Alta Badia: a super time on the Superski
Last March, we visited Alta Badia ski resort in the heart of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Italy. Alta Badia is a stunning mountainous area made up of six picturesque South Tyrolean villages, which are snow-covered in winter and luxuriantly green in summer.
Alta Badia is part of the world's largest ski network covered by a single lift pass, the Dolomiti Superski. 450 lifts carry 620,000 skiers per hour and serve 1,220 km of piste. Alta Badia has a skis-on connection to more than 500km of piste and is on the world-famous Sellaronda, a spectacular circuit of the Sella accessible to intermediate skiers - 26km and 4500 vertical metres of skiing.
The resort is really authentic and traditional. Only the year before, we visited a nearby resort, Cortina and in total, there are 12 resorts spread over the Dolomites area. This is known as the Dolomites Superski.
The special thing about the resort is the number of high-class restaurants it has. Some huts are located on the mountain and have Michelin-starred chefs who create delicious meals for their guests.
The slopes are average – there aren’t so many difficult runs, more intermediate-level ones. Among the range of activities, you can take a ride behind a horse-drawn sledge; several horses pull the sledge and you glide along behind it - although this activity is probably more suited to skiers.
We were staying in the very heart of the town just a few hundred metres away from the ski lift, which made our lives very easy. The location of Hotel Antines makes it the perfect place to stay. Free parking at the hotel and no need to drive to the ski lifts means that everything is really close.
The best part of the resort is that it is connected to nearby Corvara town; you can get there in just 40 minutes on skis. Corvara is one of the starting points to get to Sellaronda.
The Sellaronda, the circuit around the Sella massif on skis and using ski lifts, is probably the best-known ski tour in the Dolomites. In just one day, you can ride around 40 kilometres (24 miles) of runs without ever having to take your skis off - and without ever riding the same slope twice.
They recommend that you leave at 10 am at the latest so that you can get back to your starting point before the lifts close. In total, you should allow for about 6 hours including runs, ascents and breaks to tackle the Sellaronda.
I decided to go for it, but I went alone since I was the only one experienced enough for the trip. My wife is just a beginner. In total, it took me 3h 45 min of non-stop snowboarding, including a couple of wrong turns and even getting lost to accomplish it. The weather made it tough going and I wished there had been a clear blue sky so that I could appreciate the full beauty of the mountains. All I saw was white fog and clouds but it was still quite the challenge. I was so exhausted at the end. But I made it. It was so cool constantly snowboarding the different slopes, mostly black and red ones, and every time ending up in a different village. Amazing. Finally, I returned to my starting point.
We had a really great time and we are so grateful to Alta Badia press office for the invitation. It was a trip we will never forget.
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Written by Ingus Kruklitis
I’ve been travelling ever since a was a child but my first large trip was at the age of 13 when I was sent to live for a couple months to London. This trip has changed me and ever since I just want to see more and more of our beautiful world. Every trip gives me new emotions, charge and strength to keep going further.
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