Men European Cup, slalom, Pozza di Fassa.

Stefano Gross, local skiing hero, misses the podium position by only 0.07 of a second during yesterday's night slalom race on the Aloch.

Photos

Skiing!

First day on the slopes: a bit of a strange scenery but lovely snow! :-))

Festival of St. Nicolo'

One of the major events in town is back: St Nicolo', Patron Saint of Pozza, personally visited us once more in the village with some nasty "devils" (called Krampus) following him. He brought gifts of fruit and chocolate to all the children of Pozza, who had gathered in town to celebrate him after having lunch and Mass together. 
The Krampus were really scary and…very smelly too. Also many adults are frightened of them, as they play nasty tricks on anyone they come across!!


web album

7th Dec - skiing season kicks off

Natural snow or not, the skiing season will start Wednesday the 7th December! Time to check that all the gear is in order.
:-)

No snow forecast for the coming week.

Thankfully the cold temperature allows artificial one to be made!!
Fingers crossed for the proper one.

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Good morning to you all!

Another beautiful sunny day in the Dolomites! 
Would be perfect for nice long walk...

2011/12 Skiing season

It is official, the 2011/12 skiing season starts on the 3rd of December!
Are you ready for it?

Last few days of "summer"

Following a snowy saturday night,
what a beautiful day sunday turned out to be!
Ideal opportunity for a "summer" excursion...

29th May 2011 - 5th Edition of the Marcialonga Cycling

On a clear and sunny spring morning, mountaintops still covered with snow, the 5th edition of the MARCIALONGA CYCLING and its 2100 competitors started off from Predazzo. 
Both the 135km and the 80km variants saw the cyclists racing their way to the finishing line on the roads and passes of 4 valleys. 
In a record time of 4h05’29” Italy’s Fabrizio Lucciola won by only 3” over Lithuanian Kairelis Dainius. 
Among the 2100 competitors, there was also Cristian Zorzi, 2006 cross-country skiing Olympic champion.

Link to photos

22 MAY 2011: GIRO D'ITALIA 2011

and so it happened! 
Just after 5pm, having completed 230km on the road and more than 5000m ascent, the 15th leg of the 94th edition of the tour of Italy crossed the finishing line in GARDECCIA, in the middle of the Catinaccio massif in Val di Fassa. 
Since early Sunday morning there had been a steady build-up of people walking up the 6 km track from Pozza to Gardeccia; the local Rifugi had put out large BBQs and spit roasts, and some mouthwatering hog-roasts had been slowly sizzling since the early morning!
Draught beer and traditional music completed the scene, people spread out on the grass and had a good time enjoying the sunny day. 
Later on in the early afternoon, as you can expect in the mountains,  the weather changed and the rain came in! Not a problem if you are prepared, so always remember to have a waterproof layer with you when you're out and about up here!
Thankfully it was all over by the time the cyclists arrived, with Nieve winning the stage and Garzelli giving a great performance…..
This very tough stage was a display of pure stamina: 4 passes, over 7 hours of riding and a 16% gradient just before the finishing line! What a performance, what a super day!!

Link to photos

GIRO D'ITALIA 2011

On Sunday 22nd May 2011, stage 15 of the Tour of Italy: Conegliano Veneto to Rifugio Gardeccia (Pozza di Fassa) After 35 years the "Giro d'Italia" is coming back to Gardeccia! 
Pozza is buzzing with preparations, and getting ready to welcome an expected 70-100.000 fans! 
The cyclists will race along 230km of mountain roads, take on 4 passes with arrival right in the centre of the Catinaccio Massif (1950m) which overlooks Pozza from the North.
The arrival is in a magnificent setting (see picture), which is reached from Pozza via chiarlift, cable car and a shuttle service. These will start at 3am to allow the visitors a timely ascent.
So exciting!! More to come!

Waiting for the Sellaronda Ski Marathon 2011.....

This breathtaking 42km ski-mountaineering nocturnal marathon run in pairs, around the Sella massif will take place on the 18th February, taking on 4 passes for 2,700m ascent. Approximately 400 pairs of "crazy guys and girls" have had to be drawn out of the total of applications which greatly exceeded the maximum number allowed.
Start is at 18.00hrs at Selva di Val Gardena, and finish is expected at around 21.30hrs where they started.
I don't know how they do it, but will be there to take pics!

MARCIALONGA 2011

Here it is, the biggest event of the year! The Marcialonga cross country skiing event!
On the 30th January over 6,500 athletes started from Moena, approx 10Km from Pozza, and raced up to Pozza and further on to Canazei before turning back down to Pozza and over to Moena and then Cavalese, for a grand total of 70Km.
5,501 were men and 1,075 women.
No surprise the Swedish and the Norwegians dominated the event, but with a few exceptions:
Jerry Ahrlin (SWE) took gold medal for the men's race in 2h49'10'' and Seraina Boner (SUI) for the women's in 3h15'07". 
The youngest competitor was from Norway (born 1993) and the oldest was from Italy (born 1923)!
A few of these "heroes" wear a special T-shirt to signify they have run ALL the consecutive 38 marathons!! Incredible!!
Well done to you all guys, you really are to be admired!

King Laurin's legend

So here is the huge sculpture in the main square in Pozza: King Laurin and his daughter Similde. Theirs is the most popular legend of the Valley, which tells about the history of the Dolomites and the origins of the phenomenon known as "Enrosadira". You will find many references to King Laurin in places across the Valley.

Happy New Year Everybody!

Be good to us 2011, you're promising well by starting with such a magnificent day! The sky is blue and the sun is shining. 
Best wishes to all!