Val Gardena

Freeriders on the whole find Val Gardena a cool place to ride, with a good mixture of terrain features from trees to banks and wind lips. The best off-piste riding can be had in areas like Passo Pordoi, but it's best tackled with the services of a local guide.

Despite having 24 parks dotted across the Dolomites, few of them are particularly memorable. The one off the back of the Piz Sella is more like a kids boardercross than a park. By far the best park, and really the only reason to go to the area, is on Alpe di Siusi. This 2km long park is packed with features, and the area can be accessed from Ortisei

You will however find plenty of side hits and drops dotted everywhere, and some decently spaced trees to shred, so give the parks a break and go natural.

You've died and gone to piste paradise here. Given the sheer number of runs, there is something for everyone, and unlike a lot of linked areas, you won't find too many narrow cat-tracks linking up the areas. You may however find a few flat spots, and the piste map is particularly confusing with some very erratic sign-posting, so if you're riding in a group try and keep together.

There are a few classic pistes that are must do’s. The La Longia which runs down to Ortisei is also known (for no good reason) as the James Bond run. It’s a 10.5km beauty, that you can just bomb down, especially if you get there early before the snow-ploughers arrive. If you’ve worked up an appetite the Baita Pauli Hutte is worth stopping for towards the end of the run.

The other essential piste is the Saslong. This is the notorious mens super-g skiing contest run, super steep in places, and a few natural rollers on it that will give you some serious airtime if you hit them full tilt. Before heading down there, make sure you take time to enjoy the rifugio comici located at the top of Piz Sella. It’s a long way to the sea, but they do serve excellent seafood, and is a great place to end your day and take a few beers before the sun goes down.

The Sellaronda circuit is something you’ll either want to do, or at least someone in your group will badger you into it. It’s a spectacular circular route that covers about 40km of pistes and lifts, that anyone able to do red pistes will be able to do at ease. General advice is that it’ll take at least 4 hours, so you’re best not to faff around too much or start too late in the day otherwise you may have to get a very expensive taxi back. Just follow either the orange signs if you’re going clockwise, or green signs if anti-clockwise, rather than trying to look at the map to figure out where you are going.
 

This place is a first timer’s heaven, but plan your journey out so you don't end-up somewhere out of your depth. The runs up above Ortisei are full-on, perfect nappy territory.

Lift wise, you'll be unlucky to end up on a drag-lift and there are plenty of Gondola's if you're still uncomfortable getting on/off chairlifts