Sledge fun in Alta Badia Dolomites

Alta Badia during the winter isn't all about skiing. Another (real FUN) activity is renting a sledge and slide down on the beautiful prepared pistes for this activity.

One of this pistes is so near, that we can say it is in the backyard of our Ustaria Posta. It's the one that descents from the Santa Croce Hospice until reaching the fraction of San Leonardo. A total of 4,5 km descent for a difference in altitude of 670 meters. You can reach the starting point with the Santa Croce lifts. We suggest to walk up the last part, so that you become hungry and can stop to eat some ladin specialities in one of the huts in the area

Here some pictures taken during a day that the desire to ski wasn't so high, so we had fun on the snow with another kind of equipment.

 

Towards the Santa Croce Hospice...

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...drink finished...

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...a last look at the Sas dla Crusc...

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...and Go!!...

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...until we reach the finish!

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Here a little video taken during this occasion:

Filed under  //   english   sas dla crusc   sledge   video  

The fanes legend

Some of our old guests maybe remember this multivision show, presented every week before 1990, when no projectors or computers existed for this kind of thinks. Now the Uniun Ladins Val Badia published on-line one of this shows in ladin language:

More informations about the Fanes legend can be found here

Filed under  //   english   legends   video  

The 4 seasons in the Dolomites

Want to see how the 4 seasons look like in the Dolomites, Alta Badia?

Here a beautiful timelapse video prepared by Holimites with
the webcam positioned towards the Sas dla Crusc (Santa Croce) mountain:

Look to the bottom left of the video, you will see our house roof, it's interesting to see how the snow melts day after day

Update:
After we published this post, a guest told us about this other beautiful video starring again the Sas dla Crusc:

Filed under  //   english   video  

Is spring arriving? The first spring 'guests' yes!

Honestly we can't call them guests. They where for sure here long before us. Maybe we are the intruders, especially when we are ruining their habitat. On the back of our Ustaria Posta we have a lot Rowan trees that in ladin language we call Manëster and the name of the fruits in ladin is pomacia. Exactly this is the first food that this birds eat when arriving and flying into the Dolomites after they migrated in warmer places during the first winter months. This is the utility of this bunch of fruits that grow on rowan trees and are inedible for us humans.

Like every year, the first birds to arrive are the Tits that in storms of 30-40 units fly from tree to tree to eat the pomacia.

Look at the pictures that we took and try to count how many there are on just a little part of a tree.

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PS: Wait!!! Winter isn't finished yet, we still ski until Easter, so remember to check our offers

 

Filed under  //   dolomites   english   natur  

Snowbike on the Dolomites slopes

On February 2nd, some crazy people riding a Freeride Mountainbike on a groomed slope appeared on the Italian TV National Channel Rai3. Our guests will recognize the one with the red jacket. For the new guests of Ustaria Posta, well it's me.

Filed under  //   english   snowbike  

Shopping Cart Enlightenment

Shopping Cart Enlightenment

Feb 8th, 2010
by dolomitesport.

When I asked Alex Newport-Berra if he would like to contribute a mountain sport post to DolomiteSport, I had absolutely no idea I would get a story about a shopping cart. Coming from Alex I can understand his seeking enlightenment, but through a shopping cart? Well… this is his genius and exactly why I asked him to write in the first place for in addition to possessing the strongest cycling legs I have ever had the frustration of being dropped by, he also has an equally strong creative skillset in photography, writing and general thought. I truly love reading what he has to say. More of his work can be seen at his own site: Building Boats.

I Like Firewood

European inspiration

Endurance adventure athletes pair enlightenment with masochism.  The sweet with the salty, like the peanut butter and jelly sandwich stuffed in a rucksack for a summit snack (for all my Euro friends out there who don’t give PB its proper respect and don’t even stock it in your grocery stores, replace with Nutella).  A typical outing can involve riding 100+ miles on the bike while maintaining the dignity to sport shaved legs and lycra shorts with a built in crotch-cuddler.  Or maybe it’s a 4 a.m. start, swapping sunbathing weather for snow, omitting the Gucci speedo for a Pata-gucci shell and the electronic chic of an avalanche transceiver.

Yet for all the salt, sweat, suffering, and sacrifice we endure, there is always the luscious, mouth watering, jaw dropping, sweet reward: a day alone in the beautiful bosom of Mother Nature, perhaps exploring new roads with new friends, or the freedom of a simple focus on body, breath and movement, hour after hour.

It was on a winter afternoon when I found myself with the familiar taste of salt in my mouth, pushing an empty grocery cart, miles from its linoleum floored home, towards the local mountain. The previous week, at the end of a long road ride, an abandoned pile of firewood rounds in the ditch got my attention.  What got my attention even more was noticing later the crumbs of bark that were the meager remains of Old Man Winter feasting on my firewood pile.

The intention to train for a specific race or adventure eases the lactic acid burn, and I have plenty more on my list of “things-to-do”.  Justifying my idea of a shopping cart turned firewood hauler seemed perfectly logical and resourceful, and a good bit of cross-training.  People whizzing by in their cars were obviously the “Gold’s Gym” type.  Their confused faces blurred by as I loaded the cart to the brim, three miles from the nearest shopping center.


The trip back to my woodshed was mostly downhill, fortunately, since the wood was still pretty green, making for a heavy load.  The welds of the shopping cart squeaked and moaned, my hair and smile flew crazy with the wind.  Eventually I arrived victorious, bogging down the small wheels in the loose gravel driveway.

I

unloaded and started savoring the sweet: winter fuel free of charge, bombing the last mile down smooth asphalt to return the cart, putting the cart back in the parking lot corral and imagining the story it was about to tell to all its metallic friends who were forced to spend the day under fluorescent lights and bar codes, a resourceful use of my body, sweet warmth to share with friends, food, and stories past and stories to be.  And a moment, when, a few weeks later, at the end of a day of mountain biking, I stand in the middle of my driveway, wielding the noble mountain man phallic known as a “splitting-maul”, taking a deep inhale between focused, zen-like chops, to observe the mountains’ rugged silhouette standing in front of a golden ember sunset glow.

Don’t tell Igor Tavella, but I’m preparing for a Despar shopping cart assault on Dolomite switchbacks.  Those Sud-Tirol folk are keen firewood stackers, and I imagine come summer there will be huts on the Sella ring in need of a few cords.


Feeding the beast, stoking the fire, fueling the flame, each adventure keeps the flame strong for the next.  The mountains have taught me many lessons, one of the most powerful being the truth of balance.  So with this, fellow bikers, hikers, skiers, and more, yodel loud and rejoice!  Whether it’s a wintry trip to the market or a full-on alpine escapade, the saltier your adventure, the more sweet the reward.

Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)
Shopping Cart Enlightenment5.052

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Posted in: Guest Contributor, Humor, Lifestyle, Personal Story.
Tagged:

Alex was our guest during last summer, so that's why he knows so much about me (Igor) ;-)

Filed under  //   deutsch   english   guests  

Winter 2009/2010 our offers

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March/März 2010:

Dolomiti SuperSun
Ski the Powder in March and April

Dolomiti SuperSun
Anschnallen und Abfahren im und April

And remember to take a look at our Last minute offers.

Und vergessen Sie nicht einen Blick auf unsere Last minute Angebote zu werfen.

Filed under  //   angebote   deutsch   english   offers  

And now the dessert is ready to go out

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With Chantilly Cream filled Crepes, glazed with Madagasar Chocolate and surrounded by Strawberries

Filed under  //   dolomites   english   food   newyear  

The appetizers for the special New Years dinner are ready

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Scallop rolled on 'Valeriana' salad bed with 'Bresaola' ravioli covered with Cheese Mousse and Rucola emulsion and a little Puff pastry with Asparagus and 'Porchetta' meat

Filed under  //   dolomites   english   food   newyear  

Perfect timing! Christmas decorations are ready and it's snowing right now

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We wish all our guests a nice holiday and Merry Christmas!!!

Filed under  //   christimas   dolomites   english  

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