Val Gardena, Italy

Stunning place but hard for the beginner boarder

Sun 15 February 2009 Luke

I went to Selva with a few friends - one an advanced boarder, one an intermediate boarder and one a skiier - and me a beginner boarder. The mountains are amazing and some of the views were awesome, particularly in Corvara, Ortisei and the Alpe di Suissi - however, these were the hardest places for me and the intermediate boarder. Even the skiier and advanced boarder found some of these places hard work due to the number of flat slopes. After covering quite a bit of the Dolomiti Super Ski area we all agreed that the best parts were those closest to Selva. There were some great reds and even some of the blues were good fun. Just beware that some of the blues were a little flat.

The piste map was a little annoying and not terribly accurate but as I am not experienced I don't know if it's better anywhere else. The apre ski was fine for us as we didn't want to go too mad - we really wanted to concentrate on getting in as much slope time as possible. There are some great restaurants and fun bars around.

Overall the we had a great holiday and really enjoyed Selva. I would definitely go back to the region. Perhaps it's not the best for boarders but well worth a trip if you can cope with the occasional flat.

 

Beautiful, and not the most happening place

Wed 15 December 2004 Martynator
I've been going to Val Gardena for the past six years along with the same people (a large bus full of friends, family and relatives thereof) and it's sort of grown into a "second home from home", except at 3200 metres and with people in pink gay-outfits and tomahawk battlepainted lips circulating the area.

Val Gardena must be one of the most beautiful places to go snowboarding. The views from Col Raiser, Seceda and the numerous other peaks surrounding the valley are simply breathtaking, and taking a break at the Danielhütte (located 3000 metres just below the peak of Seceda) with a cup of hot coco and cream refreshes the soul and makes you ready to hit the slopes again. However, being Italy, the true freestyler doesn't really have a lot to choose from. Three years ago there wasn't a single prepared jump or halfpipe, but since Seiser Alm having hosted the junior World Cup Snowboarding event, there is a pretty dull set of pipes and jumps located there. No, the real fun lies in just freeriding the mountains, enjoying the surroundings and taking advantage of the here and there natural spots you can rail off of or hit a 360 on. Also don't forget, no day is complete without finishing it off with a lift back up to the top of Seceda, concluding with the 8 km non-stop run down the mountains eastside. At the base lies café Annatal, where you, if this was your last run, hang off your liftpass on to the christmas-tree and receive the unsober cheers of the guests seated at the café (dorky in a quirky alpenjägerbaumschlager sort of way, but also kind of endearing).

The night-life is non-existent. There are mainly two spots to go in each of the three villages (St. Ortisei, which is a beautiful village by day what with it's genuine atmosphere, friendly cafés and wonderful architecture such as the church, St. Christina which is a bit bigger with more stores and shops, and Selva Gardena, with it's pseudo night-life consisting of two pretty lame discos) and none of them provide much entertainment during the late hours.

All in all, Val Gardena is a place you'd rather take your sweetheart then your friends to go partying, but I wouldn't recommend snowboarding without ever having visited. The grandieur alone is worth it.

Resort Statistics

Add a WSG resort summary to your website with our free widget.

Dolomiti Superski

Other resorts in the same area

• Alpe Di Siusi
• Canazei
• Cortina
• Val Gardena

Join us on Facebook

Image Gallery

Snow forecast

Weather for Tue 22nd:

Morning	Afternoon	Night
cloudy	cloudy	some clouds

The forecasted total for the next 6 days:

	Total Snowfall
top	2cm
mid	0cm
bottom	0cm
	Powered by Snow-forecast.com

Read the full 6-day forecast

Webcams

Resort News

Val Gardena makes the Top 10 world Ski Resorts 28Feb12

>> more news on Val Gardena ...

• 
  
  Wed 25 Apr 12
• IVV Olympiad 2013 in Val Gardena
  
  13th Edition of the Olympiad of the International Federation of Popular Sports (IVV) 2013 in Val Gardena - South ... Mon 23 Apr 12
• Carolina Kostner world champion!
  
  After the EC gold medal, Val Gardena's ice skating star Carolina Kostner has won the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championship in ... Wed 04 Apr 12
• 
  
  Tue 14 Feb 12
• APP on Val Gardena
  
  The official application for APPLE iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and ANDROID, for exploring and experiencing Val Gardena, in the hearth of the ... Mon 23 Apr 12
• Museums, trains, buses and cable cars: "Museumobil Card"
  
  The "museumobil Card" combines two offerings, the South Tyrol-wide travel card and admission to South Tyrol's ... Tue 14 Feb 12

* Content provided by an external source. All links open in new a window.

• Server24 Chess Festival - International chess tournament (02.06.2012-10.06.2012:)
  
  mehr
• Athletics Championship U18 (09.06.2012-10.06.2012:)
  
  mehr
• Val Gardena Bike Marathon 2012 (10.06.2012)
  
  mehr
• 1st meeting Haflinger Steyr Puch Val Gardena - Südtirol - Dolomites (15.06.2012-17.06.2012:)
  
  mehr

* Content provided by an external source. All links open in new a window.

Weather & conditions

• Valley (1428 m): 20 cm
  
  data as of 05.04.2011 ...
• Mountain (2450 m): 115 cm
  
  data as of 05.04.2011 ...
• last snowfall: 17.03.2011
  

* Content provided by an external source. All links open in new a window.

Piste Map

Click to expand

Partner links