Ortisei itinerary

Hi, first time in Ortisei or the Dolomites. We are going to Ortisei for a long weekend 1-4 March and looking for some ideas for good itineraries for skiing. We won't arrive until 2pm on the first day so are there any ideas for some good fun skiing within easy reach of the town? Then two full days on the second and third day and a morning on the final day. We are good/very good intermediate, like a real mix of difficult /off-piste and powder if it can be found, but this is a lovely treat of a weekend and anything will do. Just looking for some good ideas. Would love some tips on whether/when to do the sella Ronda and how easy it is to get there from Ortisei. Thanks

Where are you staying in Ortisei? I'll post some info a little later. Have stayed in Ortisei before and skied a lot around there/Sella Ronda.

Hi - in the middle I think, at the Adler Dolomiti. A milestone birthday celebration for one of the party. But none of us knows the area at all - all guidance and thoughts very gratefully received. Thanks

Hello Njb
You've chosen a really good hotel/location for your stay. You'll easy get up to the mountains from the side of the town your hotel is. I would think you'll get some skiing in on the day you arrive. Ask hotel to get your skipasses ready. Go up to Seceda and have a run or two :) there and then there's a beautiful La Longia run back down to Ortisei, I think it's about 10km.

Access to Sella Ronda circuit is from St Christina. You can either again go up in a gondola and a cable car to top of Seceda and ski down to St Christina and take an underground train Val Gardena Ronda Express and walk across the car park to Saslong gondola. From the top there is a chairlift to the top of Ciampinoi, from there follow the signs either clockwise Orange (I personally prefer that one) or anticlockwise Green Sella Ronda Circuit(easier skiing but a bit painful coming up from Corvara towards Selva, involves 4 gondolas/lifts, I prefer more skiing :)
Alternatively, there's a bus from the centre of Ortisei to Selva (the hotel will provide a free bus card), you can come off again in St Christina by Saslong gondola or go all the way to Selva to a main gondola there. Bus is a good option if you think you'll be too late to ski back to Ortisei from St Christina/Selva. Of course, you don't need to do Sella Ronda circuit, there's plenty of nice skiing off it...

The other ski area of Ortisei is called Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi. For access you need to walk through town and over the bridge to Seiser Alm-Groden Ronda gondola. It is a little awkward to walk across the town to the gondola but it might be that your hotel provides a shuttle. Seiser Alm is in the bowl and has a lovely, mainly easy skiing and quite a few speed tracking places :). The area would definitely keep you busy for a day. Nice restaurants too :).

Have a look at Dolomiti Superski website https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en and also at your hotel's if you need more information. Anything else, please don't hesitate to ask, perhaps can help.

You'll have a great time!

Adler Dolomiti is an amazing hotel! Access to the Seiser Alm lift isn't too bad except for the fact that you have to walk down a steep hill to get to the bridge. Access to the Seceda lift from the hotel is better as there is an underground travelator that takes you up to the lift.

Hello flat country and jimbobilini, really helpful responses, thanks. Much appreciated. Njb

Hi NJB,

We have just returned from Val Gardena last Sunday.
A lovely area.
We have done Sella Ronda twice.
First time the Orange route on Tuesday. There were significant crowds to the lifts.
However the second time on Friday it was much better, perhaps due to end of week ski schools competitions.
Val Gardena is trying to promote Val Gardena Ronda circuit that runs through Ortisei.
There is one drag however: paid ski bus from Alpe Di Siusi to Monte Pana area.
A lovely ski region !

biki17 wrote:Hi NJB,

We have just returned from Val Gardena last Sunday.
A lovely area.
We have done Sella Ronda twice.
First time the Orange route on Tuesday. There were significant crowds to the lifts.
However the second time on Friday it was much better, perhaps due to end of week ski schools competitions.
Val Gardena is trying to promote Val Gardena Ronda circuit that runs through Ortisei.
There is one drag however: paid ski bus from Alpe Di Siusi to Monte Pana area.
A lovely ski region !

Just back myself on Sunday as well. No major bottlenecks all week - what queues we did encounter tended to move reasonably quickly - well within acceptable ranges for a mid-term week.

Just one observation about with your comment Biki - the bus journey to/from Alpe di Suisi is no ordinary bus trip. The bus uses a forest track through beautiful countryside and is quite a novelty. Yes - it can be very crowded sometimes and uncomfortable if you are standing given the rough terrain covered but worth doing at least once! Incidentally, the few runs, particularly Alpha and Bravo, in the Monte Pana area are amongst my favourites anywhere :thumbup:

This was my 4th trip to the Dolomites and my love affair with the region continues - great skiing, great tours around to the various villages and great value compared to other major areas, especially rip-off France :mrgreen: