My first memory of skiing is of winding my way down a gentle slope in Cortina d’Ampezzo – what I now know to be one of the best ski resorts in the Dolomites. I was barely a teenager, oblivious to the fact that my initiation into ski boots and salopettes was unfolding in one of Europe’s most glamorous resorts. At that age, fashion and après-ski passed me by; it was the adrenaline of the mountains that left its mark.
Years later, I’ve returned to Italy’s Dolomites in every season, watching the high plateaus shift from carpets of wildflowers to winter-white landscapes I’d previously encountered only in the pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Dolomites are my Narnia; each visit feels like a crossing into another realm, where steep-rising spires tell stories of ancient legends. It is the drama of vertical rock faces and serrated ridges that sets the Dolomites apart from the rest of the Alps, whose mountains often appear more rounded in shape. Here, the peaks rise suddenly and sharply, and scattered among the surrounding valleys are 12 diverse resorts, stitched together into the vast Dolomiti Superski circuit by a network of pistes.
Whether you’re looking for technically demanding runs or a spa hotel with sweeping views of the mountain-scapes, here’s a round-up of the best ski resorts in the Dolomites.