Tips for the Sellaronda Loop - Dolomiti Superski

The Sellaronda is a mountain formation in the Dolomites surrounded by Dolomiti Superski, the world's second largest ski and snowboard resort.

Dolomiti Superski is comprised of several interconnected resorts like Cortina d'Empezzo, Alta Badia, Val Gardena, Arabba, and Val di Fassa. This interconnectivity enables you to spend the day skiing or snowboarding around the Sellaronda. If you go clockwise, you're following the orange route. If you go counter-clockwise, you're following the green route.

Here are some tips for skiing or snowboarding the loop:

1) Sellaronda Trail Signs: You can consult your pocket trail map and trail maps posted on the slopes, but one of the easiest ways to ensure that you're on the right path is to follow the color-coded loop signs on the slopes and by the chairlifts. They make it very easy.

2) Appreciate the Scenery: It takes a while to do the loop, so make sure you take time to appreciate the views as you go rather than focusing on the journey.

3) Start Early: The chairlifts open at 8:30 am. If you start then, you may avoid the lines that develop by 9:30 am. You can use that saved time to take an extra long lunch, spend time taking photos, or just ski or snowboard at a relaxed pace.

4) Complete Beginners Should Look for a Bypass: The slopes on the loop are primarily beginner and intermediate slopes. So complete beginners may have difficulty on some portions of the loop. They may be able to do a longer stretch of the loop if they find ways to bypass more difficult sections.

5) Time Required to Complete the Loop: The length of time it will take to complete the loop depends on how fast you ski or snowboard, how long you stop for lunch, how much time you spend taking photos, etc. It will take at least two hours, and may take as long as six hours.

6) Drive or Bus to the Loop: If you're staying in Val Gardena, Cortina d'Ampezzo or another town that is not close to the Sellaronda loop, you may want to consider driving or taking a bus in the morning to get closer to the loop before starting because it could take significant time just to get there.

7) Lunchtime on the Slopes: Between 12 pm and 2 pm, so many people eat lunch that the lines at the chairlifts become much shorter. So that's a great time to be back on the slopes. Eat lunch early or late to take advantage of these shorter lines.

[rgarrett]

It's the: Sella Group or the Sella Massif, Sellaronda is going around the, Sella. Good stuff, it should be on anyone's top 10 list.

[KZ-yujz]

Love the videos. Do you think a low intermediate could ski the Sella Ronda without much trouble? Looks like half blue and half red runs. I haven't skied in Europe, but as you know Blue squares in the US can be quite different (Vail = easy blue, Jackson Hole = harder blue). Thanks in advance!

[nyquist]

I would add that Val Gardena also has a well working public transport system. Usually you will get a free ticket for your entire stay at your hotel when checking in. A bus trip from Ortisei to Selva (one possible starting point of your Sellaronda tour) takes about 20 mins.

In addition to avoiding queues there is another reason to start early: Sellaronda is very popular which inevitably means that the slopes will be quite bumpy in the afternoon. I skied from Boe to Corvara at 15:30. Not exactly fun unless moguls are your thing. 😉

[MountainMitchYT]

Finally a straightforward video on this. What town would you recommend staying that has some places walking distance to the Sellaronda?

[mattwoodford]

When did you film this? trying to work out how recent the conditions are. It is worth going up Marmolada as an extension to the loop, the Marmoronda

[PD-nzrk]

I notice you take your gear. What ski width do you find is useful as an all mountain for Europe and US resorts? Mid to high 80s? Which head skis are you using. Great channel.

[mltube]

What dates were you there? Trying to gauge crowds vs time of year. Thx

[billbrownrigg]

Pretty good video, camera work better than most. There are a couple of things I noticed that are questionable.
Time 2:09 Vertical Drop. Val Gardena is 1282m not 1100m. “No larger than you find in the Northeast United States”. The least, 1226m is over 4000 ft, that’s way more than anything in the NE US.
Time 5:15 “2 to 5 hours to complete the loop”. 2 hours? Maybe with zero lift lines and super fast skiing. Realistically 4 to 6 hours is a good estimate.

[MichalKonradProductions]

As an european Im courious how You would compare Us resorts to the European? I know that it’s a lot of differences but if u could stick to one side what would U choose eu or us? ;)

As @rgarrett625 said: the mountain group you are going around is called the Sella – of more completely the Sella Group or Sella Massif.
"Sellaronda" means essentially "trip around the Sella", so "Sellaronda loop" is kind of reduplicating the loop.

Thanks for info about how it works for less advanced skiers. How did your beginner friend bypass the steeper or icier blue pistes?

[peterburke]

Skiing Ortisei to Corvara is easy and fun, no idea why you’d drive.