Cortina Skiing & Snowboarding
Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort is as world renowned for its perfectly groomed pistes as for its superb tree skiing & multitudes of expert-only couloirs. Skiing Cortina for the first time is like a voyage of discovery every day.
The Cortina ski and snowboard terrain is one of massive contrasts. Even though the piste trails total a healthy 120km across over 1,600m of skiable vertical, the resort is essentially broken up into three main ski areas & several minor ones. Each area wears a different mask (been to Venice anyone?). The best most recent developments in the resort involved the connection of two previously disconnected ski areas by a new gondola, the Cortina Skyline gondola. Buses between the two areas are now a thing of the past.
The largest ski area is Tofana - Pocol - Socrepes. Access is from the bottom of town or at the higher base areas near Socrepes & Pocol. Tofana is huge and broods over Cortina. It has some classic advanced runs & tree skiing, plus great beginner terrain above Socrepes & intermediate trails everywhere. Away from the pistes, the technical combination of off-piste skiing, couloirs & winter via ferrata is possible through the rocky window of Bus Tofana, plus numerous other steep freeride descents. Tofana also gets the best of the morning sun. It is possible to ski the entire vertical of 1,600m from the top of the Bus Tofana chair at 2,820 ish metres, all the way down to Cortina at 1,220m. Awesome.
Next is Faloria-Cristallo . Access from near the centre of town & whilst it has less vertical than Tofana its north-facing piste terrain and visually stunning outlooks contrast with Tofana. Faloria gets a good dose of afternoon sun on one side - perfect for après drinks.
The third area is Falzarego-Cinque Torri. Arguably one of the most spectacular ski areas in the entire Dolomites, it has a bit of everything for everyone. The biggest news of late at Cortina is the linking of this area to the Tofana sector at Bai de Dones with the two-stage Cortina Skyline gondola. Alternatively, one can take a car or taxi to any of the four base areas (Passo Falzarego, Col Gallina, Fedare or Bai de Dones). Alternatively, a free bus runs regularly from Pocol to Bai de Dones.
Cortina Skiing Highlights
The Cortina skiing highlights are a rite of passage according to Powderhounds. They are only to be undertaken when there is no powder because skiing powder ALWAYS takes priority. Tick off the following when at Cortina.
- Catch the first cable car up to Tofana, then head to the top of Bus Tofana chairlift & ski the steep Forcella Rossa (#51) as the first rays of sunlight hit it. Enjoy the solitude, the views & check your speed - it is an insanely fast run. Finish off with a rip down the steep Druscie run to feel like an Olympian.
- Head to Faloria & ski the 5 black runs from the top of Tondi then finish with a fast 700m descent on Vitelli (#62) all the way down to Rio Gere.
- From the top of Faloria, ski the off-piste routes (like Sci Club 18) all the way into valley toward Cortina (get guide if in doubt!) .
- Spend the day with a family & kids on all the wonderful beginner runs between Socrepes & Pocol.
- Ski the ‘Super 8’ circuit near Passo Falzarego. Enjoy coffee at Rif Lagazuoi (stay the overnight!) & lunch at Rif Scoiattoli overlooking the Cinque Torri.
- Go up to Passo Falzarego & take the cable car up the Lagazuoi to ski the glorious hidden valley of the Armentarola. The run is 8km long, passing spectacular frozen waterfalls & an isolated rifugio. For a small fee, get towed by a horse drawn sleigh back to Armentarola - a highlight of any Dolomites ski trip. Off piste variants are possible with a little bit of recon!
- Take a bus, taxi or drive to San Cassiano in Alta Badia & complete the world famous Sella Ronda. The 40km long Sella Ronda links Alta Badia to three other ski resorts around the Sella massif. Best done early & in an anti-clockwise direction, the journey visits Val Gardena, Val di Fassa & Arabba Marmolada before returning to Alta Badia. Dolomiti Superski lift pass required.
- Challenge yourself to ski the 80km+ Great War Tour (Dolomiti Superski pass required). The route follows sites important from the ‘White War’ fought in the Dolomites during WW1. As well as traversing parts of Cortina, the tour includes the best elements of Arabba Marmolada, Civetta & Alta Badia ski resorts. The best direction is anti-clockwise as it only requires 2 buses instead of 3. Start early at Passo Falzarego, head up the Lagazuoi & do the Armentarola first. Take some time & look at the museum on Marmolada, but not too much time. A lot of groups fail to finish!
- If conditions allow, ski the extreme at Cortina by hunting out the many couloirs & chutes that plunge from Tofana (get guide if in doubt!).
- For something completely different, visit the small ski areas at San Vito di Cadore or Auronzo for half a day. You will have the ski hills to yourself in splendid surrounds.
- Ski directly to the door of the Rif Faloria at the top of the Faloria cable car & indulge in some après overlooking Cortina from the balcony.
Ski Lifts
Unlike some of the Dolomites ski areas, Cortina has taken a long time to invest in any new lifts during recent times, but as they say, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Slower lift journeys do allow one to soak up the gorgeous surroundings. However, with the impending World Cup ski event & 2026 Winter Olympics for Cortina, a few lifts are being replaced, including some of the most frustrating. As previously mentioned, completed for season 22/23 was the long-awaited gondola lift connection from the Tofana sector at Bai de Dones, up & over the road to the Cinque Torri, so no more waiting for buses!
The major issue with the lifts is the ancient cable cars. Chairlifts & gondolas at least spin constantly giving one the impression of motion. Waiting for cable cars & then cramming in with the great unwashed is another thing altogether. The worst cable car is the important connector from town to Faloria. It runs in two painful stages. Thankfully, one only must ride it once up & once down. It can be avoided altogether by catching a local bus to Rio Gere & ascending by the chairlift. The great news is that other awful cable car up to Col Drusciè from Cortina has been replaced by a spanking new gondola. Yay! Perhaps the Faloria cable car is heritage listed & protected from its deserved destruction - there are no plans to replace it. Up the top of Tofana, another recent lift is the Bus Tofana high-speed, hooded quad chair, which replaced an old double & triple chair. The new chairlift serves the entire 610m of upper mountain vertical, vastly improving the ski experience in the zone.
Several ski lifts have been removed in recent years & not replaced. The most obvious is the classic old Staunies stand-up gondola. We had the dubious privilege of riding this lift before its closure so can well understand why it is has been removed! There are plans to replace it as some point, with a modern gondola. Until then, getting up to the huge backside freeride terrain on Cristallo is all human powered on skins or bootpack.
Also worth noting is that despite having 35 major lifts in the sector, 8 of them are in 'satellite' locations at Misurina, Auronzo & San Vito, so they are rarely skied by anyone staying at Cortina.
Lift Passes
As with most Dolomites ski resorts, three ticketing options exist. The Cortina local lift pass is several €euro cheaper per day than the second option, a Dolomiti Superski pass. The third option is the international IKON Pass. A Cortina lift ticket is valid for all the disconnected local ski areas including distant ones like Auronzo & San Vito di Cadore. Pricewise it is starting to get a little expensive, particularly when considering the general age of the lift infrastructure (though it is improving).
A Dolomiti Superski pass gives one unfettered access to the interlinked ski areas that make up the Sella Ronda, Armentarola & Great War Tour ski trails. Ski resorts with bus links to Cortina include Alta Badia, Civetta & Arabba Marmolada. A host of other Dolomites’ ski resorts are also valid with a Dolomiti Superski pass.
All lift passes are 5% cheaper is pre-purchased online at least 2-days before you intend to ski.
Check out the gargantuan ski trail map for Dolomiti SuperSki below.
Anyone with an Ikon Pass can ski up to 7-days shared between: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Kronplatz/Plan de Corones, Alta Badia, Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi, Val di Fassa/Carezza, Arabba/Marmolada, 3 Peaks Dolomites, Val di Fiemme/Obereggen, San Martino di Castrozza/Rolle Pass, Rio Pusteria - Bressanone, Alpe Lusia - San Pellegrino, Civetta. Holders of an Ikon Pass can ski for free for 7-days, with no blackout period. Holders of Ikon Base Plus Pass and Ikon Base Pass can ski for free for 5-days with no blackout periods. You can go directly to the chairlift or gondola with your valid Ikon Pass as there is no need to stop at a local ticket window. The Ikon Pass is valid in the Dolomites from 15 November to 15 April in a given season.
Trail Map
The Cortina ski trail map provides a reasonable representation of the lifts & pistes of disparate ski areas, with the exception of the north-aspect terrain on Faloria towards Rio Gere. It should NOT be utilised for serious backcountry planning - should go without saying, but there you go, we have said it!
Check out the ski trail map for Cortina below.
Snowboarding Cortina
Cortina is a snowboard friendly destination with few, if any, long flat traverses & minimal surface lifts (T-bars et al). There is only one small terrain park, so those looking for a variety of man-made terrain features should apply elsewhere.
On-piste Terrain
Cortina’s 120km of piste trails sounds a lot, but it is spread over several disconnected areas. Spending a day in each is great fun though, particularly if combined with some off-piste adventure and fine dining!
Novice & Beginner
The Socrepes ski area below Pocol & Tofana is the perfect place to learn to ski. Loads of trails, lifts, rifugi in a sheltered yet spectacular setting. The next best is at Col Gallina, where one may well have the entire ski area to themselves.
Intermediate
With nearly half of the piste trails at Cortina rated intermediate, there is no shortage of ‘destination skiing’ for intermediates. Every day will be a journey of discovery as you travel from one area to the next - all on the same ski pass! The best zones are on the Bus Tofana chair, Faloria, and the long descents off the Lagazuoi.
Advanced
Cortina has one of the best collections of advanced piste trails in Europe. The runs of Tofana, Col Druscie & above Faloria are great fun. The black runs below Pomedes are typically over-rated in their steepness, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Backcountry, Off Piste, Freeride & Backcountry Terrain
To the uninitiated, Cortina doesn’t appear to have much in the way of off-piste terrain. Certainly, in a low snow year, it doesn’t. But as the snow base deepens; the tree skiing below Tofana, the high alpine meadows & bowls near Falzarego plus couloirs & chutes everywhere start to show the potential of these gorgeous mountains.
In deep snow years, several epic backcountry descents (& ascents!) can be undertaken in Cortina. The backside of Cristallo (to mention just one) is the stuff of legend. Someday………! So much to do & so little time. If seeking guidance or have doubts about your abilities, get a guide!
