- Details
- Written by: Jim Walker
- Last Updated: 20 Aug 2012
Val di Fassa is a key and famous ski region in the Dolomiti Super-ski, rich in history, culture and natural beauty. Its ancient history is dominated by its Ladin heritage and the Ladin language is still spoken, alongside German and Italian. The skiing of Val di Fassa/Carezza and its neighboring Tre Valli's skiing is spread over eight separate ski areas ranging in size from 15 km above Alba to 100 km above Moena/San Pellegrino. They officially add up to 220 km of trails, but as all are on the Dolomiti Super-ski ticket, and as the lifts above Canazei lift link to the Sella Ronda circuit which lift links Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Arabba like spokes on a wheel, also all on the Dolomiti Super-ski ticket, the area claims there are approximately 510 km of skiing "in and around" Val di Fassa. The addition of Val Gardena and Alta Badia make this claim in fact a rather conservative estimate, the reality nearer double that total. Alba is an attractive small resort located at one end of the Fassa Valley, with it's own ski area on Ciampac and easy access to the Sella Ronda via the nearby lift access at Canazei. It's also close to the Marmolada Glacier for snow-sure skiing. Canazei is a very attractive, lively roadside village set below well forested slopes. Along with Moena, it has grown to become one of the largest villages in the Fassa Valley, probably due to the fact it is the main resort for direct access to the Sella Ronda. Campitello is a traditional village set back from the main road. The beginner's slope in the village are particularly good and there are several lively bars nearby. Vigo and Pozza di Fassa are particularly attractive villages each with their own cozy ski areas and perhaps the strongest influence of history and culture in the whole valley. The large village of Moena stands on the border of the Fassa Valley and the TreValli sectors of the Dolomiti Super-ski and is the closest resort in the area to Bolzano.
Located in the heart of the Dolomiti Superski Region, Pozza di Fassa is a friendly village. The local skiing is part of the huge Dolomiti Superski pass (covering more than 1200km) and is close to the Sella Ronda circuit (linked by free ski bus), which is arguably the third largest ski area in the world. The reesort is famous for its night skiing.
Mountain
The Fassa Valley's skiing truly does have something for everyone with a wide choice of friendly, intimate ski areas for all standards. All have excellent snowmaking cover and most have modern lifts. For example the Catinaccio ski area above Vigo di Fassa had a new quad chair with bubble cover installed on the Pian Pecei-Pra Martin. It does not always follow that the larger ski areas have access to the tougher skiing, as one of the smaller sections above Alba has a third of its 15 km graded black and one of the region's toughest runs, the 3 km long Pista Ciampac with a 658m vertical. All of the ski areas are linked by free ski bus (also free for non skiers). From Canazei it is possible to reach the ski areas of Belvedere-Pordoi Pass, Ciampac and Fedaia-Marmolada, from Campitello the ski area of Col Rodella-Sella Pass, from Vigo and Pozza di Fassa the ski areas Catinaccio, Buffaure / Aloch famous for the night skiing and Carezza, finally Moena offers the ski area Tre Valli with its famous tour. Canazei is the only major resort in the Fassa Valley truly located on the Sella Ronda circuit with access to Corvara, Colfosco and Arabba all very straight forward, even more so in recent years thanks to the replacement of old surface tows with modern fast chair-lifts plus the installation of comprehensive snow making. Off piste routes are popular in the area, but you would be wise to go with a ski school class or employ a mountain guide for safety. The most famous off piste runs include Laste/Lusia, Sass Pordoi/Val Lasties, over at the Marmolada glacier and at Passo S. Pellegrino/Col Margherita. Night skiing is available on the Pista Aloch ski stadium above Pozza di Fassa. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 20.30 - 23.00 hours and has a 2.7 km length. The Fassa Valley and all surrounding ski areas are part of the giant Dolomiti Super-ski ticket remains the world's largest fully interchangeable lift pass covering around 1200 km of trails and some 500 lifts above more than 50 villages. There is a local Fassa Valley only ski ticket which has a slightly lower cost.
Families
Val di Fassa makes an especially big effort for families - trying to offer everything a family could need, including childcare, play facilities and special low price package deals. The friendly villages and small individual ski areas with gentle slopes are also good for kids. Each area has its own children's ski area (many with special snow parks on sunny slopes) and/or nursery. In Alba there's the new "Mini Club Tananai", in Canazei a new home for "Kinderland", in the Fraine resort at Pera there' the "Park Bimbo Neve" and at Vigo di Fassa the "Kinder Park Ciampedie". Moena has "Babylandia". All take children from age 3 or 4 , except Tananai, which can take children from age one. Ask bout the Ski Special for Kids program which offers week long holidays at selected hotels with free accommodation, meals and skipass for children aged under eight and 50% off for children aged 8 to 12 at certain hotels. Fiabilandia, a new babypark in Moena open summer and winter, offers to its little guests a lot of games, baby dance, mini-club, snowtubing and other recreational facilities.
Eating Out
Pozza has about a dozen restaurants, almost all of them serving Italian staples, including pizza. The Pizzeria Salin, Ristorante Pizzeria Le Giare, Ristorante Pizzeria La Vaiolet Stube and Ristorante Pizzeria Picola Majon are all popular for pizza. The Trattoria Tavola Calda da Michele has a more wide ranging selection. Other restaurants include the El Filo, Al Vecchio Mulino, Malga Aloch and the Malga Al Crocifisso
Apres
Pozza has limited nightlife, concentrated primarilly on the resorts hotel bars. There is no discotheque in the village but in neighbouring Vigo di Fassa you can go to Il Pavone. There's a biggher choice of bars and three discos in Canazei further along the valley. Also, the apres-ski pub Ta Mongo can be located nearby the lift down the stream station. The main square also contains the wine bar and pub Miro. Additionally, huts open by night where it is possible to descend to by sledge.
Boarding
Snowboarders are welcome in the whole region and will enjoy the morn uplift provided to whisk them up the slopes. In terms of terrain parks there's a half pipe, boardercross and snowboard terrain park at Canazei, Belvedere; a second boardercross ski area at Col Rodella / Campitello and a new snowboard park at San Pellegrino. Thanks to the Dolomiti Superski ticket it is possible to reach more terrain parks in Alta Badia and Val Gardena.
