The Sella Ronda
The Practical
This was a 2-week trip to the Dolomites organised for us by Colletts Mountain Holidays. Sue came for the first week, a series of day walks around the town of Corvara, and Jim, Lesley and myself stayed on for a second week to do the Sella Ronda hut-to-hut (well, mainly hotel-to-hotel) circuit from Corvara. The first week is described in an earlier post. |
The Schedule
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| Tues 11th July |
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Easyjet EZY8295 ETD Gatwick 12-30 hrs ETA Venice Marco Polo 15-40 hrs (K4VF6C6)
Water taxi to Central Venice (15 euro) |
Hotel San Zulian,
San Marco 527,
San Marco,
Venice
+39 041 522 5872
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Wed 12th July
to
Tues 18th July |
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Self-Guided walks around Corvara |
Sporthotel Panorama,
Strada Sciuz, 1, 39033 Corvara in Badia BZ, Italy
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| Wed 19th July |
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Sue transfer to Venice Marco Polo
Easyjet EZY6558 ETD Venice Marco Polo 16-15 hrs ETA Gatwick 17-30 hrs (K4V8GDG)
Jim, Lesley, Mick remained in Corvara ready to start the Sella Ronda
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Sporthotel Panorama,
Strada Sciuz, 1, 39033 Corvara in Badia BZ, Italy
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Outline of the Sella Ronda
(Courtesy of Colletts Mountain Walking)
The Schedule and Route Outline |
| Thurs 20th July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 1.
Corvara to Arabba, via the Pralongia Plateau
13.5km, 576m ascent, 921m descent
With a lift from the village of Corvara to the Pralongia Plateau, the route starts with sweeping panoramic views of the area’s towering peaks. Along a well-established track there are many welcoming rifugios for lunch and coffee breaks, and the descent brings you through the picturesque forests overlooking the Livinallongo Valley. One of the day’s highlights is the huge peak of Monte Civetta. The day ends in Arabba, a small resort village that’s preserved all the charm of its historic mountain roots.
As we were staying at the Panorama Sports Hotel in Arlara we opted for a direct route to Rifugio Marmotta to join the Sella Ronda.
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Hotel Malita, Arabba |
| Fri 21st July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 2.
Viel dal Pan, the Marmolada, and the Val di Fassa
6.3km, 125m ascent, 241m descent
The lift out of Arabba takes you to Portovescovo with breathtaking views of the Marmolada, the highest mountain of the Dolomites. From here, the route skirts beneath the Portavescovo ridge before joining onto the gentle contours of Alta Via 2. At the end of the day, cable car lifts will take you down to the centre of either Alba or Canazei, depending on where you are staying. These two lifts operate from the same building just beyond Rifugio Belvedere.
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Chalet Queen, Alba |
| Sat 22nd July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 3.
Sassolungo and the Rosengarten
11.7km, 665m ascent, 621m descent
This stage is all about the iconic shape and majesty of the Sassolungo group, a true must-see in the region. A wide track winds past Sasso Piatto, and then along the edge of the Alpe di Siusi, one of the largest areas of alpine meadow in Europe. Also to be enjoyed is the stunning pink-hued vistas of the famed Rosengarten group before spending the night nestled high in the mountains, in an authentic rifugio.
The last secion involves a 280m climb from Passo Duran to Rifugio Tierser Alpl.
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Rifugio Tierser Alpl |
| Sun 23rd July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 4.
The Alpe di Siusi
13.3km, 424m ascent, 596m descent
Crossing the Alpe di Siusi gives an unforgettable day of walking, with bursting meadows and an extensive network of paths and tracks. This is a true walkers’ paradise, with many charming rifugios offering traditional hospitality. At the end of a route that showcases the Sassolungo and Puez-Odle Massifs you take the Mont Seuc cable car down to Ortisei.
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Hotel Villa Emilia, Ortisei |
| Mon 24th July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 5.
Seceda and the Puez-Odle Natural Park
11km, 283m ascent, 1182m descent
This stage begins with a long cable car ride out of the village, which accesses some truly breathtaking terrain on the northern edge of the Dolomites. Moving along a huge natural bowl formed by the Puez-Odle Massif, the route follows picturesque paths through open meadows. The day ends in Selva, the highest village in Val Gardena.
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Garni Morene, Selva B&B |
| Tues 25th July |
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Sella Ronda Stage 6.
Selva to Corvara
9.3km, 166m ascent, 888m descent
The Dantercepies cable car takes you to Passo Gardena. From here, the route stretches along the side of the valley towards Corvara.
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Sporthotel Panorama HB |
| Wed 26th July |
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Easyjet EZY6558 ETD Venice Marco Polo 16-15 hrs ETA Gatwick 17-30 hrs (K4VF729) |
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Languages in the Dolomites
(Just to Confuse You!)
Because people in the Dolomites are bilingual, even trilingual in some places, many villages and towns have both an Italian and Austrian name, and sometimes Ladin one too. Town, road, and trail and signs will vary between one, two, and three languages, depending on where in the Dolomites you visit.
How did this happen? Over the course of time and history:
- German – The northern part of the Dolomites, Südtirol (in German) or Alto Adige (in Italian), were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until the early 20th century. World War One saw a fierce battle in the Dolomites, which included the creation of vie ferrate or iron paths, many of which can still be climbed today. After the war, the region became part of Italy, yet the majority of Südtirol / Alto Adige is primarily German-speaking.
- Italian – Italian is the national language of Italy. While other languages are legally recognized in the Dolomites, Italian is the language of the country. Some areas of the Dolomites, Cortina d’Ampezzo for example, are principally Italian in culture and in language.
- Ladin – An ancient Rhaeto-Roman or Romance language, Ladin was spoken by the first inhabitants of the valleys of the Dolomites, and was later influenced by the Latin-speaking Romans. About 30,000 people in the Dolomites still speak Ladin today, in the 5 Ladin valleys: Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Fodom and Val di Fassa.
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Courtesy of https://www.dolomitemountains.com/en/resources/dolomites-news/the-three-languages-of-the-dolomites
Examples
German |
Italian |
Ladin |
Hayden |
Cortina d’Ampezzo |
Anpezo |
Kurfar |
Corvara |
Corvara |
Wolkenstein in Gröden |
Selva di Val Gardena |
Sëlva |
Kampidel im Fassata |
Campitello di Fassa |
Ciampedèl |
St. Ulrich in Gröden |
Ortisei |
Urtijëi |
Abtei |
Badia |
Badia |
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Arabba |
Rèba |
Kanzenei |
Canazei |
Cianacei |
Seiser Alm |
Alpe di Siusi |
Mont Sëuc |
St. Christina in Gröden |
Santa Cristina Valgardena |
Santa Cristina Gherdëina |
Buchenstein |
Livinallongo del Col di Lana |
Fodom |
Wengen |
La Valle |
La Val |
Actual Walking Statistics (Garmin GPS)
| Day |
To |
Distance |
Time |
Elevation in meters |
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Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Moving
Hrs-Mins |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Miax |
| 1 |
Arabba |
11.59 |
4H28 |
2H37 |
478 |
550 |
1,601 |
1,951 |
| 2 |
Alba |
7.31 |
3H35 |
2H07 |
203 |
241 |
2,325 |
2,496 |
| 3 |
Rifugio Tierser Alpl |
12.28 |
4H58 |
2H42 |
641 |
578 |
2,182 |
2,455 |
| 4 |
Ortesai |
13.92 |
5H25 |
3H19 |
275 |
726 |
1,836 |
2,452 |
| 5 |
Hotel Emily to Cable Car |
0.84 |
0h12 |
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50 |
0 |
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Selva |
12.63 |
4H50 |
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175 |
1,044 |
1,584 |
2,455 |
| 6 |
Corvara |
11.01 |
5H05 |
2H40 |
166 |
901 |
1,542 |
2,303 |
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Total |
69.58 |
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1,988 |
4,040 |
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Note: This table gives walking ascent and descent information. The table below shows height gains and losses including cable cars and chair lifts.
Elevation Gain / Loss including cable cars
| Day |
To |
Distance |
Time |
Cost |
Elevation in meters |
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Km |
Elapsed
Hrs-Mins |
Euro per person |
Gain |
Loss |
Min |
Max |
| 1 |
Arabba |
11.59 |
4H28 |
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478 |
550 |
1,601 |
1,951 |
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Telecabina DME Europa 1-2 (Up) |
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16.50 |
925 |
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1,613 |
2,538 |
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Col de Rossi to Alba(Down) |
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14 |
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888 |
1,494 |
2,382 |
| 2 |
Alba |
7.31 |
3H35 |
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203 |
241 |
2,325 |
2,496 |
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Funivia Campitello-Col Rodella (Up) |
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14 |
984 |
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1,411 |
2,395 |
| 3 |
Rifugio Tierser Alpl |
12.28 |
4H58 |
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641 |
578 |
2,182 |
2,455 |
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Ortisei Alpe di Siusi Ropeway (Down) |
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15 |
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769 |
1,236 |
2,005 |
| 4 |
Ortesai |
13.92 |
5H25 |
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275 |
726 |
1,836 |
2,452 |
| 5 |
Hotel Emily to Dantercepies Cable Car |
0.84 |
0h12 |
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50 |
0 |
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Ortesei - Seceda Cable Car (Up) |
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30 |
1250 |
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Selva |
12.63 |
4H50 |
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175 |
1,044 |
1,584 |
2,455 |
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Dantecepies Cable Car (Up) |
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16 |
652 |
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1,646 |
2,298 |
| 6 |
Corvara |
11.01 |
5H05 |
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166 |
901 |
1,542 |
2,303 |
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Total |
69.58 |
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105.5 |
5,799 |
5,679 |
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Elevation Schematic Diagrams
(Note; Considerable variation on place heights in literature)
Source: www.skiresort.info
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