This ski safari is an adventurous 4 days plan.
This ski safari off-piste is a 4-day proposal and, compared to our “Freeride Ski Safari Dolomites“, it is a bit more in between freeride and ski touring: Every day we will use the skins for a relatively short ascent. This will give us access to some long and wilde off-piste runs in the Dolomites. The itinerary is circular, starting and ending at the San Pellegrino Pass. The places we will visit are amazing: Val di Fassa, Sella and Marmolada. As always, it’s just a suggestion that will be shaped on your request!
SKI SAFARI OFF-PISTE VS FREERIDE SKI SAFARI
This proposal is based on the idea that a little bit of skinning can give the privilege of access to wild areas where skiers can find untracked snow and more adventure: this plan is between freeride and ski touring because even if skinning is required, the ascents are still short while the descents are long. For this purpose We will use the lifts and ski in the resort. The freeride ski safari is more resort based and the use of the skins is optional. For a third idea of off-piste dolomites week please read here!
CUSTOM-BUILT PLAN
As usual, this is an example of a tour: depending on your requirements, we will provide you with a customized plan, where the duration as well as the daily program may differ from what is written below.
HIGHTLIGHTS
- 2 nights mountain refugios and 1 night hotel during the tour.
- Use of skins and lifts.
- Wild ski safari off-piste.
- A flexible plan, depending on the weather, snow condition and fit level.
ALL-INCLUSIVE
For the tours with Refugio’s overnight stay we suggest the chose the All-Inclusive: the price includes, in addition to the guide service, the accommodation during the tour, dinner and breakfast. The night before the tour and the last night are not included, in any case, we will help you find and book the best solution for you. Price details are here: “prices”.
EQUIPMENT AND LUGGAGE TRANSFER
In addition to the avalanche safety equipment (the rental of which is included in the price), you will need wide skis, skins and touring boots. We will help you with the rental if needed. You can choose to carry your equipment on a backpack (see what to bring) or choose the luggage transfer service (see the price list).
YOUR GUIDE
The ski safari off-piste is carried out by a mountain guide UIAGM/IFMGA certified. This is the most valuable qualification for a guide in Italy and all over the world. Besides, Freedolomites guides most definitely sport the best knowledge and will guarantee your safety and your fun.
4 days ski safari off-piste
DAY 0: ARRIVAL IN THE DOLOMITES!
SAN PELLEGRINO PASS.
The San Pellegrino Pass is a mountain passage in the Dolomites between two valleys, you can get here by renting a car or by public transfer, from both sides. If you land in Verona or Milan airport, you’ll get here by passing the city of Trento and going up the Fiemme Valley. From Venice, it’s more convenient to go through the town of Agordo and reach San Pellegrino through the Biois Valley. San Pellegrino is a ski resort that belongs to the Dolomiti Superski, but it isn’t connected by ski lifts to the Fassa Valley and the main resort. We will make the connection ourselves!
Dinner and night at Hotel.

DAY 1: BEGINNING OF OUR SKI SAFARI OFF-PISTE!
CROSSING OVER THE RIDGE TO FASSA VALLEY.
The San Pellegrino ski area has lifts on both sides of the pass, our main goal today is to cross the ridge from the south and descend the other side of the ridge. Before doing that, if the snow conditions are good, we will do a great detour to the Col Margherita cable car and tackle a freeride run with 0 approach. This run is a classic of San Pellegrino, it goes down the steepest side of the mountain, below the cable car. This will be a 650 meter descent, a great way to start the day.
After that we go to the sunny side and from the top of the chairlift we start our ascent to the Selle Pass. The climb takes less than 2 hours, the slope is gentle and the view is amazing! Once we reach the saddle, we can take a break, switch from touring to ski mode and start a long and wild descent. This plan has 2 options at this point: one is to ski in the resort and reach a refugio, the second is to put the skins again and reach another refugio: a cozy accommodation on an unbelievable beautiful place, far away from the groomed slopes. The choice will be made after a conversation with you during the planning process.
Dinner and night at Refugio.

DAY 2: A REMOTE OFF-PISTE DOLOMITES PLACE.
FROM CIAMPAC TO SELLA MASSIF.
If we spent the night before at the Ciampac Refugio, in the resort, we are already at the base of the Forcia Neigra, the saddle we have to climb. On the contrary, today’s ski safari starts with a nice off-piste descent and some resort skiing to get there. Today’s ascent is short: from the bottom of the lift we put on our skins and after 45 minutes of turns we reach this small panoramic fork. The descent from here requires good snow conditions and good technical skills: the first part can be exposed to avalanches and conditions must be carefully assessed, the second part is a forest ski that is great fun but requires sharp turns and good quads! Once out of the woods, this 1000 meter descent is not over yet: we follow a gravel road for a long time until we get back to the resort.
The skiers might deserve a lunch break now, and after that we still have to ski on-piste to reach the next Refugio. The Refugio is finally reached by a short car transfer, but if we are very fast and strong we can get there directly by skiing another off-piste run called Lasties Valley (here’s the description, chapter 2)from the top of the Pordoi cable car. Not bad for the second day of our ski safari off-piste!
Dinner and night at Refugio.
FORCIA NEIGRA FEATURES:
Ascent: 250 meters.
Descent: 1000 meters.
Inclination: max 40°.
LASTIES FEATURES:
Ascent: 0 meters.
Descent: 1100 meters.
Inclination: max 35°.

DAY 3: THE OFF-PISTE SKI SAFARI GOES IN SELLA MASSIF.
THE MASTER PIECE OF OFF-PISTE IN THE DOLOMITES: SELLA MASSIF.
We’ve talked about freeriding in the Sella massif in almost all the pages of the freeride section: on this mountain there is a huge amount of runs and some of them are described in the intermediate and advanced pages. You can also read about the Sella Massif on day 4 of the “Freeride Ski Safari” and on day 6 of the “Off-Piste Week Hotel Based“. As you can read, the most famous itinerary is the Mezdi Valley, which can also be done without skins. Some other great itineraries are described on the linked pages, here we want to introduce another one: Culea Valley. This run is located in one of the most beautiful and wild areas of the massif: similar to Setus Valley in terms of the ascent, but a little easier in terms of the descent. As in Setus, the ascent is long but mostly flat, and the descent is through a narrow valley and then, after a traverse, through a second, wider valley. There are at least 2 harder detours possible here.
Dinner and night at hotel.
VAL CULEA FEATURES:
Ascent: 350 meters.
Descent: 1050 meters.
Inclination: max 40°.

DAY 4: LAST DAY OF OFF-PISTE SKI SAFARI.
ANOTHER MUST TO DO: MARMOLADA OFF-PISTE.
From the Pordoi Pass, where we spent the last night, we ski towards the Marmolada, which, like the Sella Massif, is another great off-piste area in the Dolomites. The top of the Marmolada is reached by a cable car with 3 stations, from here we can ski a number of different itineraries without ascents. Ideally, to close our circuit, we want to do one of the most demanding and long itineraries of the area: The Marmolada Saddle Traverse from North to South. This itinerary is described here and includes a long descent along the glacier and a technical ascent to the saddle. Once we reach the small fork, we start this amazing, sunny side, descent that requires a good timing when the sun has softened the snow. At the end of the descent we will ski on the same gravel road as on day 2. Once back at the lift, we will continue on the resort towards the Fassa Valley to reach Pozza di Fassa. From Pozza a bus or private transfer will take us back to the starting point. Alternatively, if the conditions aren’t good enough for the Marmolada saddle, we can skip the ascent and ski for a long time on the north side of the Marmolada, finishing at Villa Maria, as already described here, on day 4. From Villa Maria it’s the same route to Pozza di Fassa.
MARMOLADA SADDLE FEATURES:
Ascent: 400 meters.
Descent: 1950 meters.
Gradient: max 35°/40°.

Plan your trip and start to get ready
Send us a message, we’ll reply asap
By contacting us, you agree to FreeWheeling Dolomites Terms and Conditions.
Comments
Your voice
Thank you for trusting us