You may well know the type. My family includes several of them; those skiers who revel in breathless tales of bravery down some black run or – even better – a couloir. We’re obviously thrilled to hear all about it, no matter how many times, but none of it sounds remotely fun. Call me old-fashioned, but I thought the whole point of skiing is that it should be fun.
I can assure you, I am not that person. There is a funny little TikTok doing the rounds that shows the four types of skiers. One is of someone who is gliding serenely down the mountain without making any use of her poles whatsoever. That is me.
I love skiing as much as anything in my life, but it is because it allows me to enjoy the quiet calm of the chairlift taking me to the top of a mountain and staying there for as long as possible, to enjoy the transformative effect of standing on snow-capped peaks under a clear blue sky. Skiing is a means to an end, and if I make my way back down with my dignity intact and without injury, I am in a state of pure joy.
And so, two thirds of the way through a particularly grey and wet English January, I headed off for a long weekend to Corvara, part of the wider Alta Badia resort in the Dolomites. My first time skiing in Italy, I’m hoping to get above the clouds, drink Aperol spritz and red wine and eat plenty of pasta in an effort to make it through to spring.
A winding drive into the Dolomites’ increasingly spectacular rock formations eventually ends at Hotel Sassongher, a five-star retreat that has been run by the same family since 1933. There is no luxury spared for skiers, from its roof-top Jacuzzi, sauna with panoramic views and an indoor pool, to enormous four-poster beds and balconies overlooking the cobble-stoned village and slopes beyond.
It’s getting dark by the time we’ve settled in, and we’re just in time for an aperitif in the wood-panelled bar, pianist in the corner, with suited staff greeting guests like old friends – which it turns out they are, having repeatedly stayed here over the years.
We start the evening with a local Prosecco before heading up a floor to one of the three traditional Ladin stubes, where dinner begins with lobster pasta followed by rack of lamb with artichoke. We enjoy a bottle or two of a…
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