The Sella Ronda

A snowy Sella Ronda bike ride (photo: Anton Yan)

A cold front last weekend brought the first snow of the season to the Alps with significant accumulation as low as 5,000 feet above sea-level. The fresh snow is an exciting reminder that winter is coming up. But sometimes, that snowfall can come a little too soon. That was the case for the Sella Ronda bike ride last weekend.

The Sella Group is a plateau-shaped massif high in the Italian Dolomites, including the Piz Boè peak over 10,000 feet. The Sella Group is surrounded by 4 mountain passes, Passo Sella, Gardena, Pordoi and Campolongo. This formation is unique because it can be circumnavigated by car, road bike, mountain bike and even alpine skiing.

The Sella Group (photo: sellarondabikeday.com)

Twice a year, the roads on the Sella Ronda loop are closed to cars so that cyclists can cruise over the four passes on the 53 km loop with over 5,000 feet of climbing. Last weekend happened to be the Sella Ronda Bike Day and cyclists were met with snowy roads and temperatures below freezing.

Riders at Passo Sella (photo: Anton Yan)

Given the high probability of snow, perhaps it’s a loop that’s better explored in skis? The Sella Ronda Ski Loop is an Alpine ski loop that connects four different ski areas: Val Gardena, Alta Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa. The loop itself is 40 km long and connected by ski lifts, so you can ski the whole loop with one lift ticket. Signs lead skiers around the loop. It’s easy to get distracted by the views as you ski your way through the Dolomites, part of the Dolomiti SuperSki resort. Recently, Dolomiti SuperSki was added to the Ikon Pass resorts, so if you hold an Ikon pass in the US, it’s also valid on the Sella Ronda.

The Sella Ronda trail map.

The Sella Ronda is also very popular for guests on Lumi Experiences trips, as it also connects to the alpine ski slopes of Seiser Alm. Lumi trip leader Holly Brooks joined our guests as they skied the Sella Ronda on downhill skis – a welcome change to the uphills on cross country skis. Several huts and restaurants along the way offer a variety of cuisine, influenced by the Italian, German and Ladin speakers of the Sella region.

Trip leader Holly Brooks at Seiser Alm in front of the Sassolungo-Langkofel Peak close to the Sella Ronda.

“Ladin?” you ask? The Ladin people populate this remote region in the Dolomites, having descended from the Rhaetian people, who were split into several cultural islands across the Alps as the Alemani, Bavarian, Roman and Slavic peoples moved into the region for the past 1,500+ years. The Ladin have many cultural similarities to the Swiss Rhaeto-Romansch speakers as they once lived on one contiguous region before being split apart and moving to the most remote regions of the Alps. The languages sound like an odd mix between French and Italian, given their Latin influence. Today, Ladin culture lives on in their ornate woodwork, buttery spinach ravioli and of course, the Ladin language still spoken by around 30,000 people in the region.

Lumi guests take a break from the Sella Ronda to grab a bite on the hill.

Want to experience skiing the Sella Ronda? We still have limited space available on the Seefeld & Seiser Alm Guided Group Trip or Seefeld & Seiser Alm Self-Guided trips, where you can take an optional day away from your cross country skis and head out for a day of lift-serve downhill skiing in the Dolomites. Reach out to info@lumiexperiences.com to sign up or learn more!

See you on the trail,
Garrott