Snowboarding in the Dolomites.
I love the Dolomites. The mountain range in Northern Italy is really something special so when an opportunity arose to visit again and give snowboarding another go, I was well up for it.
G found a great deal with No Boundaries, an Italian based outdoor adventure company, for a long weekend break with two days of hitting the slopes.
We flew into Milan early Friday morning with a shuttle service arranged to drive us the three hours into the mountains to Breguzzo. We passed the beautiful Lago d'Idro and as the roads snaked around the mountains, it reminded me of the road trip we did previously in the Dolomites with small villages and the one narrow road going through the middle.
The hotel we stayed in, Hotel Carlone, was totally unassuming from the outside however as we walked in, its dining area was grand and huge with a fantastic spa centre for soaking the muscles after a long day on the slopes. The dinner there was unbelievably delicious and was only an additional £15 for three courses which changes every night.
Nearby is Lago di Roncone which was almost frozen over completely. With the snow-capped mountains in the background, it was beautiful scenery to overlook as we had a quick bite to eat at Snoopy Cafe.
Our entry up to the slopes was in Pinzolo which is about a 30 minute drive away. The mornings are busy with tour buses delivering the hoards of people to the ski lifts and families getting ready for a weekend on the slopes. There is a hire shop right next to the ski lifts which is super handy. If you need lessons, there is an abundance of schools that can offer both group and private lessons. I perhaps should have arranged something given this was my second time snowboarding and I had only just learnt how to turn last year, however I was keen for a challenge.
There are a good mix of predominantly blue (beginner) and red (intermediate) runs in this area. To make our way over to Madonna di Campiglio I had to really test myself and attempt a few red runs. G has the patience of a saint as it did take us a little longer to get to our ideal destination Passo Groste so instead, we stopped at Rifugio Boch for lunch. The pasta was delicious and exactly what we needed to get us back down the mountain and across to Pinzolo.
We made it to Pinzolo just in the knick of time, jumping on the gondola a little after it was meant to stop running. We headed straight for the sauna and steam room when we got back to the hotel before devouring freshly made pasta with a bottle of the local red wine, finishing with a huge portion of tiramisu.
Our second day on the slopes we remained in the Pinzolo area which was more than enough for me. I had a bit of a tumble on the first red run I hit that morning (with an excellent bruise acquired!) but a highlight from this was having a macchiato and pastry at Rifugio Dos Del Sabion. The views from this point were spectacular.
Following the coffee and view break, I stuck to the blue runs and finished on a high, along with some more pasta and red wine at Restaurant Pra 'Rodent. I soaked in the views and fresh mountain air as G went off to play on the red runs (finishing them in about a tenth of the time it took me to get down...). We made our way back down to ready ourselves for the journey back to Milan airport.
Two days of boarding in the Dolomites was amazing and I would definitely do it again. With some lessons and more confidence, I'll be shredding those intermediate runs in no time.
I usually tend to book trips independently and rarely use a tour operator however this deal from No Boundaries was too good to pass up.
Included in the weekend package was 2 nights accommodation, breakfast, ski lift pass for the two days and airport shuttle. If you book early enough (like we did), flights were also included for this particular deal. The team also offer hiking, bouldering and a whole range of other activities should you not be into hitting the slopes. They are super friendly and helpful so I do recommend using them. A big thanks to Veronica for looking after us.
Note the first day of travel is quite long so ensure you have eaten a good breakfast and brought snacks/water along for the journey.
Meals on the mountain were around €20 per person for a main, beer and dessert.
Ski/board hire was about €30-€35 per day depending on level.
