gets choppy early in the day, so not for beginners) or number 6 which you take by going around the mountain, always bear right and stay high, don't go down Saslong.
The top part of run 6 is flat and narrow. When you get to a junction where you need to bear right (otherwise you end up on the beautiful red that takes you back down to Selva). At the bottom take the cable car, go up to and from Rifugio Comici you see the ski area. Oh and at the far end, don't miss the new 6-seater with heated seats!! Quite a step up from the previous drag lift!
There are plenty of signposts, so you won't get lost.
To get to Col Rodella, you follow for Sellaronda Green. You can take the new fancy gondola car, Col Rodella has quite a few red runs. Steeper at the top, less so at the bottom. They are all very wide so even as a timid intermediate, one can come down without major problems. It's another very open area (no trees) so if it snows visibility can be quite poor.
Col Rodella skiarea is in Val di Fassa. If you want to continue to Ciampac as somebody suggested, you need to go all the way down to Canazei (run lovely at the top, can get warm at the bottom and you need to push at the end as the end of the slope goes uphill). The gondola takes you up to the Belvedere ski area. A few good reds. If you want to continue for Sellaronda, be prepared to queue! If you want to go to Ciampac, I think they may call it skitour Panorama. Anyway, follow for alba. You need the cable car to go down to Alba and up on the other side. There is a nice black called Vulcano and the red that runs alongside it is very nice at the top, but it flattens out at the bottom and it runs alongside the road………..the jury is still out on that one.
I have never been to Pozza as that involves a bus or similar and it may be a bit of a push to do it in a day.
It all depends on how fast you ski, how long the queues are, and how much you want to enjoy the slopes (and maybe do them more than once) vs getting somewhere and back. Horses for courses.
From Selva you can also go to Marmolada (but it'd be quicker to go via Alta Badia) or to Lagazuoi.
Also, at the Badia end of Alta Badia, (not S.Cassiano nor Corvara) there's lovely Santa Croce. To get there you do 17 red (the "gran risa red") there are only a couple of runs, but the church, the mountains…………again, out of the beaten track but beautiful.
With regards to restaurants.I really wouldn't know. We normally go self-catering and tend to stay up in monte Pana if we want an Aperitivo AFTER the slopes (no drink and ski).
Andy, the skischool are normally very good. Don't know if he intends to do school or private lessons, but either way, the instructor will take him around when he's ready. I would say avoid Arabba, as the runs are harder there. Alta Badia has a lot of blue runs, Selva has nursery slopes, I learnt on Monte Pana and then ventured out from there. I am sure you'll have a fab time. Apologies, it's not a quick comment............got a bit carried away!!!

Selva is in Val Gardena ski area incl.Ortisei, Dantercepies,Alpe Di Siusi, S.Cristina,Ciampinoi, Monte Pana, Plan de Gralba, Sella Pass. There are many nice blue runs in the area, just check with/ask a local ski school if not sure where to go.

Alta Badia was mentioned earlier... It has 4 main ski areas..Corvara, Colfosco, San Cassiano, Badia, La Villa and generally is considered more beginner friendly (more gentle runs), although they also have a wonderful world cup Gran Risa slope.

I would recommend The Dolomiti Superski website, it has information about all the different ski areas, slopes, lifts, mountain huts, ski maps etc. You can also create your own ski itinerary by entering your start and end point.

Have fun and enjoy! :)

Stevie999, if you fancy a tour one day, a great and quieter alternative to the Sella Ronda is to head to Santa Cristina go up to Col Raiser (underground) and then on up to Seceda for great views and the 10 KM run to Ortisei. Cross town via the escalators and underground travelators, and take the Alpe di Siusi gondola up the other side. (Yeah that bit is a bit of a drag, but it's all part of the adventure.) Ski to Compatach (Alpe di Siusi) and do Spitzbuhl, Lauren, Panorama, Paradiso, long red down to Saltria. If there's time go up Florian. Then bus from Saltria to Monte Pana from where you can go up to Monte Seura and Tramans chairs from where you can ski down to Selva or Santa Cristina. It's a great day out. If you get the chance, eat at Gostner Shweige in Alpe di Siusi (or an afternoon treat of Swedish pancakes). The main thing is to get to Ortisei as directly as possible to give yourself as much time over in Alpe Di Siusi. It's much quieter there and some great fast cruising runs on Spitzbuhl, Laurin and Goldknopf. Know the bus times from Saltria. They're not very frequent.

Rifugio Comici is a great lunch spot. Stunning view from a sunny terrace and fun park next to it. Dantercepies to Corvara on fresh crisp morning corduroy is great. I love the beauty of the hidden valley from Falzarago pass up Laguzuoi and down to the horse tow to Armenterola. Amazing scenery. If there's a big queue consider a doing a quick tour round the blissfully quiet Cinque Torre next to Falzerago and then come back and you'll probably find the queue for Lagazuoi has gone. Have a great time.

Scrunch wrote:Stevie999, if you fancy a tour one day, a great and quieter alternative to the Sella Ronda is to head to Santa Cristina go up to Col Raiser (underground) and then on up to Seceda for great view......The main thing is to get to Ortisei as directly as possible to give yourself as much time over in Alpe Di Siusi.

There's a bus service from Selva to Ortisei (and return), stopping at S. Christina, a good easy alternative for getting to Col Raiser in the morning if you don't fancy skiing to S.Cristina from Selva. The hotel/tourist info will be able to help you with the times etc

Been to the Dolomites 3 times - Corvara, Selva and Arabba, going back to Arabba in Jan. I love the Dolomites and we think of the Sella Rhonda as a charm bracelet with the charms being villages to visit and ski. Our favourites include Corvara and Val de Fassa. The area is beautiful with friendly people and good food. Not too expensive on the mountain especially compared to some resorts, we did the three valleys last year and wow that was expensive in comparison and nowheee near as picturesque as the Dolomites. Only trouble with Dolomites is snow can be poor but saying that they have very extensive snow making so even in a poor year you can still ski.