Quick, Quick, Slow
Quick, Quick, Slow
Published : 20-Feb-2011 07:31
The historic 'Forcella Staunies' piste
Although 'slow skiing zones' have become favoured features at leading resorts across Italy this winter, expert downhillers will welcome the re-opening of one of the country's toughest pistes, the run nicknamed 'Black Vertigo' high above Cortina.
The historic 'Forcella Staunies' piste not only offers the biggest skiable vertical in the entire Dolomiti Superski area but with a dizzying initial pitch of 64% it's also the steepest.
The views are good too, the run descends between beautiful snow-capped peaks providing breathtaking views of the entire Ampezzo valley as you descend.
The piste was created in 1956 as a 'back up' for the Olympic downhill in case conditions down at resort level weren't great in the era when snowmaking was only just starting to take hold in New England, but wasn't widely used in the Alps.
The run descends from 3,000m through a steep, narrow gorge between two rocky cliffs, with a panorama where the sky and the earth appear to fuse together and spectacular views to the very centre of Cortina.
The piste is accessed by first taking the Rio Gere chairlift to Son Forca, from where you reach the Valgrande-Staunies chairlift. The slope plunges headlong down the slopes of Mount Cristallo, following a three kilometre (nearly two mile) long route down to Padeon at 1,982m altitude.
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