Cortina with an instructor: Ra Valles at opening, Cinque Torri for lunch

Cortina d'Ampezzo

1. 8:15 am1

   Meet the instructor outside Scuola Sci CortinaCortina d'Ampezzo

   A full private day is roughly the price of three separate half-days and buys you the thing you actually want in Cortina: someone who knows which of the three disconnected sectors has good snow today. Book weeks out for February — the local schools sell out before the hotels do. Price is for the instructor, not per person, so split it across up to four.

   9 min by train or taxi · 5.7 km
2. 8:45 am2

   Freccia nel Cielo: town to Col Drusciè to Ra VallesCortina d'Ampezzo

   The Freccia leaves from the middle of town at 1,216 m and lands you at Ra Valles at 2,470 m — no car, no ski bus, no parking. The cost here is the Cortina d'Ampezzo day pass, which covers the cable car; a full Dolomiti Superski pass is only worth it if you plan to cross to Alta Badia.

   9 min walk · 700 m
3. 9:15 am3

   Ra Valles at opening, and the top stage to Cima TofanaCortina d'Ampezzo

   Ra Valles faces north and holds cold snow when everything else in the valley has turned to soup by eleven — that is the whole argument for starting up here. Ride the top stage to 3,244 m once even if you then ski back down from Ra Valles; the view over the Marmolada is the reason people come to Cortina.

   10 min by train or taxi · 5.9 km
4. 10:30 am4

   Forcella Rossa while it is still cordCortina d'Ampezzo

   The steepest piste in Cortina, up to about 72% in the pitch below the gully. It is a completely different run at 10:30 than at 14:00 — after lunch it is a bump field with a queue at the top. Do it early, do it twice, then leave it.

   12 min by train or taxi · 7.6 km
5. 12 pm5

   Ski bus to Bai de Dones and the 5 Torri chairliftCortina d'Ampezzo

   Cortina's three sectors are not linked by lift, so the ski bus is part of the day and not a failure of planning. It is free with the pass; the 12:00 departure is the one that gets you to a table on time.

   18 min walk · 1.4 km
6. 12:45 pm6

   Lunch at Rifugio Averau, under the five towersCortina d'Ampezzo

   Ring the rifugio directly — they answer, and a table on the terrace at 13:00 in high season is a phone call made a week ahead, not a walk-up. Ninety minutes is the correct length: this is the Italian part of Italian skiing and cutting it to forty minutes means you flew here to eat a sandwich.

   14 min walk · 1.1 km
7. 2:30 pm7

   Coffee on the Rifugio Scoiattoli terraceCortina d'Ampezzo

   Optional, and the first thing to drop if the light is good — Scoiattoli sits right under the towers at 2,255 m and the deckchairs are the photograph everyone takes home. Skip it if you would rather ski the WWI open-air museum runs below.

   12 min by train or taxi · 7.6 km
8. 4:15 pm8

   Passeggiata and an aperitivo on Corso ItaliaCortina d'Ampezzo

   Cortina does not really do slopeside après — the ritual is boots off, town clothes on, and a slow walk up Corso Italia between 17:00 and 19:00. Get back and changed rather than sitting at a valley-station bar in ski boots.