Last Minute Trip to San Martino di Castrozza

Late winter in Trento is amazing. You still have plenty of snow in the mountains around, but when the warm weather comes from the south, you can get sunny 15C days in the valley. And that’s exactly what happened on this early march weekend.

We were already clocking in our first 60km cycling, when I got a text from my relatives saying they are coming to San Martino di Castrozza for a few days. It’s a smaller ski area that we haven’t been to yet, so I decided to give it a try.

Getting to San Martino di Castrozza

San Martino is an independent ski area on the south side of the Dolomites. You can either reach it from Val di Fiemme via Passo Rolle or you can come via the SS50 from the south - from Veneto.

North and South Route & Traffic

From Trento, it’s about 100km either way and it should take a little under 2 hours to get there. For the ambitious - if you leave by 6:30, you should be able to catch the first chair.

On that Sunday, I decided to go the north way. I took the A22 to Egna, from there I climbed over the mountains to Cavalese, and continued via Predazzo-Bellamonte-Rolle all the way to San Martino.

That route is pretty good, even when it’s snowing, and I know it well by now, the only issue is when you catch slow traffic. There is only a few spots where you can safely overtake and so you might end up having a involuntary slow scenic drive.

And that’s exactly what happened to me. In hindsight, the south route through Valsugana is probably a better choice since it doesn’t involve climbing any passes.

Parking in San Martino

In the end I managed to arrive on time, just before 9:30. I was happy to learn that all the ski parking lots in San Martino are still free and so I went directly to where we agreed to meet.

Even at 9:30 on Sunday there was still a ton of space left.

Skiing San Martino di Castrozza

First, there are 3 different places you can ski in San Martino:

1. There is a tiny tow-lift Pra delle Nasse on the north-west side of the town. That one is suitable for absolute beginner or the smallest skiers.
2. There is a gondola on the east side called Colvedere that has on blue and on red run next to it. It extends all the way to the saddle under Cima della Rosetta (2,700m) but there is no run on the upper part.
3. The rest on the west side of San Martino.

Since these three are not directly connected, it’s a no-brainer to just go to the west side that has everything.

Skiing San Martino as a beginner

Colbricon Express

We started our day at the Colbrincon Express - a new gondola servicing the nort-west Boneta valley. This area seems perfect for even the absolute beginners - skiers or snowboarders. The comfortable gondola takes away all the chairlift stress and there is a great blue run going through the valley. It’s wide, and the right amount of steep (read: not steep at all). It even splits into two halfway down, so you get some variety. The only thing is that it’s a little flat in the middle section, so on a soft snow, beginner snowboarders might struggle a bit. But that’s the right of passage anyways.

At the bottom there is a public bathroom at the gondola station. There is also a bunch of bars and a restaurant right by the parking lot. If you need a quick mid-session briefing, or a well deserved apres ski - don’t worry, you’re covered.

Tognola

The next obvious spot to hit as a beginner is the other side of the ski area byt the Tognola gondola (no 8.). From the top of the gondola, there are easy-going blue runs that go either to the modern 4-seater chairlift (no 10.). Or alternatively, you can hit one of the old-school three seater lifts (11. or 9.) around the snowpark. So you definitely get more variety up there.

At the bottom of the snowpark, by the chairlift no 9. there is a very lively bar stand that has basically everything you might ask for. Good beer, music, tables and sun-chairs in the sun, and killer sandwiches.

#TODO: Insert hut break

Once you’re done with your day, you have two options for getting down the mountain. If you gave it all and you don’t want to risk anything, you can take the Tognola gondola back down to your car. Or if you’re feeling spirited, you can take the 36/24 run down. It starts as a red, but the only steep part is very short and then it mellows into a blue and eventually it’s basically just a catwalk. Which might be good or bad news depending on if you’re a skier or a snowboarder.

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The only downside of San Martino for beginners is that the two sections - Colbricon and Tognola - don’t have any blue connections. The reds in between are nothing crazy, but it all depends on your level. But even so, you can just plan one day at each, and then maybe also spend some time on the blue 31 by the Colvedere gondola on the other side of the town and you’ll have a great couple days of working on your technique in San Martino.

Where to ski in San Martino if you mean business

I was initially a little skeptical because the ski area just looks too small on the map. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Punta Ces

After taking the Colbricon gondola, we only took the blue run halfway down to the four-seater chairlift (no 15.). From there, you have 2 choices. Either you take the long red no. 16, that links up with the blue at the top of the Colbricon gondola. or you go left and take the black 33 to red 14. That variant was unfortunately closed that Sunday so we took the red 16. That run was fun, it has some variety to it and most importantly, you ski with the views of the rugged peaks on the other side of the valley. Pretty scenic.

At the bottom, instead of taking the same chairlift, we took the old-school two-seater. It’s funky because it straddles the ridge, so it goes from both sides of the mountain and you exit at the top from either side. There are two red runs on the east side. They’re great because the slope is north-east facing and it doesn’t get destroyed by the sun even if it’s warm.

Once you’re done with those two chairlifts, it’s time to move on to the Tognola side. You do that by dropping west from either of the chairlifts. There’sa blue run and a red run that merge at the bottom. They are kind of meh. The only memorable thing about them is that at the bottom the chairlift passing over hangs incredibly low, and even though it’s safe, I was definitely worried about getting decapitated by the low hanging skis above me.

Tognola

If you survive, you take the gondola no 26. that goes to the top of Cima Tognola (2,383m). From there, you can do one (or more) lap on the red 19. It’s about 2km long and it’s fun. Or you drop in on the other side towards the Tognola basin.

We basically ended up doing 2 routes over and over again there. First, we wen’t from the top of Cima Tognola all the way down to the Tognola gondola linking the red slopes 28, 29, 24, and the blue 23. That adds up to over 4km in one go. Not bad for a small ski area like San Martino. Then we took the Tognola gondola up and from there we took the red 22 to black 22 which adds up to over 3 km of sustained steep terrain.

The only thing about this part is that it’s more south facing and so it get’s way more sun exposure. Great on a cold day, but if we’re talking spring skiing, you know the snow is not going to be good in the afternoon. So plan your day to hit these earlier than later.

TODO: Add lunch break

Summary: Is San Martino di Castrozza Worth It?

Definitely! I came there with low expectations on a very warm day and ended up snowboarding for 6 hours, lapping about 65km, without getting bored once. I could definitely spend a few days in San Martino alone. And if I got bored, Passo Rolle with some more skiing is only bout 15 minutes drive up. And if that’s not enough, Alpe Lusia is only 30 min away via Bellamonte.

The town of San Martino is very charming with plenty hotels and restaurants so it would make for a great base for at least a week of skiing. Last but not least, since it is kind of tucked away from the main areas ofthe Dolomites, it get’s considerably less busy.

Where to Stay in San Martino

I only came to San Martino for one day, but my relatives were staying at Hotel Regina Website Location Copy GPS . A historic hotel in the center of San Martino. It was quirky and had a lot of character but at the same time, their room was nice and clean, and there was even a swimming pool there.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for something else, here’s a map that can help.

Work in Progress

This section is still being crafted. Check back soon for more content!