If anyone wants to see it, my ski Italy story is here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10340761/from/RSS

Some other papers picked it up as well, though I think you have to sign up for an on-line subscription to see it.

mangymarmot

Very good MM.
I spotted it last week in the Examiner (free paper handed out at DC area metro stations), but couldn't find a way to share it electronically.
http://www.dcski.com/ubbthreads22/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=20866&an=0&page=3#20866

Pictures?

Man I love that area. There was an annual trip to Arabba we used to go on, and we luckily had some of the best snow I've seen while skiing there (Italy can be pretty hit or miss, seeing as how it's not as high as, say, the French Alps). Good memories. We ate polenta every day!

I think I've finally uploaded some pix for folks to see. Took a while, because I needed to buy a new computer (this was my excuse for the purchase). anyhoo, chek out:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fritzfaerber/album?.dir=/68f2&.src=ph&.tok=phN _K LEBn71cYh6h

Nice article MM. Alitalia runs a convenient direct flight from IAD to Malpensa Airport, Milan, but I'm wondering what to do from there. You mention in the article that the train takes "a couple of hours." How many transfers does that entail? Is there a better way to get to the slopes than train? A shuttle or bus service from MXP directly to the slopes?

Getting there may seem daunting, but it can be a fun adventure or you can catch a shuttle bus.
Here's shuttle info: (see more at http://www.val-gardena.com/eng/page75.html)

Every Saturday Transfer from Munich (Airport "Franz Josef Strau) to Val Gardena (S. Antonius square - Ortisei).
Information and reservations:
Bus company Silbernagl, Tel. +39 0471 706633.
Price for return ticket from airport to Ortisei: 80,00 Euro

I could have sworn there's a shuttle from Milan as well, but can't find it with quick search.

To take the train, catch a train to Verona. (This is a stop on the very frequent trains headed to Venice) It takes about an hour or so to get to Verona.

Then transfer onto a train north to Bolzano (any train headed to Austria goes through Bolzano). It's maybe 90 minutes or so to Bolzano.

The bus station in Bolzano is roughly two blocks from the train station. Shuttles run roughly every hour up to Ortisei. The trip is less than an hour and very scenic. Costs about 4-5 euro.

Verona and Bolzano are both excellent places to spend the night. You can fly in, and catch the trains to either and do a bit of sight seeing same day. Veron has a Colosseum that still functions as a stadium. It's beautiful. It's also the site of Romeo and Juliet. You can see a balcony that is modeled on the famous love scene. Molto Benne for the ladies. If traveling with wife or significant other, you can score major points taking her there. Then go to the Romeo e Jiulietta restaurant nearby. Good food, cozy atmosphere. Stay at a B+B on the town main square.

Or, train it all the way to Bolzano and check out Oetzi the ice man and spend the night in Bolzano. There's a great brew pub (can't recall the name now, but if interested, I can look it up). There's also a Mexican restaurant which was actually kind of decent... very camp. The fajitas were strange (carrots and i think squash in them) but tasty. Very funny eating Italian-Mexican in Dolomite region of Alps in a town where everyone speaks German. If you don't enjoy globalization, skip it.

There are several decent hotels in Bolzano. It's a really pretty town.

If you have any other questions, shoot me a pm.

MM