dolomite!

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i haven't been to the dolomites, but a good friend of mine was stunned when he skied there 11 years ago

http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/detail...shape_ID=18571

Skiing at the most beautiful mountains in the world
Carina Frey
VAL GARDENA
27-Jan-07

THE passage to the top is arduous. Skiers bump and poles tangle as the line inches forward. "Avanti, avanti," shouts the cable car attendant, motioning to get in quickly. A horde of skiers and snowboarders waits to ascend into one of the world's biggest ski areas: Dolomiti Superski in the Dolomites of north-eastern Italy with some 450 ski lifts and 1,220 kilometres of slopes. A small jolt follows and the cable cars slowly move up the mountains. They bring their passengers to the centre of a ski paradise not only from the village of Wolkenstein in Selva di Val Gardena, but also from Corvara, Arraba and Canazei.

All of these places lead to the Sella Ronda, a 40-kilometre circular tour, through forests and rocky landscapes around the dramatic Sella massif.The South Tirol tourist office in Bolzano advises skiers to start the Sella Ronda before 10am and cross the last pass no later than 3.30pm. The tour generally takes about four hours. Thanks to new ski-lifts, though, even two tours daily are said to be possible now. Every year around one million winter sport enthusiasts head to the four valleys along the Sella Ronda: Groeden, Alta Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa.

Though there are crowds at the central ski-lifts, the rest of the spacious ski area is largely free of them. And you can often find secondary lifts for an extra run.Long, solitary slopes beckon in Alta Badia. In some places there are no people at all, even in high season. The Sella Ronda is a sort of simplified ski tour or hike. While a regular ski tour requires good ski skills, a guide familiar with the area, and sometimes even snowshoes, the Sella Ronda is even suited to people who ski only occasionally.

The many ski-lifts save the trouble of removing your skis and climbing without a ski-map or guide. Large signs marked Sella Ronda in either green or orange depending on whether you take the tour clockwise or counterclockwise hang at all the central lifts. Large placards let you know where you are on the route.

The tour around the Sella massif is by no means all there is to Dolomiti Superski. In all, there are 16 ski tours in the 12 connected ski areas. Near Cortina are ski runs that were used during the 1956 Winter Olympics. In Alta Badia, skiers on the "nature reserves tour" pass typical viles or hamlets, of the region's speakers of Ladin (a language closely related to Swiss Romansh). Another tour goes from Arabba to "the queen of the Dolomites" - the 3,342-metre Marmolada, the Alpine group's highest peak. The "witches' tour" awaits visitors to Alpe di Siusi, an Alpine meadow. The witches' humpback run, fun park and time-trial courses attract mainly children and teenagers. With or without a ski tour, however, Seiser Alm is worth a visit with the Giant mountains, Sciliar in the west and Langkofel Sassolungo in the south-east, surrounding it.

The meadow itself is a place of lovely, forested hills. Little wooden huts add to the idyllic atmosphere. At the Gostner Schwaige restaurant, for instance, there is scarcely room for more than five tables. Guests have to sit close together, and the cuisine is typical of the regional does hay soup served in a loaf of bread on a bed of hay tickle your fancy? The meadow is not directly connected to the rest of the ski area. But skiers can take a ski-lift to Seceda and travel from there to neighbouring St Cristina. With the Val Gardena Ronda Express you can reach Plan de Gralba and Passo di Sella. The ski buses are more convenient. They shuttle in 20-minute intervals between the villages of Ortisei and Wolkenstein.

Although Ladin is the local language in Groeden and Alta Badia, and South Tirol is part of Italy, almost all of the ski-lift attendants, guest-house proprietors and ski instructors speak good German. But Italian flair reigns on the slopes and in the huts. Skiers should not stay too long in the huts. When shadows begin to cover the valleys, and the mountain tops glow in the evening sun, it is time to leave. It quickly becomes uncomfortably chilly then, and skiers crowd around the lifts. They now have the last leg of their outing ahead of them: a ride high up the mountains, and a long downhill run back to their home valley. DPA
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i thought i'd add a map and some photos i found (difficult to link) to follow.

http://www.continentholiday.net/imag..._pistkarta.jpg