On the way on the Park Avenue of the Dolomites: Between the Lagazuoi mountain and the Alta Badia valley, Oliver Creutz sinks into devotion.
Many ski areas are characterized by the fact that their slopes are designed like expressways. You drive and collect kilometers. But there’s often not really anything to see there – after all, you always have to keep your eyes on the slopes while whizzing. Just like when hiking in the high mountains – a moment’s inattention could have unpleasant consequences.
But in the Dolomites, the mountain formation in the north of Italy, the eye always wants to wander into the distance, to take in the rocks that shoot into the sky like flames. Anyone who comes here to race is about as out of place as a jet ski driver in Venice. In a place like this, even the biggest piste pig can sink into devotion: on the Lagazuoi, a mountain around 2,800 meters high, a steep tower whose valley station can be reached via a pass road with many curves.
A descent leads down from the summit of Lagazuoi, which one would like to call the Park Avenue of the mountains: You won’t find more splendor than on the Armentarola piste, a majestic 8.5 kilometers long, even in the flamboyant Dolomites. What we need: a day ski pass, enough change, which will be necessary in several places. And a little patience, because shortly after opening the cable car is besieged by longing people who want nothing but to go up.