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The Valbruna ski trip 2004 was blessed with fantastic weather and great snow for the whole 7 days. Snow and weather are never a sure thing, but one thing for sure when you travel to Italy is that the food and wine will always be there and be great! The trip was later nicknamed "a wine and dine tour with a skiing problem"; it seemed that the great skiing and the outdoor adventures were a great "filler"…in the spirit of the Italian saying "isn't life just killing time in between meals?"


Day 1 - After the flight to Venice and the drive to Cortina we walked main street and had our Welcome dinner, but most of us still had a little energy for a midnight pizza…and a few hours later here we are in the Tofana mountain range for a our first day of skiing. It's sunny but definitely a little windy and cold in the morning. From the left Chris, Wink, Megan, Amanda, Mark, Tom, Gray, Mickey, Enrico, Dave, Pete, Marco and Alex sitting.


Day 1 - Later in the day, guided by local Alpine Guide Paolo, Chris, Gray, Dave, Micky and Amanda hiked above the top of the lifts to ski Bus de Tofana, one of the famous off-piste runs of the Dolomites.

Day 1 - Getting to the "Bus de Tofana" demanded the use of ropes due to the exposure.


Day 1 - Dinner was at a mountain hut that we reached by snowmobile where Enrico played guitar.


Day 1 - After dinner, the snowmobiles were not available, so we took sleds back to the parking lot, 2 miles of fun in the dark!


Day 2 - We skied the two other ski areas of Cortina, Cristallo and Faloria. Here is the view on Cortina from our lunch sport on Faloria.


Day 3 - After arriving in Valbruna the first resort was Mt.Lussari, the local ski area. Another beautiful day.


Day 3 - A quick lunch on top of Mt. Lussari turned into a 6-course seafood feast which ended in polka dancing to the sound of restaurant's owner Yure.


Day 4 - The ski day in Austria at Gerlitzen Alpen was not exciting due to the cold and very windy weather and icy snow conditions. We made up for it with a traditional Austrian lunch in the picturesque town of Villach followed by a visit to to the local hot springs SPA and sauna. Dinner at Alte Hutte near Valbruna was one of the highlights of the entire trip.




Day 4 - Mark, Chris and Marco in this picture with glasses and bottles in the forefront.


Day 5 - Passo Pramollo is a large ski resort that sits right on the border between Austria and Italy. Another sunny day allowed for great skiing when one of the runs was over 5 miles long!


Day 5 - Passo Pramollo offers several great little adventures off-piste just by hiking a few minutes from the groomed trails.


Day 6 - Another sunny day in Sella Nevea, a small ski resort in Italy that has a long history in mountaineering and climbing.


Day 6- Lunch was at Tarcisio's hut. Tarcisio was a member of the K2 Italian expedition in 1954 and the pictures on the wall along with the mountain songs echoing in the background prompted Gray to call the hut "a church of mountaineering".


Day 6 - After lunch we took a short hike to our spelunking adventure.


Day 6 - The "Fontanon" (big fountain) caves extend over 650 feet inside the mountain.

Day 6 - Wearing helmets, harnesses and a life vest (we also took a raft over an underground lake) we explored the caves.


Day 7 - On our last day a few decided to ski Sella Nevea again, some went for a snowshoe hike in the forest surrounding Valbruna and all of us gathered and Montone restaurant in a private room with frescos all over the walls and ceiling for our final dinner!




"A few friends from the US visited Valbruna this past summer.


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"Thank you for the wonderful hospitality. Our two days in Valbruna were the highlight of our trip to northern Italy and Austria. The mountains are beautiful, the people in town are warm and friendly, the Inn is fantastic, and the staff is great. The Valbruna Inn is first class. My expectations were high after looking at the website and they were exceeded in all respects. Definitely the place to be for "tourists" who want to experience Italy without the "tourist" atmosphere."

Matt Novak,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA






...our special trip was one wonderful adventure after another and we will have fun reliving the memories forever but we tell you honestly that our 3 days in Valbruna were the most memorable of them all. We had no idea what to expect (I think that was part of the attraction) and we were stunned by the beauty of the Alpine landscape and the warm, gracious nature of the people we met. We will never forget exploring the caves and trenches, galloping the horses through track and field, lunch with the grandparents, hiking the lakes and the gorge, pizza and ice cream, or wild strawberry after dinner digestives. Your Valbruna Inn was another treat for us. Our room was spacious and comfortable, the meals were lovingly prepared and the staff made us feel as though we were home with family. We mean this, truly, from the bottom of our hearts...
Jan & Steve Covell, California.
 
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