Selva di Val Gardena, Italy

[shortydude]

My ski Club is planning a trip to Selva di Val Gardena, Italy next year. All I've heard is:

The Europe trip this year will be to Selva di Val Gardena, Italy from January 11- 19 with an optional 3 day extension to Florence. I don't have the price yet but it is usually about $2100 to $2300. Includes RT air from Chicago, daily breakfast and dinner but no lift tickets.

I have the impression that Italy may have some of the best green groomers in the world that go on and on almost forever.

Have any of you ever been there?

[valmorel]

It's not only the slopes, it's the whole Italian lifestyle thing. Fabulous food and evening meals that go on and on, real coffee, and of course, the wine. But be warned, make sure your ski wear is well cut and matching, your sunglasses are expensive, and you carry at least 2 cell phones at all times.
Selva is the Sella Ronda area in the Dolomites and the scenery is stunning. It can be a little sketchy for snow cover though. The lift system is Olympic and as you say, it is mainly a cruising area. If you have not skied Europe b4 you will be shocked by now big this ski area is.

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[shortydude]

The only other places I've skied in Europe are Tignes and Val-disere in France.

A couple of years ago went to Sun Valley, Idaho and that place is the most high-brow resort I've been to. Even the lodges on the mountain where you eat lunch is out of this world, the foray in front of the bathrooms have marble floors and huge plush Persian rugs to keep people from slipping. I assume Davos would be similar to Sun Valley. Every year World leaders meet up at Davos and the wealthiest business people meet up in Sun Valley.

My High School sweetheart was Northern Italian. So the culture would be very interesting to me. Her family went to great lengths explaining the culinary differences between Northern and Southern Italians.

[Steeps]

I have the impression that Italy may have some of the best green groomers in the world that go on and on almost forever.

But be warned, make sure your ski wear is well cut and matching, your sunglasses are expensive, and you carry at least 2 cell phones at all times.

That... sounds like my idea of hell. Except for the food, coffee and wine part.

Then again, I'm stubbornly proud of my 5-year old flip phone and finally replaced my 20-year-old helmet...


It does sound like it's going to be a pretty enjoyable trip though. Do your club do a trip overseas every year? Must be fun!

I'm itching to check out Hokkaido one of these years.

[shortydude]

Do your club do a trip overseas every year?

Yes, there's always a Winter European trip and sometimes a Summer Southern hemisphere trip. There's also always a late winter Warm Weather trip to some place like Cancun, Cabo, Dominican Republic, St Bart etc. Throw in 3 or 4 big Western trips and a few Midwest trips for a nice balance of options.

My club is active all year round.
First Friday of each month they meet at different establishments for Happy Hour.
Monthly house parties, members take turns hosting.
Annual traditional parties like Christmas, St. Patrick's, 4th July, trip sign-up party and a Jimmy Buffet overnight bonfire.
Every weekend they try to get together for an activity such as biking, in-line skating, canoing, camping, cross-country skiing, golf, frizbee golf, softball and even curling.

It's a fun group. No body gets up tight. Everyone just loves to laugh, giggle and enjoy life.

We get good deals on trips because we belong to the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Counsel. Most ski clubs within about a 300 mile radius of Chicago belong to CMSC. Every spring CMSC puts on a huge convention where they invite every resort in the world to come and set up a booth. Then all the individual clubs send delegates to the convention and shop for trips to go on the next year. Resorts compete head-to-head for $ that's going to be spent somewhere, so they offer the best deals possible.

Check out this map of all the clubs that belong to CMSC, that's a lot of purchasing power.
http://www.skicmsc.com/_ClubMap.cfm

If some other club has a trip you want to go on, the vast majority of clubs are very welcoming and are glad to fill seats. If you don't belong to a club that has a reciprocal clause, you may have to spend $25 to join their club.

When you basically live with people for a week at a time on these trips, you form some really great friendships.

[ysb33r]

The only other places I've skied in Europe are Tignes and Val-disere in France.

A couple of years ago went to Sun Valley, Idaho and that place is the most high-brow resort I've been to. Even the lodges on the mountain where you eat lunch is out of this world, the foray in front of the bathrooms have marble floors and huge plush Persian rugs to keep people from slipping. I assume Davos would be similar to Sun Valley. Every year World leaders meet up at Davos and the wealthiest business people meet up in Sun Valley.

My High School sweetheart was Northern Italian. So the culture would be very interesting to me. Her family went to great lengths explaining the culinary differences between Northern and Southern Italians.

Well, if do consider coming, then tack on a couple of extra days, fly over Toulouse/Barcelona at the end of the trip and come skiboard in Andorra.

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[shortydude]

Here's some of the strangest skiing pics you'll ever see. There must be something seriously wrong with me to be so fascinated. This is the men's restroom at the Sun Valley Broadway Summit Lodge. I should have taken one of the thick Persian rugs on the marble floors just outside the bathrooms in a huge seating area.


These are the individual stall doors.
SV Water Closets.jpg

SV WC Brass and Marble.jpg

SV Brass N Marble Urinals.jpg

SV Bathroom Sinks.jpg

[shortydude]

Well, if do consider coming, then tack on a couple of extra days, fly over Toulouse/Barcelona at the end of the trip and come skiboard in Andorra.

I'll look into it. I'd rather do that then a couple days in Florance.