News – 2020/21

The upcoming season will see further improvements in the Tofana sector: in Ra Valles there will be a new fast chair lift with covers, replacing two existing ones and dramatically cutting the time to reach the top – at 2742m, the highest point of the whole ski area of Cortina. An intermediate stop will give direct access to Rifugio Ra Valles, which offers a stunning panoramic terrace and the highest Pizzeria in the Dolomites.

News – 2019/20

In preparation for the 2021 Alpine World Ski Championships, the resort’s first gondola is being built, replacing the 50-year-old cable car from the town to Col Drusciè.The planned gondola between Pocol and Cinque Torri is being put out to tender. Along with Milan, Cortina is one of the title hosts of the 2026 Winter Olympics, and will host many of the Alpine races. We hear that the comatose Baita Piè Tofana restaurant at Rumerlo has been revived – and it looks very promising. An aquatic centre is being constructed on the north fringes of the town, to be ready for the world championships. The visuals look fab, with a six-lane 25m pool, extensive solarium and outdoor infinity pool.

Summary

There is nowhere quite like Cortina. A famous racing town and host of the 1956 Olympics, it certainly has some serious skiing. But it is also Italy’s most fashionable resort, and many visitors take their lunching and early-evening parading/shopping more seriously than their skiing. The result is that pressure on the slopes is low. No queues, no crowds, pistes unlikely to be reduced to boilerplate by heavy traffic. We have had some of our most enjoyable piste skiing here.
And don’t let this talk of fashion put you off. More of the visitors are driving Fords than Ferraris – though we concede few are driving Cortinas. And lodgings need not be expensive: there are more three-star than four-star hotels, and Inghams run a good-value chalet hotel right on the focal Corso Italia.
The scenery is just jaw-droppingly wonderful. The town is ringed by dramatic limestone towers and cliffs, tinged pink at dawn and dusk. We were back here in 2015, and our jaws dropped once again

Blogs, features and news

• Ski mountaineering added to Winter Olympics
• Ikon Pass expands into Europe
• The world’s most sustainable ski resorts
• Skiers plan to hit pistes next winter
• Work to start on gondola in Cortina