Skiing in Passo Tonella, Italy (photo: Ziv Reinstein, editing: Nir Chen)
Quite a few places where you ski today - were once places where armies fought.
This was the case in the small Saint Bernard Pass near the town of La Rosière in the French Alps, when Hannibal set out to conquer Italy;
This was the case in Passo Tonale (Italian for "Tonella pass") in the Dolomites in northern Italy, when the Italians and the Austro-Nigerian army fought in the First World War;
And so it was even in our little Hermon, where the Syrians and we fought for quite a few years.
In all of them - the red fields were replaced by white slopes.
It is not for nothing that the war in Paso Tonla is called the "White War".
But since then, a lot of "powder" has passed on the slopes of the Dolomites, which are part of the Alps mountain range in Europe, and to the ski resorts of the Sella group in northern Italy, whose summit is Piz Boè (at an altitude of 3,151 meters). Families, couples and groups of skiers come to enjoy the snowy slopes in the beautiful valley between Passo Tunnel to Ponte Di Legno.
Pretty sleepy town, but offers great skiing.
Passo Tonla (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The mountains of war became ski slopes.
A monument to the fallen of World War I in the town (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Sites without snow?
not there
The snowy site promises 120 km of tracks, whose advertisers also promise an average of 70 percent of sunny days a year. And at the end of December, the promise was definitely fulfilled, with a fairly full week of sun that shone for most of the day, and set around five o'clock in the afternoon in pink-orange colors that the sky. Quite
a few publications, including on this site, have recently been about the paucity of snow in Europe this winter and ski resorts suffering from unprecedented heat peaks. Global warming is certainly taking its toll, but it must be noted that the ski season is only in its infancy and the well-known and popular resorts in Europe are loaded with good snow and skiers , certainly in France, Austria and Italy, where the skiing is at altitudes of 1,400 meters above sea level and above.
Passo Tonella (at 1,883 meters - the highest town in the Dolomites) is one of those sites where the snow is present and strong, although at this site, as in others, snow cannons are used to strengthen The white appearance on the slopes and strengthening of the original snow.
Paso Tonla is considered an excellent ski resort for families and beginners (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
There are also black tracks.
The gondola leading to the town of Punta di Lenio (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Surfing camp - the best thing for children (and especially for parents)
One of the advantages of a family site like Batonla is the possibility to surf together with the little ones, each in his/her own right, but during Israeli holidays, such as Hanukkah which has really passed and Passover which is really coming, camps are held at different levels of surfing - and in Hebrew.
That is, the guide is local-Italian, but each group of children is accompanied by an adult Israeli surfer, this time it was from the Skideal company, who translates the guide's instructions to the little ones.
The summer camp allows children to improve and be with peers of more or less the same age, and on the other hand for parents to go out for a few good hours (15:00-09:00) for independent surfing without worrying.
It is very nice to see from the cable car in the air, while you are on your way to another new sloop, convoys of colorful teletubbies gliding one after the other, and try to recognize your child and wave goodbye to them.
At the summer camp, the children are also taken care of for lunch, and at the end of the surfing day there are still two hours left for surfing together and exchanging experiences and "showing dad how much I have improved".
The summer camp is for an additional fee, of course, and at the end of the surfing week, the children receive a surfer's certificate in a nice closing ceremony and even as a gift.
Good for them, and especially for you.
Skideal guide with cute girls at the surfing camp (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
After the summer camp, the children and parents can surf together (for those who have more strength) (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
"It's black but like red"
Although Paso Tonla is considered an excellent ski resort for families and beginners - if you look deeper into the map of the routes and cable cars, you can easily reach the black runs as well.
And that's exactly what Yonatan, Ariel and Ilai did - three young snowboarders in their early 20s, who came to Tonla after purchasing a ski package for Bulgaria, and discovered that the snow had not yet fallen enough there and upgraded to snowy Italy.
On one of the days of surfing, they also took me with them to the black slopes between Passo Tonella and the town of Ponte di Legno.
"It's black but like red", they tried to convince me, "at most go down the slopes with braking slowly".
The thought of a hard fall on the pelvis of a man in his 40's definitely gripped me, but on the other hand it also created my adventurous spirit and marked a V on a black track that refused to give up.
And so we found ourselves starting to ski a blue track, "warming up" according to Yonatan, and after a little while we were already skiing a long track up to the Punta lift (1,256 meters), where we got on a cable car that goes up the mountain at an angle that looks like 90 degrees from below.
How do you know you're on a tough track?
The seats in the lift are dwindling: if the blue has 5-6 seats, then the Ponta lift has only two...
I finished the black safe and sound, with the babies watching over me, one in front and one in the back.
We continued to a nearby restaurant in Ponte di Lenio, and I returned to town on the first gondola I caught.
The three musketeers continued to the Presena glacier at an altitude of 3,069 meters, closer to God.
More in Walla!
To go skiing in Bulgaria will cost you 600 dollars, but in business
To the full article
120 km of tracks. A snowboarder in Paso Tonla (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The snowboarders rest.
Yonatan, Ariel and Ilai regulate their breathing between red and black (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The corner of disappointment
Beyond good surfing, which takes place once a week also at night, Tonla does not offer too many attractions.
In the town, as in any ski town, they mainly sell ski equipment, there is a supermarket or two, a small inn for alcohol and cigarettes (only there), a pretty bad Italian ice cream and a great chocolate shop.
As far as the hotels are concerned, don't expect the best accommodation here either.
The main and well-known hotel is "Miramonti", which offers accommodation in different types of family rooms - old ones with wooden furniture (where I stayed), but I also saw renovated and large family rooms.
But in terms of location, Mirmonti beats them all, since it is in front of an equipment rental shop and in front of two blue lifts - just cross the road and get on them.
In addition, the hotel has a warm pool and a hot jacuzzi (it's just a shame that you have to enter it from the age of 16).
In the food sector - don't expect greatness.
It turns out that the pizzas and pastas can also be ruined, even when you are in Italy, and especially when you eat in a hotel.
One place, however, had great, good food that was right on the surf site.
The "Redival" restaurant is the busiest place at lunchtime on the site.
They also come for lunch in the middle of the day of surfing, and the food is great (10-13 euros per dish), no matter what you take.
And a third of a barrel of beer will cost you 3.5 euros and half a liter 4.5 - you compare to Israel and you explode.
The pool at the Mirmonti Hotel.
It's a shame that the jacuzzi is from the age of 16 (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Many sunny days on the site, but sunsets are also worth it (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The sunsets at the end of a day of surfing are simply spectacular (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
As Israelis, we always find something to complain about and what is not accurate enough for us.
But I always maintain that a good skiing holiday is one where you come home safe and sound (from experience).
Everything else is a bonus.
And if you also get a few days of sun, cheap beer, a hotel close to the lift, reasonable pizza (in some places), high-quality snow, a ski camp for children and some new guys you meet on the way - what do we need because Nelin?!
How much does it cost you:
a 7-day vacation in January with Skidial will cost you from 1,249 euros per person, including flights, half-board hotel, transfers and a local escort (a big advantage).
The writer was a guest of Skidyl in Paso Tonla.
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