
Arabba Marmolada
Arabba Marmolada: 63km slopes, 3,269m highest lift-served Dolomites. Home to La Bellunese 12km descent. Sellaronda access.
Arabba-Marmolada combines challenging terrain with spectacular Dolomite views, centred around the imposing Marmolada glacier—rising to 3,343 metres as the Dolomites' highest peak. The area delivers 63 kilometres of marked pistes with vertical drops exceeding 1,400 metres on north-facing slopes that maintain excellent snow quality.
Challenging black runs, including the demanding Fodoma descent, attract advanced skiers, while the resort's position on the Sella Ronda circuit provides access to over 500 kilometres of interconnected terrain. Arabba's remarkable scenery earned UNESCO World Heritage status, with distinctive pale limestone formations creating an extraordinary backdrop for technical skiing.
Arabba Marmolada has the biggest vertical in this batch, at 1,823 metres, from a 1,446-metre base up to a 3,269-metre summit on the Marmolada glacier. Sanity lists 43 runs over 63 kilometres, graded 37% beginner, 48% intermediate and 15% advanced, with no expert terrain. Despite that grading, the character is steeper than the numbers suggest, because many runs fall away on north-facing faces beneath Porta Vescovo and the Marmolada. Aerial trams, gondolas and a strong set of quad and six-seat chairs carry skiers up, and the area sits on the Sellaronda circuit.
The runs worth planning around are the black pistes above Arabba, including Fodoma, Sourasass and Variante Ornella, along with the Bellunese run from Punta Rocca on the Marmolada down to Malga Ciapela, a long glacier descent of many kilometres. Porta Vescovo gives reliable cold slopes and good cruising for intermediates. Off-piste lines exist beneath the lifts, but they need local knowledge and avalanche gear. The area suits strong intermediates, advanced skiers and anyone wanting big vertical and high-altitude skiing, and it is less suited to complete beginners.
The Arabba winter season typically extends from early December through late April, with the high-altitude Marmolada glacier often operating into May. The area receives approximately 4 metres of annual snowfall, supplemented by extensive snowmaking on lower elevations. January and February deliver consistently cold temperatures, preserving snow quality on Arabba's predominantly north-facing slopes.
The high alpine terrain around Marmolada offers exceptional late-season skiing with stable spring snow conditions and extended daylight hours. The resort follows the Dolomiti Superski calendar, with operations beginning on northeastern slopes before expanding to fully connect with the Sella Ronda circuit by mid-December.
Daily snow reports at Arabba Marmolada go back to 1996, 31 winters on the books. Open the record to compare winters, lifts and piste.
Situated in Veneto's Livinallongo del Col di Lana municipality, 100 kilometres north of Venice and 60 kilometres east of Bolzano, Arabba occupies a strategic position at the junction of four Dolomite valleys. The compact village centre sits at 1,600 metres elevation, featuring traditional Ladin architecture and mountain-focused facilities rather than extensive nightlife.
This authentic Alpine community maintains strong connections to regional culture through cuisine, language, and seasonal festivals. The resort's central location on the Sella Ronda circuit provides outstanding accessibility to neighbouring valleys, while its position beneath the Marmolada's north face ensures excellent snow preservation throughout winter.
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Halloween weekend brings a wet, windy storm to the Sierra Nevada. Our five-day forecast has Dodge Ridge on top with 19 in, followed by Bear Valley at 15 in and Mammoth Mountain at 12 in, with most of it landing on Saturday. A winter weather advisory covers the Tahoe Basin and Mono County until 7 AM Sunday, gusts could reach 47 mph and the freezing level swings between 4,900 and 8,700 ft, so some bases will see rain. A dry spell follows from Monday.

The Rockies get their first lift-served turns of the season early. Lake Louise opens Sunday 1 November, five days ahead of schedule, after a cold October and round-the-clock work from the snowmaking and mountain crews. Terrain is limited to Juniper Express Chair and Easy Street, with two small terrain parks and the beginner area for lessons. Opening-day tickets are over 60% off, with prices rising as more lifts open. First chair is at 9:30 am under the resort’s new lift hours.

A Tyrolean summit lift that has been carrying guests up the Kitzbüheler Horn since 1955 is on borrowed time. Its licence runs to 2045, but a new inspection rule has made refurbishment uneconomic, so Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel will spend around €15 million on a replacement on the same line. It should hold roughly 100 people and keep running in winds that would stop today’s lift. Building starts in autumn 2027, which makes this winter and next summer the last chances to ride the old one.

Niseko Village is replacing a lift from the early 1980s with an eight-person gondola, Tsugaike gets a six-person chairlift, Madarao joins the Ikon Pass and Togari opens Asia’s first private ski resort. Here’s what is actually new in Japan skiing for 2026/27, plus what is still a year or two away.

Colorado’s early-season dominoes keep falling. Arapahoe Basin opened on Wednesday, Keystone follows on Friday, and now Wolf Creek is joining in on Saturday 31 October, just in time for Halloween. A storm on 23 and 24 October left 20 inches of natural snow in the San Juans, and three lifts will turn from 9:00 am, covering about 30% of the mountain. Expect rocks, unmarked obstacles and open water, but also Local Appreciation lift tickets at $73 for adults.

Keystone is next. After Arapahoe Basin claimed the first chairlift skiing of the season on Wednesday, Keystone opens on Friday 30 October at 9:00 am with more than two miles of snowmaking-built terrain on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon, plus free donuts, coffee and a live DJ. Last year the order was reversed, when Keystone squeezed in a three-hour afternoon session to beat A-Basin by a day. Snowmaking has been running since 15 October.

Beaver Creek is getting ready for the biggest Birds of Prey ever, and this time it is not leaving the snow to chance. Crews started making snow on 27 October with 16 newly installed automated guns on the lower third of the course, after last December’s warm spell forced a downhill off the schedule. Seven races across two weekends run from 3 to 13 December, the most the course has hosted since its 1997 debut, and the guns start themselves whenever the weather allows.

Winter has officially started in North America, and it is one blue run long. On Wednesday 28 October, Arapahoe Basin fired up the Black Mountain Express at around 10:30 am after a surprise announcement just hours earlier, becoming the first major North American resort open for 2026/27. Cold nights, a dusting of natural snow and a lot of snowmaking made it happen in the resort’s 80th winter. More terrain is promised as the snow guns keep running.
Arabba's sophisticated lift network comprises 31 installations, highlighted by the Marmolada Cable Car rising in three stages to Punta Rocca at 3,265 metres—the highest lift-served point in the Dolomites. The system's strategic design emphasises access to challenging terrain with high-speed, detachable lifts covering key routes.
Continuous modernisation has introduced weather protection bubbles, heated seats on newer chairlifts, and expanded capacity at crucial junctions. The Porta Vescovo complex serves as a key hub, efficiently distributing skiers across the resort's varied sectors while providing essential connections to the broader Sella Ronda circuit.
More Arabba Marmolada intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.