Headed to Manchester on Friday morning and all things considered we didn't have a bad run, though the first 30 minutes or so driving at about 30 mph down the A19 on sheet back ice was a little scary. The flight was amazingly on time and we had a clear run through to Brescia. As we got on the transfer coach the rep informed us that the resort had had a foot of snow since they had left, closing the Pordoi Pass and forcing us to take the longer route via Corvara. The transfer is on the long side in good conditions (at least 3 ½ - 4 hours) and with the adverse weather it took about 5 hours including the drop off in Corvara.
We stayed at Chalet Brigitta and arrived to a warm welcome from our hosts Wendy and Shaun, a very tasty cake and as much tea and coffee as we could drink (very welcome after a long journey on a coach.) The rooms were reasonably spacious and spotlessly clean. We had booked an attic room, which I wouldn't recommend if you are particularly tall or planning on coming home too much the worse for wear as the entrance from the external staircase is just about big enough for a hobbit and requires a bit of ducking! My OH is 6ft and managed OK, though there were a few expletives on the few occasions he whacked his head on the beams. The chalet food was very good with pre dinner canapés and Prosecco and 4 courses washed down with wine and soft drinks that truly were unlimited. When a cheese board was on the menu, a very nice port was also included.
The chalet is perfectly located near the Berz Chairlift, a high speed quad, which is accessed via a short walk down the main road. It is possible to cut through a car park and ski down to the chairlift (off piste ish but very straight forward) which we found to be the quickest and easiest route (I hate carrying skis!) The village is a little further down the hill and although small, has all the necessary amenities including a nice supermarket (which is under Peter's Bar), a bank and a handful of bars and restaurants. The other main lift, a gondola, is also pretty central and just a short stroll from the Chalet.
Day 1
As the area was new to us, we decided to join the reps and several others from our chalet on the 'guided' tour of Crovara, the next village along. Having not been on skis for 12 months, it was a bit of a baptism of fire as they certainly didn't hang about! Corvara is very straight forward to get to and well signposted. The runs to get there are a couple of steepish blues and a lovely long red (no 1 I think) The definition of a blue run in this area leaves a lot to be desired, varying from those perfect for a beginner to others that definitely should have been red. Blue 33 from Cherez down into Campolongo was the steepest I tackled and was in my opinion, much tougher than the red running parallel to it (31), which was fabulous.
Red 1
In general however, Corvara was perfect for building confidence with an unlimited number of blues and reds to play on. It also has the advantage of being mainly below the tree line so perfect if the weather closes in.
Finding your way back is also easy with signs on each lift. The last section back into Arabba gives you the option of two red runs (24 and 27) and I would not recommend taking 24 unless you are a competent skier as the middle section is pretty steep and not very wide. In good conditions it's a fabulous run and I loved it, however our first attempt at it was one hell of a challenge. The visibility was terrible and it was strewn with large banks of snow, some of which were solid, others not (plus very busy) so trying to pick a route down was interesting to say the least. Even the good skiers struggled and we were both knackered and in need of a large brandy when we got to the bottom.
The red that runs parallel is easier and much wider, though still tricky and not a good idea unless you know what you are doing. I was told later in the week that it is possible to avoid part of this run by looping through the trees (red 28?) which is apparently easier, though I never tried it.
Day 2
Visibility was poor and so we headed back over to Corvara to try out a few of the runs we hadn't done before. All in all a very good day, though I did have an altercation with a ski binding (didn't clip in properly, set off on one ski and promptly fell over, landing on the binding.) My left knee was black and blue for the remainder of the holiday though didn't stop me skiing.
Day 3
Clear blue skies dawned and we decided to tackle the Marmolada Glacier which at 3200m is the highest point in Arabba.
En route to Marmolada
View from the top
The runs down to the Marmolada cable car from the mid station of the Porto Vescovo gondola are lovely cruisey blues and reds and the last section through the trees is beautiful. Having got to the base of the cable car, I nearly had a divorce on my hands when my OH realised just how high we were going to be heading (i.e. the cable car goes up pretty steeply and disappears into the cloud, and that is just the first of 3 cars you need to take to the top!) Around 70 people go up at a time so be prepared to feel like a sardine – a good thing in our case as we had no desire to look out of the window!! The run down is apparently about a mile and fabulous, though is tricky in parts. Having started off in sunshine, we descended into thick cloud which we hoped we would pass though. Sadly though, the conditions did not improve and the light for the last section was awful. It was at this point that I had a slight accident, skiing past my OH on what I thought was a continuation of the piste. It wasn't and I skied over a large bank of snow (which scuppered my balance as I wasn't expecting it) down a bit of a drop and landed in a heap in 3ft of powder, skis, hat, goggles and God knows what else in all directions. Fortunately it was a soft landing and I didn't hurt myself. Unfortunately, it wasn't captured on camera, a shame as it would have been worth a fortune on You've been framed! Having retrieved my kit and got back on the piste, a task that was easier said than done, we continued to the nearest restaurant for lunch so I could dry off. I can safely say that this was one of the best pizzas I've had and excellent value at about 6 euros.
The conditions got steadily worse and at one point the visibility was down to about 20m (oh, and it was snowing). The runs back from this point were anything but fun – nobody could see, it was extremely busy (as it's on the orange Sella Ronda Route) and many of the people on it were really out of their depth, it was narrow in places and throw in a few steep bits and the odd mogul for good measure. You get the picture. I've no doubt that with better weather these runs would be fabulous, but certainly best avoided in poor conditions as they are well above the tree line and quite exposed.
Having made it back to the gondola into Arabba just about in one piece, self preservation kicked in and we took the gondola down, rather than tackling what we knew to be a long and difficult red. We didn't get around to doing the reds and blacks on this side of Arabba, mainly due to the weather (firstly not being able to see and then when conditions improved, our chalet host said that they were getting a bit icy.) My skiing isn't at a level yet where I go looking for trouble, and with so much else to ski, we decided not to risk what, in these conditions, could well have been beyond us. Next year on the other hand.......
Black into Arabba under the Gondola
Day 4
Weather wasn't great so decided to go and play among the trees again in Corvara. A good day's skiing but tiring as visibility was terrible at times.
Wednesday night was the chalet host's night off so we headed into town for a meal. Having had a few après ski beers in Mickey's bar and grill and looked at the menu, we booked a table and were not disappointed. I can safely say that this was one of the best meals I've had in ages. We kicked off with a bread basket with about 6 different varieties (that would have fed a family of 4!) and a complimentary pre-starter of mozzarella with Parma ham and a pesto dressing which was delicious. To follow we chose antipasti and scallops wrapped in bacon with chaneterlle mushrooms. At this point, we were regretting having ordered any more courses (you think you're safe with a starter and a main!) To follow, we had gnocchi with crayfish, prawns and asparagus and char grilled veal (shared between us) washed down with a delicious red. With a tip this came in at 80 Euros, which given what we had, we thought was pretty good value. Thoroughly recommended.
Day 5
After a couple of days of difficult conditions, the clear blue skies which greeted us on day 5 were very welcome. This was the day of the Sella Ronda which we had been planning all week and kept postponing due to the weather. We chose to do the green (easier) route as we had no idea how much skiing we would need to do and didn't want to push it too far. In general, we found this route to be fairly straight forward, however there were a couple of steep reds in and around Selva which would make me reluctant to recommend doing this unless you are reasonably confident on reds (we came across a fair few people struggling, even in perfect conditions). Also, there were a couple of flat sections, which I would imagine to be a nightmare on a board. Others in our chalet did both routes (green and orange) and everyone agreed that the orange is much better (though sadly we ran out of time to try it.) Time wise, we left the chalet at 9, stopped for coffee in Selva at 11 ish and were back in Arabba for 3, with about a 20 minute lunch break, (so about 5 ½ hours skiing, at a moderate pace.) The route did get extremely busy at times, particularly late in the afternoon, so an early start would be recommended.
Run down into Selva on the green Sella Ronda
Somewhere between Selva and Val di Fassa
Val di Fassa
Day 6
Our last day and on the recommendation of our chalet hosts we headed to la Villa. The skiing over here is great and there is a fabulous long red (13) which goes all the way down through the trees – a must do! There is a black that branches off this and be wary of taking the wrong fork by mistake as apparently this is pretty difficult. We only got so far into the area before turning back but others in our chalet explored more extensively and gave very good reports (though there is a 1 man chair which wasn't designed for modern wide skis or tall skiers which makes for an interesting ride...)
Red 13 into La Villa
Red 27 back into Arabba
Black from the top of the Berz chairlift
Other areas we didn't get to
Apparently the Hidden Valley is very good, though can get busy. The reps run a trip, however it is possible to ski there and take a short taxi ride part of the way back which a lot of those in our chalet did.
Getting back was not the most pleasant of journeys. Having got up at 3 am for a 4am coach, the rep arrived at 4:05 to tell us that the coach driver had overslept and it would be at least another hour (cue a lot of very grumpy passengers who could have had another hour in bed!) The route back over the Pordoi Pass has 27 hairpins going up and the same coming down (not counting the other bends) and was a nightmare for me, even with travel sickness pills. I certainly wouldn't fancy it with a hangover......... Check in at Brescia airport is also a bit of a joke, with all of the flights going out at about the same time and nowhere near enough space for everyone to queue with their bags.
So to sum up, Arabba and the Dolomites in general is a fabulous area and a hidden gem. The scenery throughout is stunning and if you are confident on reds and like to cover the miles then this area is perfect for you. The lifts are fast and efficient and we generally got straight on. Even when we hit rush hour, we never queued for more than 5 minutes. There are enough challenging runs scattered throughout to keep the more advanced entertained though I can't comment on the off piste as the most I managed was playing in the powder to the side of the runs. I would be very hesitant to recommend Arabba to beginners and timid intermediates as although there is nothing ridiculously scary it's not the place to be if you have crisis of confidence, and blues are in the minority. Also, the ski school only runs for 2 hours in the morning leaving a lot of time to fend for yourself. Corvara on the other hand would be perfect, with loads of cruisey blues to build confidence and the same stunning scenery as the rest of the area.
I would also agree with what others have said, that Arabba is a skiers resort i.e. it's not somewhere to go if you want to party 'till 4 in the morning and definitely a bad idea for non-skiers as there really is very little else to do. There are a couple of bars, of which Peter's is open until the early hours but in general the village is very quiet. To get the most out of the area and have the après ski then Selva looks to be the better bet.
The only downside is the long transfer however the resort is well worth the journey. Would I go back – tomorrow if I could and am already considering booking for the same time next year (that is, if the J2 trip to Zermatt doesn't come off.) If not, Araaba January 2011 anyone....... :D