Scenery is spectacular.
Food is very good, service often slow.
Lodging convenient and affordable.
Snow was all machine snow and very, very hard.
Lifts, snow guns, huts, people, roads - too much development for my tastes.

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I went with my wife and some friends on the beginning of March. We stayed in Ortisei/Val Gardena.

Best grooming I have ever seen, 4 days of sun and blue sky. All the tracks looked like carpets... looking forward to going back
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Exceptional value, great variety of skiing, magnificent food, all round wonderful experience on the guided ski tour.
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Powderhounds has visited the Dolomites three years in row now & for good reason. Mainly because it so gob-smackingly beautiful, there is so much skiing & places to explore.

For our third winter visit, we came in late March, skiing the magical mystery tour resorts of Val Gardena & Val di Fassa plus the blissfully quiet but spectacular Civetta, the upper parts of Cortina & the totally different 3-Peaks Dolomites. Each has its own special character & appeal. Some areas are typically Italian (Cortina & Civettta), others are more Austrian (3-Peaks) & then there are those that mix the two (Val G & Val di F). The landscapes differ, the food differs, the ski terrain differs, but one thing stays the same. The sheer giddy pleasure of spending time skiing in this amazing region.

We were lucky enough to get fresh snow on the way down from Austria. A quick stop at the Lago di Braies was the perfect re-introduction to the splendour of the Dolomites.

The amount of territory one can cover on skis in Val Gardena & Val di Fassa combined is truly astounding & the absolute reason for coming to the Dolomites. They are both popular though. There are sections of Val di Fassa that have low crowds & traditional surrounds but still excellent skiing, particularly near Pozza & Vigo di Fassa. Similarly, we do enjoy Civetta. It appeals to us in terms of low crowds, authenticity & fun terrain all the while skiing with eyes drawn to the huge peaks of Civetta & Pelmo. 3 Peaks (or Drei Zinnen) will be amazing in the next few years as it continues to fully link up its disparate ski areas with new chairlifts. Looking forward to heading back. 

The Dolomites are not the greatest off-piste or freeride destination in the world, so eyes wide open when coming here. That’s not to say there isn’t any. The terrain on the north side of the Marmolada glacier was superb during our visit & as good as anywhere in the world. Knee deep dry powder was the order of the day. Similarly, with a little effort, the ski touring on the flanks of Pelmo provided some wonderful fresh lines. It really is a case of “seek & you shall find” in the Dolomites. We checked out the chutes around Cortina & several routes off the Sella massif, but found them to be too bony. It was late March & apparently they were awesome through February – typical! There would have been some wonderful hut to hut ski touring during our stay, we were considering a jaunt around the Tre Cime from Sesto but ran out time. Snow certainly wasn’t an issue.

If you have a car, travelling around the various resorts is easy & you can better pick & choose your accommodation. During this trip we stayed in five different Dolomites villages (booking online only a few days in advance) plus the amazing town of Vipiteno. In Val Gardena, Ortisei was our home. It was the best village experience we have had in Val Gardena. Unless you are staying up high in a rifugio, Ortisei is highly recommended. In Val di Fassa we stayed in Campitello & near Vigo di Fassa at a farm stay, The farm stay (agriturismo) was superb & everyone should try it at least once when on a trip to Italy or Austria. At 3 Peaks we stayed near Sesto in the excellent Hotel Lanterna Verde. At Civetta the lodgings were in the ski-in, ski-out Rifugio Palafavera, which was perfect for first lifts. if you are heading to or coming from Austria to go to the Dolomites, stop off at Vipiteno for a night in the old town at the Hotel Restaurant Lilie. You wont regret it.







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Fantastic views and clearly a destination for those less interested in quality snow and serious sking. High traffic areas skied out early and bad weather ie wind can often occur without much snowfall. In short crowds, crap snow but fabulous culinary diversions.

(Editors note - actual ski areas visited to be added soon!)

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The Dolomites are huge, there is such diversity and there is truly something for everyone - piste, off piste, side country, back country.
Some areas are very popular and can seem a little crowded compared to others.
There are adventures that you can go on including the Sella Ronda and Great War circuits. These highlight the diversity in geography, natural beauty and popularity of areas.
Some of the human made infrastructure and history has a red hot go at competing with mother natures creation, it is impressive, but doesn't come close.
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The Dolomites were beautiful this season - cold with a good snowpack.

A visit to the Dolomites is unbeatable in terms of sheer head turning scenery, miles of perfect piste trails plus delicious food and drink. The ski experiences such as the Sella Ronda, Great War Circuit, mountain rifugios and the Armentarola horses are unique to the world and worth doing at least once regardless of what kind of skier you are.

Crowds can sometimes be a bit hectic in some parts and the off piste isn't awesome most years, but the pluses seriously outweigh the negatives.
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The Dolomites in Italy is so much more than a ski and snowboard destination. The spectacular peaks, mountain huts, bars, restaurants, rifugios and villages perfectly compliment the vast ski lift and trail infrastructure. The on piste skiing in the Dolomites is some of the best in the world, particularly for families, beginners and intermediates. When the snow is deep, there is plenty of off piste action for advanced and expert skiers and snowboarders.
Skiing and snowboarding in the Dolomites is guaranteed with one of the world's most expansive snow-making capacities and access to the Marmolada glacier.
For the easiest access to hundreds of kilometres of ski trails, staying in the villages of the Alta Badia, Val Gardena and Val di Fassa ski resorts is the way to go.  For a smaller stand alone ski resort experience, classic Cortina, the vast Kronplatz and smaller 3 Peaks would be great options. All three are easily linked to other Dolomites ski resorts via trains, bus or taxi.
The Powderhounds love skiing in the Dolomites because sometimes skiing is about more than just powder!
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My family spent 2 weeks in late January 2016 based in Arabba which we found made a good base for exploring the Dolomites as there are direct links to Corvara and Canazei via the Sella Ronda, the Marmolada via Passo Padon and a short drive over to Cortina.

Despite there not being great natural snow depth at that time (35-45cm), due to the excellent snowmaking and grooming capacity in the Sella Ronda network nearly all lifts, pistes, refugios and restaurants were open and we found that once you were familiar with the main routes between the resorts you could roam far and wide and still make it back to your home valley before last rides. There are also ski bus and taxi services between the resorts if you do leave your last run too late.

The skiing at Arabba itself was somewhat mixed with many of the more difficult runs and most off-piste on the Porta Vescovo (south) side closed due to lack of coverage, and with not much sun on that side at that time of year we tended to ski more on the north (Corvara) side, with Marmolada an option for some high altitude (3,200m+) skiing when the weather allowed. You can purchase local resort lift tickets (Arabba-Marmolada) or for a little more the Dolomiti Superski pass for greater coverage, but some more flexible options (youth passes, ski 5 of 7 days) would be appreciated.

The scenery is spectacular and mountains more like western USA than the northern and western European Alps. Arabba itself is a fairly compact town with all the basics such as restaurants, bars, ski shops & schools, mini markets, ice skating rink and a good range of accommodation from self catering apartments to 4 star hotels, but if you are looking for lively nightlife you may be better off basing yourself in Corvara or Val Gardina. Prices were quite reasonable and being Italy, the food and drink was nearly always excellent.
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variety, amazing snow and the greatest people, feels like home
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