Val Gardena italy
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Val Gardena Italy.
Val Gardena Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1900 the Italian ski resort Val Gardena lies at 2518 metres altitude in the Alto Adige (Bolzano) / Südtirol (Bozen) region of the Italian Dolomites \ Dolomiten. With the highest lifts and ski slopes above 2500m Val Gardena ski area is snow sure. Over ? snow cannons ensure artificial Val Gardena snow making covers 165km of ski trails, which equates to around 95 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Val Gardena (Italy) is Milan / Milano at a distance of 300km or approximately 240 minutes driving time. Val Gardena ski season runs from December to April.
SNO-man says
Val Gardena is centred on the resort of Selva and nearby Santa Cristina and Ortisei. Lift-linked to the Sella Ronda, the local skiing is some of the most exciting in the region, with famous runs including Ciampinoi, Dantercepies and Piz Sella. Annual World Cup Downhill event recorded Britain's best ever performance - a second for Konrad Bartelski. The neighbouring resorts of Santa Cristina and Ortisei together make up the Val Gardena area. Ortesei is a elatively large and pleasant market town with a double cable-car link to Santa Cristina and Selva and from there onto the Sella Ronda, time and snow permitting. The town has a life beyond skiing, being a regional agricultural and commercial centre. it is therefore a good choice for those who like to escape ski talk in the evenings. Santa Cristina is a spread out but attractive village.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Val Gardena Italy
Beginner Trails
 0 runs 0km |
0% |
Intermediate Trails
 34 runs 52km |
30% |
Advanced Trails
 67 runs 105km |
59% |
Expert Trails
 11 runs 11km |
9% |
Val Gardena Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | €168 - €210 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Dec 2011 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Apr 2012 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Val Gardena Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 175km |
| total length of Val Gardena trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 9km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | N S |
| direction Val Gardena ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 2518m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 1236m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 1236m |
| centre of Val Gardena ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 1088m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 1088m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Val Gardena
Skiing Val Gardena you'll enjoy 112 pistes and trails and that means approximately 175km of ski runs. Val Gardena lifts number 83 with the capacity to uplift 115423 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the Italian ski resort of Val Gardena is over 9km long.
Val Gardena Ski Area
Val Gardena ski area has 0% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, 30% intermediate, 59% advanced ski slopes and 9% for expert skiers - the most difficult Val Gardena piste is the 10.5km Nogler run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Val Gardena after dark.
Val Gardena for skiing gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Snowboarding in Val Gardena
If you snowboard Val Gardena you'll want to know that, of the 83 ski lifts in total, 27 are surface lifts or "drag lifts" - this gives a good indication of how modern the lift system is and well set up Val Gardena snowboarding is - especially for beginners learning to snowboard. Val Gardena snowboard facilities include 4 terrain parks and 0 half pipe (longest half pipe length is 500 metres), 2 quarter pipe and 2 boardercross courses.
Val Gardena for snowboarding gets 3 stars out of 5 overall
Val Gardena Apres Ski
The apres ski Val Gardena scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
20 apres ski bars 100 restaurants 1 bowling 3 night club 1 cinema 1 billiards / pool 1 games room 0 concert 1 indoor swimming 0 outdoor heated pools 1 saunas 0 hot tubs 2 solariums 4 masseurs 1 indoor ice skating 1 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 2 indoor tennis 1 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 2 horse riding 105 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 2 golf 2 fishing 1 museum 3 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Indoor Shooting Range.
SNO-man says
Selva and Val Gardena have above average facilities including an indoor ice rink with ice hockey matches to watch. You can also try parascending or follow 105km of winter walks. Indoor facilities include snooker halls, a shooting range and tennis.
In Val Gardena as a whole there is a weekly programme of open-air concerts, folk evenings, slide shows, film shows and processions in traditional costumes. Ortisei has a public indoor pool.
In Selva the Alpenroyal Hotel has a beauty centre "Eghes" which offers facial and body treatments. The centre can prepare a personal programme taylored to your individual needs with first-class beauty-products ("Maria Galland" - Paris, Sixtus and DIBI), or you can choose any of their especially developed programmes or both men and women. Other hotels also have beauty centres and swimming pools open to the public.
There is also the Valley's museum of local history and crafts in Ortisei.
Val Gardena for apres ski gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
More Val Gardena Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Val Gardena resort - ski Val Gardena by any other name
The Italian ski resort of Val Gardena ski resort is also known as Selva Ciampinoi, Dantercëpies, Piz Sella, Monte Pana, Col Roiser, Seceda, Alpe di Siusi, Seiser Alm, Val Gardena and has the following common misspellings:
Val Gardena ski area has ski slopes which face N S
The direction which the various Val Gardena ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Val Gardena ski resort has ski slopes facing N S.
Val Gardena for snow gets 3 stars out of 5 overall