The Dolomites – Italy (Jan 24)

With the temperature range between -1°C and -17°C the snow that had settled on the day of our arrival stayed around all week, creating near perfect conditions for the rest of our stay, especially when the sun came out after the second day.
We stayed at Selva Val Gardena in the Italian Dolomites on a trip organised through Crystal Ski. It was our first time to this region and the first time we’ve put our faith in a tour operator. We loved it so much we’ve already booked a return to this valley in 2025.

Luckily we arrived just before 12th night, so the Christmas market and festive lights were still on, giving the whole place a wonderful magical feel.

After our first evening meal we took a stroll around the village before heading off to a bar and the first of many nights out.

We were here with Sally, Julian, Alison and Stuart, a group of Emma’s old university friends, and coming with these guys, straight after Christmas probably wasn’t the best thing to do for our livers and waistlines!

We quickly discovered that we’d lucked out with our hotel, not only because of its location and wonderful facilities, but also the amazing high quality food.
For six nights we experienced five star treatment at three star prices!
The chef was on fire and the staff could not have been more accommodating – which was just as well as we had a large group of pescatarians and vegetarians providing them with an additional challenge.

Each meal was an experience in itself, with at least five courses to enjoy, lasting up to three hours. Our food was not merely provided, it was presented – almost as works of art. This was a little unexpected and gave us something to really look forward to after our day’s skiing and visits to Apres Ski bars.

Our base at Hotel Armin, in Selva Wolkenstein, was perfectly placed to join the Sella Ronda ski run, a huge circular route weaving in and around the impressive “Sella” Dolomite mountain range.

It was my first time in the Dolomites, with their distinctive craggy limestone walls which reach high above dark green pine forests where many of the pistes in this region meander. It’s an awesome backdrop providing some breathtaking views and a very different look and feel to the central Alps that I’m used to.

We occasionally took the hotel minibus to the chairlift and gondola at the top of the valley, but it was close enough to comfortably walk.

The 40km long “Sella Ronda” circular ski route can be skied in either direction. The orange route goes clockwise, the green route anti-clockwise, both are linked by gondolas, cable cars and chairlifts, many of which look new with hardly any queues. The orange route provided more challenge.

It was entirely possible to complete the Sella Ronda in a few hours, but every five or ten kilometres it is punctuated with opportunities to branch off into different valleys, some of which have multiple hours of additional piste to explore. We never did get to ski everywhere on our ski pass so I plan to come back one day to explore the rest.