Val Gardena

Ⓒ @Valgardenadolomites

Gorgeous mountain tops. Beautiful skies and lots of snow.

Val Gardena is where my parents took us skiing every single year since my sister and I were 3 years old and I have soft spot for this place in my heart.

I realize that it seems like I have some self-tormenting tendencies by subscribing to the Val Gardena Instagram account, but it also makes my heart skip a beat every time a familiar mountain top or ski slope shows up in my feed. And I’ve been waiting to post this blog post for about 8 weeks now, because when you read this, I will be THERE!

The Dolomites are part of the southern Alps in South Tyrol/Northern Italy. The coolest thing about the area is the enormous skiing area (including the Saslong, a World cup downhill race course and annual venue for the Men’s Super G (super giant slalom), which I’ve been on many, many times). Then there is the Sella group, a plateau-shaped massif, that you can ski around in the winter. The ski circuit around the Sella group is called the Sella Ronda. It’s an all-day trip and amounts to a sort of merry-go-round for skiers, the only one of its kind, a series of ski-lifts and downhill runs, all linked to one another around the whole plateau (possible both clockwise and counterclockwise). It’s awesome and I can’t wait to do that again.  

I am beyond thrilled that I was able to go home and celebrate my birthday with my sister (and the rest of my family) and almost even more thrilled to be spending 9 days with my whole family at this place that is near and dear to all our hearts.

For obvious reasons, I haven’t been back to our old stomping grounds in quite a few years and that’s why I am even more excited to spend a family vacation in a place where my sister and I shared so many precious childhood memories (and where we can make new ones with the munchkins). Plus, I am finally getting to ski again. It’s been a while and I can’t wait to get out there.

So, I am a little busy right now enjoying every second of this. In the meantime, please enjoy my (most likely) frequent Instagram updates.

Even though I hadn’t been to the Dolomites in years and don’t know when I will be able to come back, a little piece of my heart will always belong to Val Gardena.