Madonna di Campiglio

 If you just want to see the photos then click here. 

Madonna di Campiglio - 150 kilometers of runs to go. Madonna is definitely on of the big alp resorts that spreads over Pinzolo and Ragoli (including Madonna).  Dominating silhouettes of the Brenta Dolomite mountains are the recognizable face of the resort. Beauty of the Dolomite mountains is also recognized globally and mountains are declared into a World Heritage Site On 26 June 2009 by UNESCO.

Madonna is located 1500 above the sea level and offers a good snow even during March. We don't know if this is a typical spring weather here but there is still plenty of snow on and off-pistes. Off-piste skiing is not necessary on its best anymore but still it looks like that there are plenty of runs to go at late spring.

Access to the lift and slopes is easy and convenient even for snowboarders, which is not always the case at the alp resorts. Snowboarders and freestyle skiers are also well taken care of by offering well designed and maintained parks.

Slopes are relatively easy at least on the Madonna's side of the resort and most of them can be recommended even for the beginners. Still offering several black runs and good off-pistes Madonna di Campiglio has definitely enough runs from a beginner to experienced skiers.

During March the high season is already over but during the weekends the whole resort turns into a snow party and restaurants and popular runs are quite crowded. That changes immediately when the weekend is over so there will be plenty of space for skiing after the busy weekends.

Heta and Dolomites.

Partial map of the lifts and pistes.

Heta snowboarding down a black run.

Center of Madonna is good for pedestrians

 
See all photos:

Madonna di Campiglio, 16.3.2014

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Taste of a fresh snow at Antagnod

Antagnod after snowfall.

Weather forecasts were right and we got new snow for two days in a row. When we arrived to Antagnod on Thursday the weather was sunny and nice but snow had already partially melted from the bottom of the mountains. But this changed almost overnight.


For the first snowfall day the amount of the snow was reasonable but the off piste routes were far from being ready for good skiing. Luckily all of the new snow was left on the slopes as is. During the slow season this means that all lines from blue to black are enjoyable to ride, even on regular slopes. And on the sides of the slopes there are always potential fresh snow lines to ride. During the day there was only a handful of skiers at the slopes, which made the experience even better. Of course weekends are more popular, but popularity during March means that you might see few other skiers. There is no rush.

The fun part was the the snowfall continued from Sunday night to Monday morning. And on Monday morning the whole resort was looking completely different. Nice blue sky and snow covering the mountaint from peaks to valleys. Great! Still during the total amount of new snow was between 20-30 centimeters, which is not plenty, but not enough for letting us ride on the open fields or actual off piste routes. Still both, Antagnod and Brusson ski are potential small resorts to visit. Both are especially worth to ski on a better snow conditions when all the off piste routes are accessible.

Antagnod 17.-18.3.2013

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Antagnod and Monte Rosa

 Antagnod

After recovering few days at Como we decided to head up to the mountains to see if my knee can handle snowboarding. But my knee wasn't the only issue, Heta's flue was also slowing her down. So we decided to spend the whole Thursday for traveling to Monte Rosa and spending the rest of the day for additional recovery.

Antagnod and Champoluc.

On Friday it was finally time to ride on alpine slopes. For the test ride we chose the nearby Antagnod resort (part of the Monte Rosa Ski resort). Antagnod is a small village nearby Champoluc that is the center of the Monte Rosa Ski resort. Antagnod resort has only 4-6 different slopes or slope variant from easy blue to a short black slope and you can get about 700 meters vertical.

Friday's weather was excellent for a easy warmup ride. Great, but slightly chilly spring weather, temperature was around -10 celcius degrees. We headed to the slopes at noon and hoped for the best. After a few carefully chosen lines I came to the conclusion that I can handle the blue and red slopes with the broken knee if  I'm not jumping or riding switch. Not bad, at least it is possible to enjoy the weather and great mountain views.

Testing the broken knee.

Best part for the spring skiing is that during the weeks slopes are almost empty. Of course there is not enough snow for a good off-piste skiing, but otherwise snowboarding was great. No waiting to lifts, no rush and you could pick your lines freely. And on top of that slopes were actually enjoyable and not too icy.

Right now the weather forecasts are looking promising, we might get some new snow soon! In a best case scenario there will be an opportunity to ride on a soft snow on an empty resort on Sunday or Monday. We shall see.

Antagnod 14.-15.3.2013

Heta riding an easy red.

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