Ski Touring and Snowshoeing in the Dolomites

Route summary table

Map key

Overview map

Introduction

History

Language and culture

Getting there

Getting around

When to go

Accommodation

Food and drink

Travel and health insurance

Mountain safety

Equipment

Grading

Guiding services

Using this guide

1 Canazei – Val di Fassa

1 Latemar Labyrinth

2 Val San Nicolò

3 Forcia Neigra

4 Val Duron

5 Forcella Sassolungo Nord

2 Canazei and Arabba – Sella Group

6 Val Mesdì

7 Canale del Ghiacciaio

8 Canale Col Anton into Val Lasties

9 Val Setus

3 Ortisei and Selva – Val Gardena

10 Compaccio

11 Alpe di Siusi traverse

12 Chiesetta di San Giacomo and Monte Pic

13 Forcella di Mesdì

14 Forcella della Roa

4 Corvara – South Badia

15 Val de Chedul and Col Toronn

16 Forcella de Ciampei

17 Pisciadù and the Ciampac traverse

18 Santa Croce and Ranch da Andrè

19 Lech dla Lunch to Lech da Sompont

5 San Martino in Badia – North Badia and Fanis

20 Monte Muro

21 Crep dales Dodesc

22 Munt da Medalges

23 Malga Vaciara

24 Utia Lavarella circuit

25 Col Becchei Dessora

26 Monte Castello

6 Arabba – Marmolada and Livinallongo

27 Punta Penia

28 Forcella Marmolada

29 Monte Sief

7 San Cassiano – Passo Falzarego

30 Settsass

31 Forcella Grande

32 Cadin di Fanis

33 Canale della Nonna

34 Col dei Bos

35 Cinque Torri and Nuvolau

36 Tofana di Rozes

8 Selva di Cadore – Passo Giau

37 Monte Pore

38 Monte Mondeval

39 Lastoni di Formin

40 Croda da Lago

9 Pecol – Val di Zoldo

41 Col de la Puina

42 Città di Fiume

43 Rifugio Venezia traverse

44 Spiz de Zuel

10 Cortina and Misurina – Passo Tre Croci and Tre Cime

45 Malga Ra Stua

46 Posporcora and Col Rosa circuit

47 Forcella Faloria traverse

48 Passo del Cristallo

49 Giro delle Tre Cime

50 Sasso di Sesto

Appendix A Glossary of mountains, towns and passes

Appendix B Glossary of mountain terms

Appendix C Useful transport and tourist information contacts

Appendix D Ski schools, mountain guide offices and sports shops

Appendix E Further reading

January 2024

GPX files

This excellent guidebook opens the door to the hidden backcountry of the Dolomites

The Italian Dolomites: A UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world's most popular ski destinations. This is a place of beauty, breath-taking scenery and the all-important snow. The Dolomites attracts winter sports enthusiasts, climbers and mountaineers from worldwide and in their thousands.

So, it is with the greatest of welcomes that this, the first English language guidebook to Ski Touring and Snowshoeing is bestowed upon us, detailing 10 areas of the Italian Dolomites, there is plenty to go at.

Have your cake and eat it!

The premise of this excellent guidebook appears to be ‘have your cake and eat it!’ come to one of the most beautiful and busiest winter sport destinations in the world, but, escape the crowds and explore the peaks, ridges, couloirs, faces and valleys that the best of the Dolomites has to offer. This guidebook offers to show you those places and whet your appetite for adventure in the northern territories of Italy.

There's nothing quite like the search for the fresh tracks and this, James Rushforth's Ski Touring and Snowshoeing in the Dolomites, opens the door to the hidden backcountry of the Dolomites, from easily accessible areas such as Cortina, Arabba, Corvara and Canazei to name but a few; detailing how to get there, the logistics whilst in country, safety, insurance and ski passes and background information on the region's rich history and cultural heritage and importantly, how to use the guidebook.

Something for everyone

The guidebook itself uses the popular grading system combination of alpine grading for ascent and the volo/toponeige for the descent and the routes vary according to difficulty and ranging from 5km to 18km. Thus providing a good range of routes for all abilities and interests of both snowshoeing enthusiast to ski touring aficionado.

There are detailed route descriptions, which are accompanied by 1:50,000 mapping, complimented by topos showing the line of the route, all presented alongside the author's own inspirational photography, for which James has won over a dozen international photographic competitions alongside a nomination for the Banff Film Festival Book Award for a previously published book.

Award-winning author

The routes allow you to discover quaint villages and enchanting mountain vistas whilst on a relaxing snowshoe trek along a tranquil winter valley or get your adrenaline fix whilst on the thrilling descent of a steep couloir in the mountains. The Dolomites of winter boast off-piste adventures at their best and memories that will last a lifetime.

Appendices offer further information useful to planning that includes contact details for local ski schools, mountain guide offices and sports shops as well as glossaries of place-names, terminology and simple translations.

This is an excellent resource that provides information to an area previously guarded by local language guidebooks, now made accessible to English speakers.

Dave Brown, the Climbers' Club

James Rushforth is a busy man. His Facebook feed is a never ending stream of beautiful pictures of climbers, skiers, walkers and mountain scenery to die for, most often the Dolomites where he spends a lot of his time. Although it makes me green with envy it does brighten the long gloomy hours spent working at my desk.

There's something here for the broadest possible range of winter mountain visitors, from accomplished ski tourers to British hillwalkers taking their first steps by snow shoe.

The Dolomites make for a perfect venue for snow shoeing and for those looking to complete their first forays out into a winter wonderland. The weather is often very stable, there is little glaciated terrain, there are bars and huts on many of the routes which serve good food and drink; all of this makes for a rather friendly experience far removed from the blizzards of the Cairngorms and their unpredictable weather.

Furthermore many of the skiing routes are also modest and suitable for those looking for day tours but who still want a full mountain experience. It’s a good staging post before moving onto bigger adventures, somewhere you can hone and build skills without the commitment required in other more glaciated alpine areas.

The pictures ARE stunning, but they need to be bigger to grab you by the hand, walk you to the travel agent and book you your ticket. That said, the maps are super, a step up from other touring guides I've seen, and everything is very clear.

In summary, this guide is great for novice to intermediate winter explorers, looking for a beautiful area which is easy to access, well appointed with hotels and restaurants, and who want a holiday rather than an expedition. The book is fabulously well written, and while the pictures would really benefit from a bigger format the graphics are really good and its useful smaller format is at least handy for stuffing in pockets.

UK Hillwalking. See the full review here.

A cheaper, easier, slower - and rewarding - alternative to skiing? Snowshoeing – which is basically hiking in the snow using a pair of racket-like devices attached to the sole of your boots. This allows you to walk on snow-covered ground without sinking. Now among the fastest growing winter sports, snowshoeing has actually been around for thousands of years as a means of moving around, especially by hunters and farmers who could thus walk amid deep snow. The great thing about snowshoeing is that anybody can do it (and it’s a great workout too)!

Whether you're new to snowshoeing or you have some experience, you'll find plenty of inspiration inside Ski Touring and Snowshoeing in the Dolomites.

Italy Magazine

"The routes have been chosen carefully to give you the best of what the area has to offer - a must for anyone looking to visit the Dolomites in Winter"

Trek and Mountain magazine

Banff Mountain Book Awards 2017 – Longlist for best guidebook. September 2017