The Val Gardena: The Perfect Journey With Summer Sun And Winter Snow

The ingredients are simple: prosecco – the very best comes from the Veneto, just to the south of here; sparkling mineral water – the Dolomite mountains produce their own, and very good it is too; the all-important elderflower syrup – elder grows quite happily here and comes into flower in early summer; a sprinkling of fresh mint leaves – ditto; and ice – and there is, of course, no shortage of that either! It comes as no surprise then to learn that this zesty, refreshing aperitivo is the adopted drink of the Dolomites. It goes by the name of Hugo… and Hugo is someone you will see a lot of in Val Gardena, and a very welcome figure he cuts too.

All across the peaks here, above Val Gardena and the three main villages of Selva, Ortisei and Santa Cristina, you will find winter skiers pausing for one before lunch, summer hikers stopping off at huts for a Hugo refresher, and diners enjoying it before an evening meal throughout the year. A drink for all seasons, it has come to be symbolic not only of the region’s gastronomic wealth, but also of its true uniqueness, youthful liveliness, and versatility as an all-year-round playground.

WARM SEPTEMBER DAY –  It was a warm September day when I first arrived in Val Gardena; the sun was strong and summer still clung to the mountains. Half a year after our late-summer hike, in the middle of March, I returned to Val Gardena to discover a new sheen to the terrain: crisp snow pierced by grey splinters of dolomite rock. Ever since the World Ski Championships of 1970, Val Gardena has been recognised as one of the leading winter resorts of the South Tyrolean Dolomites. As a ski area, Val Gardena offers variety, excellent continuity with long and exhilarating runs, and a range of challenges from blues and reds to blacks and World Cup downhill courses.

What also impresses is the quality and efficiency of the ski infrastructure, with lifts that are swift, efficient, comfortable and modern in the immense ski area of Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi, covering some 500 kilometres with some 200 lifts. Beyond that, the Dolomiti Superskipass offers access to 1,220 kilometres of slopes and 450 ski lifts across 12 ski areas – including the famous ski circuit of Sellaronda – making it the world’s largest ski carousel.With a ski season that starts early in December and runs through until mid-April, the Sellaronda route remains highly popular, covering a total distance of 44 kilometres including lifts – much of it above 2,200 metres – and can be skied either way round.

We accessed the Sella massif above Selva via the Dantercepies cable car, heading along the clockwise route in the morning to take advantage of the sun. For the next few exhilarating hours we covered the four valleys of Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa on skis, following a route from Selva to Passo Gardena, Corvara and Arabba, with its views of the monumental Marmolada – at 3,342 metres, the highest mountain in the region – and then on to Porta Vescovo and into the Passo Sella area.While the Sellaronda (which doubles as an invigorating 58-kilometre mountain biking area in the summer months) is an imaginative circuit that will take the morning to ski, the most famous winter piste is Saslong, the course for World Cup downhill races.

This one is, of course, highly significant for British ski enthusiasts, because this is where former alpine ski racer Konrad Bartelski produced the best ever result recorded by a Briton, on December 13, 1981, by coming second in the Alpine Skiing World Cup downhill race, just 0.11 seconds behind the race winner, Austria’s Erwin Resch. After the thrill of Saslong, I found myself back on the slopes of Col Raiser and Seceda, and in the region I had hiked through months earlier. Wearing a different coat (both the mountains and I) it had a comfortable familiarity, with recognisable contours and peaks, and with the lovely village of Selva in the valley below.

This side of the valley has lots of cosy huts to choose from for lunch, drinks or snacks, whether that be for a Tyrolean speciality or the chefs special spaghetti. We paused at the friendly Daniel-Hutte, not far from Sofie-Hutte (itself a gourmet mountain retreat with a restaurant that has caught the attention of food critics) for a bite to eat. Winter also offers opportunities for cross-country skiers, with 115 kilometres of runs above Monte Pana, while for winter hiking and snow-shoeing the Langental is an attractive and appealing area.

With skiing, snow-shoeing and other winter sports in the colder months; hiking and mountain biking in the summer; and a cuisine that sets it apart, Val Gardena is about individuality as much as it is about freedom. The light, you soon discover, is critical in delivering the magical aura of the Dolomites. Shimmering off the rock architecture, it reflects a pinkish hue in the mornings and a vivid orange on the mountains in the afternoon – stunning on the snow in winter, strikingly vivid in summer. The unique formations of this part of northeastern Italy, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009 for their historical and geomorphological significance and among the oldest rocks on the planet, offer a wonderful palette.

With long valleys between picturesque villages, the Dolomites create a mesmerising backdrop. Val Gardena is such a location, where a narrow ravine in the Val d’Iscaro leads to the 25-kilometre valley with its three famous villages. Here, activities combine with high-quality accommodation, spa and wellness facilities and excellent cuisine, whether you are in the restaurants of the villages or the huts in the mountains. As the larger of the three communities, Ortisei has many cafes, bars and an active nightlife with excellent restaurants, but its sister communities are also sociable villages with a character and ambience of their own.

Setting off to hike through this inspiring terrain, we took the Resciesa cable train from Ortisei up to the Puez-Geisler Nature Reserve and, finding ourselves at about 1,650 metres above sea level, climbed a path through pine trees which plateaued at about 2,000 metres and then took us gently across the high pasture land. It is covered in yellow flowers in springtime; though by the time we passed through the pasture had matured, and it wouldn’t be long before the cows were heading down the mountain for the winter.

We couldn’t see the cattle but the low, sonorous clang of their bells echoed across the mountainside, suggesting they were never far away. The views all around are inspiring: the jagged peaks of the Dolomites piercing a clear, blue sky.We walked for about an hour before pausing at Rifugio Brogles for a Hugo, where linen sheets billowed on a line just beyond the low fence, soaking up the freshness of the air as the breeze and sunshine dried them.These mountain huts, or rifugi, offer a network of sanctuary for hikers making their way through this splendid terrain, or skiers stopping by to warm up in the winter. But they are also well-equipped rest halts with good quality accommodation and restaurants that offer some of the finest mountain food you’ll find anywhere.

Once rested, we realised that ahead of us lay the more challenging part of the route: a sharp ascent through the Pana wind gap.The air thinned as the path steepened and we made our way upwards to 2,447 metres. The latter stages of the narrowing gap were buttressed by logs with steps carved into them and steel cables holding the rocks together to create a safe route. Once at the top, the sense of achievement was marked, standing on the sharp spine of an escarpment, with views back down our path in one direction and across the valley to Selva in the other.

OUR OLD FRIEND HUGO – Just to our left, some 300 or so metres below, was the Sofie-Hiitte, where our old friend Hugo was again waiting. We sipped a welcoming glass on the balcony in the warm sunlight, but knew that we were lucky as the weather can change quickly at this altitude. (Four days later these same table tops were covered in a few inches of snow.) Inside, the food was sumptuous: seafood spaghetti and the tastiest lamb chops.

The return to our base in Selva was a two-hour hike, even though the village was constantly in view in the valley. The path wound down the mountainside through trees; along the way we met cows and goats and ponies came to greet us. Sheltered in the rock, small bunches of edelweiss were still in flower, while in the distance the higher points of the mountains became ever farther away. After a brisk walk through Selva the following morning, we met Anna Messner Perathoner and her daughter Mary for a masterclass of Tyrolean cooking at the chalet Luech de Curijel to discover how to make the traditional pasta dish of crafuncins – spinach-filled ravioli – and the typical dessert of Apfelstrudel – a hint of the Germanic influences here.

Throughout the morning, we made the pasta, finely chopped the spinach and created our crescents for the fillings, before cooking them in salted water for four minutes, while our colleagues toiled over the Apfelstrudel. And then we sat down to a tasty lunch – one of our own making – to set us up for another afternoon wandering in the mountains around the valley. Skiing or hiking amid a wonderful landscape and ambience, Val Gardena and the mountains of the Dolomites are an incredible destination, all year round.