Alta Badia
Ski Resort

 The Alta Badia ski area connects five picturesque villages located among the jagged peaks of the Italian Dolomites: Corvara (1568m), Colfosco (1645m), La Villa (1433m), San Cassiano (1537m), and Badia (1324m). A sixth village, La Val, is also part of Alta Badia but it does not have any ski lifts.

Just by themselves, the Alta Badia villages form a mid-sized ski area with about 130 km of ski slopes, 100 separate runs and 50 lifts. There are a handful of excellent red and black runs, but most of the slopes are easy blue pistes, and Corvara and Colfosco are superb ski resorts for beginners and nervous skiers.

The local Alta Badia ski area, however, is only the start of the skiing available, because Corvara and Colfosco are on the Sellaronda, a circuit of lifts and pistes that links Alta Badia to Val Gardena, Arabba-Marmolada and Val di Fassa. Stronger skiers can therefore easily visit Val Gardena and Arabba to test themselves on their red and black runs.

And that should be all the skiing you could possibly want on a week-long ski holiday, because the combined Sellaronda mega area is one of the largest lift-linked ski areas in the world, with about 400 separate slopes. But if you want more, it’s available, because the Alta Badia ski pass also covers an isolated outpost at Passo Falzarego that not only has a high lift (2,778m) and a beautiful long run (Lagazuoi), but is also a gateway into yet another ski area, Cortina d’Ampezzo. And for real ski fanatics, there is also a bus service from Badia to Kronplatz, and a Grande Guerra circuit which connects Alta Badia with Ski Civetta as well.

Yet despite these endless pistes to choose from, Alta Badia is also a favourite winter holiday destination for non-skiers who come for the beautiful Dolomite scenery and its award-winning restaurants.

Alta Badia does have one weakness though. Located on the sunny dry side of the Alps, it depends on artificial snow-making. In the middle of winter, when the snow-cannons are at their most effective and any sunshine is a blessing, skiing conditions in Alta Badia are among the best in Europe. But when temperatures rise, the snow cover can become thin and patchy.

Alta Badia Pros & Cons

+ Excellent local blue runs and nursery slopes
+ Part of the massive Sellaronda mega ski area
+ Cortina, Arabba and Val Gardena are all within day trip range.
+ Classy restaurants and hotels
+ Stunning mountain scenery
+ Plenty of treelined runs if the weather turns bad

– Local area is dominated by short easy blue runs.
– Pistes rely on artificial snow-making
– Limited off-piste freeride
– Lift queues can be a problem on the Sellaronda circuit and at Lagazuoi