"Sella Ronda" the ski tour around the Sella Massif

The Ladins have always called it this, from the time when there were a few mud tracks and no ski-lifts. It was the circuit on skis around this massif in the Dolomites, the Sella, across the four passes, which the Ladins used in order to keep in contact with the other inhabitants in the area. Nowadays the name still means the circuit around the Sella massif but it has also come to indicate what amounts to a sort of merry-go-round for skiers, the only one of its kind, a series of ski-lifts and downhill runs, all linked to one another and set against a background of woods, rocky peaks and expanses of snow that is no exaggeration to call extraordinary.
Joining the skiing circuit is easy: just follow the roads that take you to one of the four villages around the Sella mountain (Corvara, Canazei, Arabba, Selva). The length of the circuit, including both, ski-lifts and ski runs, is a little less than 40 km and it is an easy route to ski along. But, because it is high up in the mountains, you need to check the weather forecast in order to avoid running into snowfalls or high winds which can turn what is supposed to be an enjoyable day out into an unpleasant and risky enterprise, with the danger of getting stranded.
Any skier interested in doing the Sella Ronda must be fit, even if the runs themselves are of middling difficulty rather than advances.
The time spent on ski-lifts is about two hours altogether, without counting the time spent queuing for them or having a break in one of the many refuges dotted along the circuit.
Some more instructions: you are advised to start the circuit no later than 10.00 in the morning, although it is a good idea to start even earlier, especially if it is the first time you have tried it. Another word of warning: you must reach the last Pass by 15.30 otherwise you will miss the last ski-lifts; they close between 16.00 and 16.30.
All of the runs together take about one and a half hours, depending on how good a skier you are.

click herefor the ski map of the Sella Ronda ...

The Sella Ronda runs going anticlockwise are marked in green and the clockwise runs are marked in orange.

If you go clockwise (orange arrows)

• from Corvara to the Campolongo pass/Bec de Roces: about 20 minutes
• from Arabba to the Pordo pass/Belvedere: about 40 minutes
• from Pian Frataces/Lupo Bianco to the Sella pass: about 20 minutes
• from Selva Gardena to the Gardena pass/Danterceppies: about 20 minutes

Brief summary of the Sella Ronda starting from Corvara and going clockwise:
Using the Boè cable car and then skiing down, ,you reach Campolongo pass. A drag-lift then takes you to Bec de Roces where the run to Arabba starts. At Arabba take the cable car to Porta Vescovo and ski down to Ponte de Vauz. Another two chair-lifts (Vauz – Lezuo and Lezuo – Belvedere ) and you reach Belvedere/Pordoi pass. The ski run takes you down to Pian Frataces (Lupo Bianco) and from here you go up to Col Rodella/Passo Sella. A long run down and you are in Selva. The Costabella chair-lift and then the Danterceppies cable car take to above the Gardena pass and from here you ski down to the village of Colfosco where the Borest chair-lift brings you back to Corvara.
You have covered 13.518 metres on ski-lifts and you have skied 23.100 metres of ski runs. Total: 36 km and 618 m. Not bad!

• from Corvara to the Gardena pass/Danterceppies: about 45 minutes
• from Selva Gardena to the Sella pass: about 45 minutes
• from Pian Frataces (Lupo Bianco) to the Pordo pass/Belvedere: about 20 minutes
• from Arabba to the Campolongo pass/Bec de Roces: about 15 minutes

Brief summary of the Sella Ronda starting from Corvara and going anti-clockwise:
From Corvara you start with a chair-lift towards Colfosco, where a comfortable cabin lifts bring you to Malga Cir short above the Gardena pass. From here you take the chair-lift Val Setus and you are at 2,280 metres from where you ski down to the Gardena Pass. Here you take another chair lift and you arrive at Danterceppies where you ski down to Selva. In Selva  you take the Selva – Ciampinoi cable car. The first downhill run takes you to the departure point for the Plan de Gralba – Piz Seteur chair lift. This takes you up to a short run down to the Sassolung drag-lift. After crossing the spectacular Città die Sassi, take the Sasso Levante chair-lift from Passo Sella and then ski down to Val Salei. At the bottom of Val Salei the Pian Frataces (Lupo Bianco) chair-lift leaves and the one that takes you to the Sas Bece refuge starts. At the Belvedere ski down the long run to Arabba. Take the chair-lift Bec de Roces and then there is a quick run down to Passo Campolongo. Another chair-lift up to Crëp de Mont and then down to Corvara where your started from.
You have covered 15.705 metres on ski-lifts and you have skied 22.950 metres of ski runs. Total. 38 km and 655 m. What a performance!