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Record
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Sometimes you just have to be there: this past season the
Dolomites had their biggest snowfalls since the 1950s.
words & photos: PHIL DOYLE
/DOLOMITES
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THIS NEXT WEATHER fronts coming in
from the south-west, Mario Longhitano
casually told three of his ski guides on
January 30 this year.
They were sipping espressos in a cosy bar
in the village of Campitello, in the Fassa
Valley region of the Dolomites Mountains
in Italys north.
But looking at the direction and size of this
front coming from below France, this one
could be really big. The guides sat up a bit
straighter, as if receiving favourable news
from a school teacher.
Theyd already had some quality snowfalls
with constant top-ups. The skiing looked
like matching the excellent 2013 season,
but three days later, they could barely
negotiate a track up the village streets to
reach the supermarket. The snow bucketed
day and night; an incessant blanket of
slashing white.
Just two days after Marios laconically-
delivered weather forecast, the Dolomites
were choked in new snow. Shopfronts
needed to be shovelled, cars couldnt
move and a eet of snow-moving and
snow-blowing equipment dominated the
streetscapes. The entire Dolomites network
of 450 ski lifts ground to a halt they all
needed to be dug out for skiing life to
continue.
Two days later, an online reading of the
regions snow depths showed 182cm had
fallen in our local Fassa ski areas. Across
the way, Cortina was showing 220cm and
neighbouring Arabba Ski Resort was showing
194cm fresh on its steeper slopes and faces.
It soon became ofcial: we had witnessed
the biggest snowfall in the Dolomites
Mountains since 1951! Hardened Aussie
skiers who had spent lots of time in Japan,
Aspen or Val dIsere shook their heads in
disbelief.
Some weeks later there was a UK
newspaper report that said locals in
Arabba say it could be the biggest snowfall
in 300 years. How would anyone under 295
years old know that? (For the record Arabba
received 8.4m of snow last season, and
nearby Civetta 9.75m.)
This big snow front had set in motion a
series of cold fronts and powdery snowfalls
for week after week, making 2014 the
greatest Dolomites ski season in living
memory. For this, the worlds largest
skiing region, with, paradoxically, the
worlds largest snowmaking system, one
wonders if the resorts ever activated a
snowgun last winter.
It almost didnt matter whether they were
skiing the long, glorious pistes or hooting
knee-deep down feathery bowls, the joy
was palpable.
/DOLOMITES
Record
runs
Mario Longhitano, measuring up.
Dolomites 2014: The lions share
of the snowfall.
Lunch and laughs.
By day the skiing was extraordinary. By
night, the village bars and restaurants
overowed with stories about it all among
ecstatic Aussies sharing beers, pinots and
sparkling Proseccos.
Many vowed to return, even with the
understanding that season 2014 in the
Dolomites may never be repeated in their
lifetimes.
*Phil Doyle is a guide with Dolomites Ski
Tours. For more, go to:
www.dolomitesskitours.com.au
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