International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) 2024 7-Day European Blitz: Munich->Innsbruck->Dolomites - Advice Appreciated!

[Ottoclave]

We were in St. Cristina over Christmas and loved just skiing the Seceda area, and especially La Longia - even though the tram was probably the longest lift line we experienced. The Baita Troier Hutte was probably our favorite spot of the whole week.

Call me a tourist, but the Sella Ronda was a great way to see the area without needing to decide where we wanted to go next. By the second time around, we were able to add side trips and alternate routes to the tour and mix things up a bit.

 

[Pumba]

We were in St. Cristina over Christmas and loved just skiing the Seceda area, and especially La Longia - even though the tram was probably the longest lift line we experienced. The Baita Troier Hutte was probably our favorite spot of the whole week.

Call me a tourist, but the Sella Ronda was a great way to see the area without needing to decide where we wanted to go next. By the second time around, we were able to add side trips and alternate routes to the tour and mix things up a bit.

You're the second person to recommend Baita Troier Hutte! We will definitely make a stop there. Were there any particular dishes you would recommend?

Did you find the Sella Ronda very congested? Since I'll be there during peak school holiday season, I was advised to avoid it. I guess we'll just play it by ear and see what the reality is.

k

 

[Asterino]

Today was a nordic day. We skied up on the Seiser Alm. I have never ever skied in such a jaw-droppingly beautiful spot. Everyone in the group said the same. Possibly the high point was accidentally skiing into an alp horn concert at Ritsch. If you think it's just a bunch of honking, think again. Beautiful music.

We took the gondola from Ortisei up to Mont Seuc, then downloaded on a double chair to get onto the XC trails. Then we skied about 6km up and up to the Hotel Panorama, where we had lunch. Then we skied a bunch more and had coffee and strudel at the Sonne. The trails were groomed immaculately.

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Doesn't get much more beautiful than that! I see your companion is wearing Castelli, that's made very close to where I live ;-)

 

[Pumba]

Today was a nordic day. We skied up on the Seiser Alm. I have never ever skied in such a jaw-droppingly beautiful spot. Everyone in the group said the same. Possibly the high point was accidentally skiing into an alp horn concert at Ritsch. If you think it's just a bunch of honking, think again. Beautiful music.

We took the gondola from Ortisei up to Mont Seuc, then downloaded on a double chair to get onto the XC trails. Then we skied about 6km up and up to the Hotel Panorama, where we had lunch. Then we skied a bunch more and had coffee and strudel at the Sonne. The trails were groomed immaculately.

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Keep the pics coming @Tony S ... Glad the trip is going well!

Each area has a calendar of Events and it seems the horn concerts are fairly regular, especially in Seiser Alm:

Events and highlight on the Seiser Alm

The Seiser Alm holiday region scores with great events and exciting highlights. Here all details and information.

www.seiseralm.it

We'll make sure to make it to one of the concerts.

They also have ski-joring and the ski-schools put on these nightly trick shows! I'm particularly curious about this one:

Calendar of events

www.valgardena.it

k

 

[Ottoclave]

You're the second person to recommend Baita Troier Hutte! We will definitely make a stop there. Were there any particular dishes you would recommend?

Did you find the Sella Ronda very congested? Since I'll be there during peak school holiday season, I was advised to avoid it. I guess we'll just play it by ear and see what the reality is.

k

We went to that hut several times and everything we got was great.

From what I heard, Christmas week was less busy than the week after New Year's so, we might not have been there during the really busy season. There are trails that are pure chaos at certain times, especially when they get bumped up towards the end of the day. I remember one trail, I think it's the black trail from Piz Sella down to Piza Pranseis where we saw several spectacular crashes.

The folks at the hotel we stayed at (Almhotel Col Raiser - which comes highly recommended!) said that school vacation week is busier than our week.

 

[Pumba]

Best restaurant in Innsbruck IMO is the Everest Inn Nepalese. For more traditional tirolean stuff the Stiftskeller near the Golden Dachl is pretty good. Best bars are those frequented by the student crowd like Moustache

Cafe Bar Moustache · Herzog-Otto-Straße 8, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

★★★★★ · Cafe

maps.app.goo.gl

I wouldn't stay in Innsbruck without trying to get a few hours skiing in. Patscherkofel is probably easiest though Axamer Lizum isn't far. Both do limited time tickets.

Thanks for the recs! I've looked into the nearby ski areas, and I don't think we'll have the time or energy to ski on Saturday, unfortunately. Our flight lands in Munich around noon (we're flying on a red-eye on Friday night). Plus we need to do all the schlepping of getting baggage and the rental car, navigating etc. Innsbruck seems like a charming introduction to the region. Google says the drive from Innsbruck to our hotel in Ortisei is 1hr 30mins, so we may actually get to ski on Sunday! Yay! Seiser Alm seems like the closest to our hotel.

 

[Bolder]

We were in St. Cristina over Christmas and loved just skiing the Seceda area, and especially La Longia - even though the tram was probably the longest lift line we experienced. The Baita Troier Hutte was probably our favorite spot of the whole week.

Call me a tourist, but the Sella Ronda was a great way to see the area without needing to decide where we wanted to go next. By the second time around, we were able to add side trips and alternate routes to the tour and mix things up a bit.

Love the Troier Hutte. How about that view from the terrace? I recommend just about everything on the menu. I actually like those gut-bomb sudtiroler dumplings.

Did you ski the short black on skier's right on the Seceda? You can lap that again and again. I'm also a huge fan of La Longia although my kids hate it, probably because they're not fans of skating...

 

[Tony S]

 

[Pumba]

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What!? is it so warm that people are biking already?? How are you finding the famous snow-making capacity and grooming?

Any reports from the Alpine yet?
Sorry for all the questions. I could go on and on!

k

 

[Tony S]

What!? is it so warm that people are biking already?? How are you finding the famous snow-making capacity and grooming?

Any reports from the Alpine yet?
Sorry for all the questions. I could go on and on!

k

No biking. I just thought it was funny that they've integrated a bar into the nordic center.

 

[Tony S]

is it so warm that people are biking already??

No. Not all that warm. The snow at elevation is still fairly wintry.

 

[Tony S]

Any reports from the Alpine yet?

Been on alpine two days. Still in orientation mode. The snow is unremarkable at best by western US standards and the runs are busy. Lift lines not too bad. The scenery is absolutely insane at every turn and the navigation options are nearly overwhelming. The food and the restaurant service are generally great. In short, exactly what everyone here has been saying.

Guy next to the icy Tecnica boot ad is our guide from yesterday, Ludwig. (Hotel sponsors this once week.) He is a lifelong local whose first language is Ladin.

 

[Pumba]

Been on alpine two days. Still in orientation mode. The snow is unremarkable at best by western US standards and the runs are busy. Lift lines not too bad. The scenery is absolutely insane at every turn and the navigation options are nearly overwhelming. The food and the restaurant service are generally great. In short, exactly what everyone here has been saying.

Guy next to the icy Tecnica boot ad is our guide from yesterday, Ludwig. (Hotel sponsors this once week.) He is a lifelong local whose first language is Ladin. View attachment 223539 View attachment 223541

I’ve been studying all the maps and trying to get my head around the different connections and just started to feel like we could be fine winging it….. but now I’m re-thinking joining either group lessons or a tour for a day or two. Now having been there, would your recommend?

@Cheizz, @Bolder - do ski school groups have the same benefit of shorter lift line waits as they do in North America? Also any recommendations for ski schools? Iwas looking Ortisei or Saslong.

thanks for everyone’s input!
K

 

[Cheizz]

I personally have no experience with any ski schools in the Dolomites. I do think they can skip lines, but I am not sure.

 

[Tony S]

I’ve been studying all the maps and trying to get my head around the different connections and just started to feel like we could be fine winging it….. but now I’m re-thinking joining either group lessons or a tour for a day or two. Now having been there, would your recommend?

If you're the kind of person who likes poring over maps, you can definitely figure out your own way around and have fun doing it. (If you like to "just ski," following your nose, you will probably end up skiing a lot of the same runs twice by accident, because it takes a while to figure out how the lifts and terrain interact.)

One thing that's definitely true is that you CAN run out of afternoon time on the wrong side of a drainage and get stuck miles from home by road. Make sure to be sufficiently aware of the clock that you don't do that. If you stay on the Val Gardena side of the major passes to Alta Badia and Val di Fassa, you may end the day in a village different from the one where you started, but it will be easy to get a bus to any other village in the valley. Make sure to ask your lodging host if they provide a bus pass. We are using ours a lot.

 

[Bolder]

I’ve been studying all the maps and trying to get my head around the different connections and just started to feel like we could be fine winging it….. but now I’m re-thinking joining either group lessons or a tour for a day or two. Now having been there, would your recommend?

@Cheizz, @Bolder - do ski school groups have the same benefit of shorter lift line waits as they do in North America? Also any recommendations for ski schools? Iwas looking Ortisei or Saslong.

thanks for everyone’s input!
K

I've only taken individual lessons in Val Gardena with one of the local Ladin-speaking family guides. We skipped a couple of lines but honestly there aren't really long waits, except at certain points on the Sella Ronda to transition from one area to another. Big gondolas are another matter but I doubt an instructor would take a group up a gondola unless it was the first of the day, just because they only run once every 10 minutes or so.

I suspect a group would definitely get priority -- I think that's standard throughout Europe.

I just think that if you're an intermediate or better skier, you'll have no problem navigating around the Superski area. There really aren't any runs that a competent intermediate can't get down so you won't be stuck. I agree with Tony that there is a risk of being on the "wrong" side in late afternoon -- our strategy is to go straight to the farthest point first thing in the morning, then work our way back toward where we're staying and end the day around 330.

A lot of people on this forum have been there, however, so can offer pretty granular answers.

 

[Tony S]

Tony far above Selva, before Ikon went on the fritz Friday and forced a restart.

Second pic: Yet another exhibit in the "how to do breakfast right" show.

 

[Asterino]

I personally have no experience with any ski schools in the Dolomites. I do think they can skip lines, but I am not sure.

They can!

 

[teejaywhy]

I can’t guarantee how detailed, but meal pics and highlight views will be posted….i’ll also do some scouting on which town might be the most convenient seeming for us Mericans, in case a future group trip is in store…..didn’t you go to europe sometime in the past few years with your son? Any insight? I am completely not remembering this correctly… I realize Europe is a big general term…

Sounds like fun! Looking forward to following your adventure.

 

[Stephen Witkop]

Just got back from a week in Cortina which was my first time in the Dolomites. As others have said the skiing is mostly groomers that are well kept but unlike in the US they usually lead from one place to another, not just the bottom of the lift you just got off although you can do that too. The real story for me was the food. We had lunch at 5 different Rifugios all of which were better than most dinner meals elsewhere and inexpensive. The Pigs Knuckle ant Polenta at Cristallo with a tall beer and unbelievable views was 19 euro! Try getting anything like that in the US. I don't think you will be disappointed wherever you decide to stop for an espresso and pastry or lunch and a beer its all good. Also not too shabby being able to watch the World Cup Super G while grabbing a bite!