How I Learned to Like Skiing – 7 Simple Rules

  
Left: (2023) Passo del Tonale, Italy - Contrabanddieri Run with fog in the valley
Center: (2018) Alta Badia, Italy - Rifugio Santa Croce - La Crusc
Right: (2019) Canazei, Italy - Sella Pass 


1. Learn to say no. If you don’t want to ski a “hard” run. Don’t do it. If you don’t feel like skiing one day, don’t. If a group of friends is going to tackle a ski run you don’t like or feel like skiing at the time, skip it.

2. Stop when you aren’t having fun. The trick here is to realize when you aren’t having fun. For example, for me it’s when visibility goes way down and I can’t see the slope. Some skiers don’t mind that. I do. So, I stop. If I’m tired, getting sloppy, and am worried about falling, I stop.

3. Enjoy the other stuff around skiing: rifugio, people, environment. For me, planning something before or after skiing helps break up the day. For example, ski in the morning and then an afternoon walk. Or vice versa. One day, we tried skimo and loved it. Other ideas: ski just a few hours and then explore a nearby village. Spend a long leisurely lunch or break in a rifugio. Bring a book.

4. Breathe. I found that when heading down a slope that was a little tricky, I would hold my breath. A thoughtful big inhale and exhale before tackling the slope helps me.

5. Expect nonlinearity. Weather, visibility, snow, how your body feels, group dynamics, skis, etc. change in time. One day, I ski great. The next day, horribly. Conditions? Me? I don’t know for sure but I accept it.

6. Experience and practice does make you better. Find a slope that you like and get comfortable there. Ski it a dozen times to build confidence.

7. Don’t worry about what others think about you. That applies to all endeavors.


  

Left: (2019) Madonna di Campiglio, Italy - Punto panoramico Grosté
Center: (2019) Selva, Italy - Sassolungo
Right: (2023) Passo del Tonale, Italy - skimo in Valbiolo

   

Left: (2022) Seefeld in Tirol, Austria - cross country ski tracks

Center: (2019) Cogne, Italy - cross country ski tracks
Right: (2019) Seefeld in Tirol, Austria - slope

Three Short Winter Hikes in Madonna di Campiglio

Left: View of Mondifrà Basso and Alto on the way to Malga Vagliana. Right: View east of the Brenta Dolomites from Malga Ritorto.

  
Routes for three walks. Left: Malga Ritorto and Rifugio Nambino, Center: Rifugio Montagnoli. Right: Malga Mondifrà and Malga Vagliana.

Madonna di Campiglio is a small town in the province of Trento that is situated between the Brenta Dolomites to the east and the Adamello-Presanella Alps to the west. The town is at 1522 m and is well known for the choice of summer and winter activities that are possible just walking out from the center of town.

We were there for a holiday over New Year’s which entailed lots of fireworks – and we mean a lot. The biggest display was on the night of the 1st just after the famous fiaccolata, a torchlight parade on skis where skiers with torches descend the slopes into town in a slow and serpentine fashion. Of course, it takes place at night for maximum effect.

During our stay we skied for four days and walked for three days. In terms of the slopes, we recorded about 213 km of ski movement (skiing and ski lifts) in about 20 hours on the slopes over the 4 days. In terms of walking, we hadn’t planned to do any walking and didn’t have microspikes/crampons or walking poles. For poles, we substituted ski poles. For traction, we just went slow and avoided icy spots though we fell a few times.

Each hike we started approximately at the base of the Pradalago lift, which is in the northern part of the town. Make sure to stop in the tourist office and pick up the Winter Walking Trails map (photos below), which will be a big help selecting a hike. A couple of times, we did cross a ski run or walked on the edge.


Name: Hike 1 - Malga Ritorto and Rifugio Nambino
Length: 13 km
Duration: 5 hours
Elevation: 247 m elevation gain
Location: Madonna di Campiglio (TN)
Type: loop, center of Madonna di Campiglio to Malga Ritorto to Rifugio Nambino and back to center.

Name: Hike 2 - Rifugio Montagnoli
Length: 4 km
Duration: 2 hours
Elevation: 284 m elevation gain
Location: Madonna di Campiglio (TN)
Type: loop

Name: Hike 3 - Malga Mondifrà and Malga Vagliana
Length: 10 km
Duration: 3 hours
Elevation: 309 m elevation gain
Location: Madonna di Campiglio (TN)
Type: loop, center of Madonna di Campiglio to Malga Mondifrà to Malga Vagliana and back to center


Left: The 2019 fiaccolata of Madonna di Campiglio. Center: Fireworks after the fiaccolata. Right: View from the Grotte Ski Run just above Madonna di Campiglio.


Brochure for Rifugio Lago Nambino.


Winter Hiking Trails Map (Escursioni sulla neve) for Madonna di Campiglio. Left: Front Cover. Right: Example of hike description to Lago di Nambino.


Left: Recorded tracks for Hike 2 - Rifugio Montagnoli. Center: Recorded tracks for Hike 3 - Malga Mondifrà and Malga Vagliana. Right: Detail of center part of Winter Hiking Trails Map.



Left: Winter hiking trails map for Madonna di Campiglio. Right: Winter hiking trails descriptions for Madonna di Campiglio. 


Left: Panorama in Malga Ritoro. Right: Below Malga Ritorto in a forest clearing.


Left: View east from Rifugio Malga Ritorto with a man filming. Right: Rifugio Malga Ritorto.


Left: The bridge a località Fortini. Right: Pretending to ski on the Fortini ski run.