Sidecountry skiing: an easy level off-piste day

Many people can think that freeride skiing on powder is only for the pros. Nothing could be further from the truth! With a little bit of know-how and the right choice of itineraries, even a good intermediate skier can enjoy skiing outside the boundaries of the ski resort.
I’d love to show you an example of side-country skiing in the Dolomites, broken down by hour: rather than trying to do a long list of possible itineraries, here is a typical and real entry-level, off-piste day.

info

WHERE TO STAY

You can think of the Dolomiti Superski area as one big ski resort. So it doesn’t matter where you stay, because we can easily move from one valley to another by lift. Places recommended for sidecountry dolomites skiing are Val Badia, 5 Towers, Arabba.

CUSTOMISED PLAN

What you can read here and in general everywhere on this website is an example of what you can expect from a day or a trip with us. It’s pretty obvious that where we go and what we do depends on your skills, but also very importantly, it depends on the current snow conditions.

EQUIPMENT

It is possible to use your regular skies, but for off-piste skiing we prefer wider skis for better flooding on the powder. Renting these skis is our suggestion.
Transceiver, probe and shovel are mandatory and included in our price.

YOUR GUIDE

The easy off-piste day 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.

Program

A day of easy free-ride skiing in Badia Valley

FIRST APPROACH SIDECOUNTRY

We meet at 8:30 a.m. in front of the main lift: don’t forget to bring a small rucksack in which to put the transceiver, probe and shovel.
We take the lifts towards the Pralongià area, starting to gain some confidence just on the side of the groomed run. Before reaching the Passo Campolongo, there’s a shortcut between the trees, a few narrow curves and the terrain that opens up above the pass. Once we get to the road, we have to walk back to the lifts in 5 minutes: walking on ski boots with the skies on our shoulders isn’t nice, but it’s part of the game!
Ascent: 0 meters.
Descent: 300 meters.
Gradient: max 25°.

a skier is riding among the trees on a deep powder snow during an off-piste.

10 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING: THE CHERZ HILL.

At the top of the next lift, just after a couple of turns into the groomed, we get into the fresh snow; at the beginning the ground is flat, so we have to push, but soon it starts to incline and the fun starts to grow! We are now skiing on open terrain: grassy fields now covered with pristine snow. After a rather long descent and maybe some falls, we reach a forest road that leads to the village of Arabba.
Ascent: 10 meters.
Descent: 400 meters.
Gradient: max 25°.

one single track of a skier is visible, the rest of the snow is still untuched. Another skier far behind is off-piste skiing following the track.

READY FOR THE BIG GOAL: ORNELLA OFF-PISTE.

Once in Arabba, it is time to take the gondola to reach the big goal of the day! From the middle station of the gondola we will leave the groomed slopes far behind us and ski down a remote valley: at the beginning, the slope is quite nice and gentle, but after this pleasant section we will have to use the skills we have already acquired today to tackle the steep part (relatively steep) among small trees. This is the most fun part, after a while we reach a road forest where we usually find some harder snow, perfect to move fast without pushing. We now end up between some houses of a remote village, from where we can take a taxi or, if we are lucky, ski down to the bottom of the valley, right in front of the river.

ORNELLA FEATURES:
Ascent: 0 meters.
Descent: 750 meters.
Gradient: max 30°.

5 skiers are sidecountry skiing nearby the 5 towers.

LUNCH TIME.

Now it is time for a well-deserved lunch break! Instead of waiting in line at a crowded “refugio” on the side of the slope, we have the chance to stop at a charming place: this restaurant is called “the fort” and it is an old fort from the 19th century, very well preserved and, above all, the food is delicious! After lunch it is time to start our way back: some more sidecountry skiing, of course!

Drinking the "skiwasser" while the skier is waiting for his meal.

AFTERNOON: END OF A GREAT EASY OFF-PISTE DAY: THE BURZ RIDGE.

After lunch we are back in Arabba, on the way back to Corvara in Badia, there’s a nice slope, not often skied, which takes a nice sunlight in the afternoon. Just in time for our last run of the day: from the top of the lift there’s a little walk, good for lunch digestion; now is time to start the last descent of the day riding a smooth ridge, the beginning is a bit steep but soon it turns into a nice and gentle inclination. At the end, there will be a bit more walking, but we already got used to it!
Surely Arabba offers a large variety of runs: from easy off-piste to advanced. You can find more descriptions in here: Off-piste week.

BURZ RIDGE FEATURES:

Ascent: 20 meters.
Descent: 450 meters.
Gradient: max 25°.