In this guide
A helmet camera drops through a line of rock, snow walls on both sides, and the ground falls away faster than a normal run would let it. That is the shot our Cortina reel was built around, and it is not a trick of editing. It is the actual terrain Cortina races on every January.
What is the course that drops between the rocks?
The course is Cortina's World Cup downhill and super G line, run through the Tofana sector that rises directly above town. Cortina is a regular stop on the World Cup circuit for the women's speed disciplines, alongside its history as a Winter Olympics host town, and the Tofana sector is named for World Cup speed runs such as the Tofana Schuss, a section built for exactly the kind of drop our reel captured. It is a working piece of terrain with a name and a history, not a generic black run.
Where does it sit inside Cortina's ski area?
It sits inside the Tofana, Pomedes sector, the largest and best known of Cortina's three ski areas, open to any guest on a normal lift ticket outside race week. Cortina spans roughly 75 miles of piste across three sectors in total: Faloria-Cristallo, Tofana-Socrepes, and Lagazuoi-Cinque Torri. The race line uses the same lifts, the same sector, the same mountain most guests already ski when they plan a full day in Cortina, first run to last light. It is not roped off from the rest of the season.
What does January race week mean for a planned trip?
It means a choice, not a complication. A group can plan a trip around race week specifically to watch a World Cup downhill in person, on the same mountain they are staying to ski. Or a group can plan around it entirely, skiing the identical Tofana terrain on a quieter week with no race logistics to work around. Either way the planning question is the same one we walk through for any Dolomites trip built around Cortina: when to go, for how long, and from where.
What do you actually get to see and ski here?
You get the terrain itself: a race line through rock walls above a town that has hosted this sport at its highest level for decades, open to you the rest of the season. That is what our reel showed in thirty seconds, and it is what a private Cortina d'Ampezzo ski trip can show in person, the run between the rocks included.
Common questions
Which mountain range is Cortina actually part of?
Cortina sits in the Dolomites, a limestone range in northeastern Italy recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its own geology and look.
What race does Cortina host every January?
Cortina hosts a women's World Cup downhill and super-G each January, part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup speed discipline calendar.
Where does the race course sit in Cortina's ski area?
The course runs through the Tofana, Pomedes sector, the resort's largest and best known ski area, open to guests outside race week. More on where that sector sits in the wider ski area.
Can you ski the race terrain outside of January?
Yes. Outside race week the Tofana sector is open public terrain, part of the roughly 75 miles of piste across Cortina's three ski areas.
How does this terrain fit a full day of skiing in Cortina?
It sits inside the same bowl of peaks a private day is built around, the arc we walk through in a full ski day in Cortina, first run to last light.
- Cortina
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- On the Mountain
