Skiing the Italian Dolomites During the 2026 Winter Olympics: What to Expect in Cortina with Enrico Geremia

The 2026 Winter Olympics put Italy's spectacular mountains firmly in the spotlight. With Cortina d’Ampezzo hosting the women's alpine skiing and Bormio hosting the men's events, skiers from around the world will have a rare opportunity to combine watching Olympic competition with a ski trip through some of the most beautiful mountains in Europe.

But there is a catch.

If your dream is to watch an Olympic downhill in the morning and then casually click into your skis and disappear onto the same mountain in the afternoon, you may want to rethink the plan. The Olympics bring security zones, restricted access, crowded roads, limited accommodations and enormous demand for restaurants and lift tickets. Cortina will be spectacular, but it won't necessarily be the easiest place to ski during the Games.

The good news? The Dolomites are enormous. And if you are willing to venture beyond Cortina, there is an extraordinary amount of skiing available.

That's the insider advice from Enrico Geremia, an IFMGA mountain guide who has spent more than 15 years guiding skiers and climbers throughout the Dolomites. His message is simple: enjoy the Olympics, but don't let the Olympics keep you from experiencing the mountains.

Cortina: Beautiful, Famous and Complicated

There may not be a more spectacular setting for Olympic skiing than Cortina d’Ampezzo. Located in the heart of the Dolomites, roughly 100 kilometers south of Austria and about 150 kilometers north of Venice, Cortina combines extraordinary mountain scenery with one of Italy's most charming resort towns. The skiing is excellent, the food is fantastic and the town has the kind of Italian atmosphere that makes it difficult to leave the mountain at the end of the day.

The problem in February 2026 is that everyone else will know it, too.

The women's alpine events will take place on the Tofana, meaning portions of the mountain will be closed to regular skiers. Security zones around the Olympic venues will also affect roads and movement through the town. Some days will have tighter restrictions than others, and even local guides won't know exactly how everything will work until closer to the Games.

That doesn't mean Cortina is off-limits. Far from it. Areas such as Cinque Torri and Faloria should remain available for skiing, providing visitors with plenty of opportunities to experience the Dolomites without entering the Olympic competition zones. The bigger issue may actually be getting around.

So if you already have tickets to an Olympic event in Cortina, go. Enjoy every second. But don't build your entire ski vacation around the assumption that Cortina will operate like a normal February.

The Sellaronda: Your Olympic Escape Route

One of the best alternatives is the famous Sellaronda, the enormous interconnected ski circuit linking several valleys of the Dolomites.

The route connects areas including Val Badia, Val di Fassa, Marmolada and Val Gardena, creating an extraordinary network of lifts and pistes. You can ski the circuit clockwise or counterclockwise and branch off to explore different areas along the way.

For someone visiting the Dolomites for the first time, the Sella Ronda is almost the perfect introduction. The scenery changes constantly, and the skiing gives you the opportunity to experience several different resorts without packing your bags every night.

During the Olympics, it could also be a smart strategy.

Rather than fighting Olympic traffic in Cortina every day, you can watch a race, then spend the next day skiing elsewhere in the Dolomites. You're still experiencing the region that makes the Olympics possible, but you're avoiding the biggest logistical headaches.

Go South for Less Traffic

Enrico's advice is particularly interesting for travelers planning a ski vacation around the Olympics: consider staying farther south.

The roads north of Cortina toward Val Badia and Val Pusteria are relatively limited, with only a couple of major connections. During the Olympics, those roads could become crowded, particularly when large numbers of spectators and workers are moving between venues.

Instead, areas such as San Martino di Castrozza, San Pellegrino and Civetta provide excellent alternatives with less direct exposure to the Olympic traffic.

Civetta alone offers around 100 kilometers of ski runs, and it is far enough away from the Olympic venues to provide a completely different atmosphere.

That may be the secret to the whole trip: don't try to squeeze yourself into the Olympic bubble.

San Martino, Civetta and the Lesser-Known Dolomites

The beauty of skiing in Italy is that there are so many places to choose from.

San Martino di Castrozza offers classic Dolomite scenery and a substantial ski area, while Civetta provides a more relaxed alternative with plenty of terrain. These destinations may not have the international profile of Cortina, but that can actually be their advantage during an Olympic winter.

You get the spectacular scenery without necessarily dealing with the same crowds.

And for many skiers, that's exactly what they want.

The Dolomites are not a destination where you need to chase the biggest vertical or the most famous lift. The real attraction is the combination of dramatic limestone peaks, beautifully groomed pistes, charming mountain villages and extraordinary food.

Come for the Skiing. Stay for Lunch.

If there is one rule you should follow in the Dolomites, it is this: never underestimate lunch.

Mountain restaurants throughout the region can be extraordinarily good. Val Badia and Val Gardena are home to several highly regarded restaurants, including Michelin-starred establishments, while traditional mountain huts serve hearty local dishes that are every bit as memorable. Enrico prefers the latter.

One of his favorites is Baita Dovich at the bottom of Marmolada, particularly for meat and venison. He also recommends Fodome Hut for traditional food and Rifugio Comici near Val Gardena for excellent fish and spectacular views.

There is just one problem. Everyone else knows about these places. During busy periods, reservations may need to be made a week in advance, and popular mountain restaurants can fill up quickly. So don't wait until you're halfway down the mountain, starving, to decide where you're having lunch.

Make It a Ski Safari

Perhaps the most intriguing option for an Olympic ski trip is to turn the vacation into a Dolomites ski safari.

Instead of staying in one resort, you move from valley to valley, skiing some of the best terrain in each area and spending nights in mountain huts. Your luggage is transferred from one accommodation to the next, so you only carry a small backpack while skiing.

The trips can be arranged for anywhere from three to seven days, allowing you to explore a substantial part of the Dolomites without constantly driving between resorts.

It's a completely different way to experience the region.

Rather than waking up, eating breakfast and heading to the same lift every morning, your surroundings change every day. You ski through different valleys, cross mountain passes and finish the afternoon at a mountain hut where your bag is waiting.

Ski Touring: The Ultimate Escape

For skiers who would rather get away from the crowds altogether, Enrico's favorite option is ski touring. Touring allows you to leave the lift system behind and explore quieter, wilder parts of the Dolomites. With skins, touring skis and a knowledgeable guide, you can climb into areas that see far fewer people than the major resorts.

For Enrico, that's the real attraction. He describes ski touring as his first passion because it allows him to experience the mountains away from the crowds and discover places that feel genuinely wild.

The Olympics may bring thousands of people to northern Italy, but you don't have to be one of them all the time.

What About Bormio?

Bormio, site of the men's Olympic alpine events, is a very different experience from Cortina. It is smaller, more traditional and located in the western Italian Alps, roughly five hours by car from Cortina. The skiing features impressive vertical and wide-open runs, but traveling between the two Olympic venues during the Games would be a significant undertaking.

For that reason, it's probably best to think of Cortina and Bormio as separate ski trips rather than trying to combine them into one seamless Olympic vacation.

There is simply too much distance and too much happening in each location.

The Best Time to Ski the Dolomites

Mid-February is normally an excellent time to ski the Dolomites, with good snow coverage and plenty of sunshine. January can also be excellent, although European and Italian holidays can bring larger crowds. For an Olympic trip, however, the period immediately after the Games may actually be more attractive.

Once the Olympic competition winds down toward the end of February, the restrictions begin to disappear, the crowds should ease and you still have weeks of winter skiing ahead. For skiers who don't need to watch every Olympic event in person, that could be the sweet spot.

The Italian Olympic Ski Trip to Remember

The 2026 Winter Olympics offer an extraordinary excuse to visit the Italian Alps, but the best trip may not be the one that keeps you closest to the Olympic venues.

Instead, think bigger.

Watch an Olympic race in Cortina. Ski the Sellaronda. Explore Civetta or San Martino di Castrozza. Have an unforgettable lunch in a mountain hut. Spend a night in a rifugio. Hire a guide and explore the backcountry. If you're an experienced ski tourer, leave the lifts behind and find a quieter corner of the Dolomites. Because the real magic of skiing in the Dolomites isn't simply the famous mountains you see from the lift.

It's discovering what lies beyond them.

Episode Transcript

Welcome back to Where to Ski. I'm your host, John Morgan. Today's episode takes us back to Italy.

Grab your skis. Let's go to the Olympics. About a month ago, a friend texted and asked if I wanted to go see the Olympic alpine ski events in Cortina and Bormeo and do some skiing in the Dolomites between watching the races.

I was psyched. It sounded like a ball. Did some research and reached out to some friends to see how that would play out.

What I found might surprise you. The Olympics in 2026 are based in Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, and two other clusters in Italy. Alpine skiing events are spread around Cortina for the women's events and Bormeo for the men's.

Cortina is the epicenter of the Dolomites. It's in northeast Italy, about 100 kilometers south of Austria and 150 kilometers north of Venice. Bormeo is in the northwest part of Italy, high in the Alps, just over the border from Austria to the north, and just over the pass from Samaritz, Switzerland.

Both have amazing skiing, and mid-February has the best chance for some really good ski days. Skiing in Cortina is spectacular. Probably has some of the world's most beautiful mountains as a backdrop.

Skiing on runs like the Tofana that lead into town. The town has incredible Italian food and is just amazing. Bormeo is smaller, less well-known, but it has huge vertical, wide-open runs, and is stunning.

It's really quite a traditional town. So how do you ski these when there's an Olympics going on? Well, it's not that easy. Bormeo and Cortina are about five hours driving from each other, so you have to sort of pick one or the other.

On top of that, there's exclusion zones in each of the towns, depending on what race is going on what day, how tight the security zones are. So the security zones are there to keep the athletes and the coaches and the spectators all safe. We get that.

But it also means you're not going to be able to go out and take a run on Tofana while you're there. So there'll be some things closed. You'll probably get some skiing in in the towns, but it's going to be tough.

Add to that some of the pricing for the individual events and the chance you may not be able to find a place to stay or eat. It could be a little tough. But we're in Northern Italy, and there's tons of towns up there with some lovely skiing.

So let's get past the downside and see what we can do. Joining me is Enrico Geremia. You may remember him from our Dolomites episode.

Enrico is a full-time IFMGA mountain guide based in the Dolomites, where he's guided skiers and climbers for over 15 years. He has a huge passion for this area and has deep knowledge of the towns and the mountains in Northern Italy. After a short break, we'll be back with Enrico.

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That's backcountry at backcountry.com. Hey, Enrico. Welcome back. How are things in the Dolomites? Hi, John.

Very good. Thank you to let me back to you. The Dolomites are great.

Now a little bit of snow. Fall, enough to do a little bit of ski touring, but I hope it's going to snow a little bit more for sure. Not enough to do everything now, but we have time.

It's still early. It's still early. I looked at some of the snow reports this morning and they're skiing, but it's still pretty light.

Are you excited to have the Olympics in like your hometown pretty much? Well, I don't know if I'm excited, but because I don't know what is going to be, sincerely. As well, who manages doesn't know who's going to be. For example, as well as the pass to drive around the Dolomites, around Cortina mostly, there are not really super good rules.

We are waiting as guides to understand what will be of our life. So let's go to see. Yeah, you sent me that website with the exclusion zones and that's pretty significant shutdowns they've got around Cortina.

Yes, there are some shutdowns mainly in the center. If you see carefully on the link of the pass where you can acquire the pass. For example, if you book a place where to stay in Cortina, you are allowed for sure to drive through Cortina.

There are some days, only some of the days of February, where it's very strict the area where you can pass, but for sure, if you book all around there, you have the possibility to move with the car. And another news that is probably will be ready a lift by the center of Cortina to carry up the people to Sucrepes, that is the place where they have to stay. So they have to do the activity, the female activity.

So probably will be less problem to drive in the center of Cortina. But at the moment, it's not really certain if they finish or not this lift. Let's go to see what happened in the few days we have in front.

Yeah, they've got all the women's events there and I assume that they're going to keep those hills closed all the way through the Olympics and probably through the Paralympics afterwards. So Cortina is sort of limited this year in terms of what you can ski there, right? Will be for sure limited, but some places will be open for skiers. The problem, I think, is not really to ski around Cortina because, for example, there are some places like Cinque Torri or the area on the other side of Cortina.

So that is not Tofana where they do the Olympics, but it will be open in Falloria, for example. There are some beautiful runs over there as well. I think it will be open and available for all the tourism.

There are all the areas of Tofana that probably will be shut down for normal people. For sure, the main problem, in my opinion, not only for the tourists, but as well for the people working there, for example, for me or for other people working for the tourism, will be moving from one place to the other, for sure. Just to tell you, the center of Cortina will be like that, just as well the road moving up to the pass of Alzarego will be not completely shut down.

It will be mostly open. So just checking by the website, you have some dates where you can check if it's open or closed as well for everybody, not only for the people with the pass. For sure.

Okay, I'm going to put that website actually in the show notes because that's got a lot of information on it. Yes, for sure. Well, the events, there's only so many events that they're going to have in Cortina.

There's a lot of skiing not that far from there and you specialize in the road show. You know all the Dolomites. So where would you go skiing if you're not going to go watch women's ski racing in Cortina and if you want to watch an event, that's great.

Then you can get out and go from town to town or something like that. Oh yes, there are a lot of places where to ski in the Dolomites. Saying that I know all the Dolomites is difficult, it's huge.

I'd like to know all the Dolomites, but I try year by year, I improve my knowledge. And for sure, one of the best areas around Cortina is all the places around the Salaronda. So all the valleys, Val Badia, Val di Fassa, as well as Marmolada and Val Gardena are all connected.

There are three or four valleys connected to the main Salaronda that more or less all people know. That is, they offer you the tour all around the Salaronda. The name is the famous Salaronda, you know, Salaronda.

Oh, everyone knows the Salaronda. Exactly. Salaronda you can do clockwise, counterclockwise and then visiting here and there.

I think the other places are more or less strict than Cortina. So if you want to watch live some Olympics and then move somewhere else to ski, there is this option that is very nice. Or there are some other options as well.

For example, San Martino di Castrozza offers a lot of nice skiing. San Martino di Castrozza is still in the Dolomites, is in the border. And as well, San Pellegrino or the Civetta area is actually in front of the new house I bought.

So I stay just in front of Civetta. Civetta offers like 100 kilometers of ski runs. And now it's open, for example, and not completely, but they are managing.

And so there are many places that are not really touched by the Olympics. And you can enjoy the ski run everywhere. Now, if you were to pick a place to take a group, say maybe around the Olympics for three or four days, what would be a route you'd think would be really fun? The Salaronda or would you go further afield than that? Well, yeah, Salaronda is nice for sure.

If you want to stay, you know that my job is a mountain guide. So I do as well ski run and the ski slope, the groom one. But actually the skiing, the Dolomites offer a lot of off-piste riding everywhere.

So using a bit of the lift, setting up the skin and a bit of backpacking with the ski on the back and enjoying some other activity. That is my main job. But for people who want to stay on the ski slope, this generally is good to let people seeing all the view.

And so the Salaronda is great. And then moving, for example, San Martino or the north part of the Dolomites, like San Candido, that is good as well. The north part, probably since the connection of the road, there is only two connections to the place where they do the Olympics by Cortina, will be as well crowded.

So if you want to avoid the crowded part, probably staying more on the south is better this time. Really, on the south? OK. Yeah, you know, the connection of the road from Cortina to go to the north in Valbadia or in Valpusteria, there are only two roads.

They rebuilt in the last year to make it safer for moving. If one is locked, they want to have the other one that is free. So there are mountain roads with a lot of hairpin and they make it larger.

They make it new. And yeah, that is the only connection with Valpusteria where the other the other Olympic games are made as well in the other area. And so probably it's more crowded for the traffic and so on.

And it's more close to Cortina. Do you ever go over toward Borneo at all? I've never been in Borneo. I want to say, yeah, but yeah, you know, it's far away.

But I went there in the area only for doing some other activity like climbing and so on in the valley. So never for skiing, sincerely. Borneo is not very big.

It's a pretty nice spot, but it's a small town. And there's only a limited amount that you can do there with the whole place locked down for ski racing and mountaineering and all. Exactly, exactly.

It's about what? Five. It's about a five hour drive from. More or less.

And with some paths to do so depends as well of the snow, because as well here in the Dolomites, you know, if you want to drive from a place to another as well, go to ski in a place or another. Sometimes for the snowfall, they lock the road for one day, maybe two days. It happens.

And for a problem, for example, last year, I depends three times in a year in a winter season, but for one day for one night. So enough to clean the road. Yeah, well, that happens.

That's that's mountain living. That's just the way it works. Yeah, for sure.

For sure. Yeah, you get you get the same anywhere you go. They can lock down the roads.

If it snows too much, they'll lock everything down. I don't really I don't really think of Borneo as being part of the Dolomites at all. It's sort of South Tirol more than the Dolomites.

Well, no, no, no. It's far away in the in the west part of the Alps. OK, more central part of the Alps and it's in a long valley where you have some other ski resorts here and there as well in Borneo.

But it's not in the Dolomites for sure. No, no, no. It's in the central.

Yeah, yeah. And what's it like in the Dolomites in mid-February? That's starting to get really nice. The snow should be good.

The sun should be out. Yeah, yeah. The January is OK month to ski.

Probably is the more popular month for the tourism. So because of the carnival, you know, so there are the holiday, Italian holiday and then European holiday more or less around that period. So it's more crowded and it's difficult as well for the Olympics.

So you have the boats in February. That is the main month Olympic Games. And, you know, here the accommodation are there are a lot of accommodation, but probably not enough for all the people who want to stay here.

Yeah, well, if you're going to try and stay in Cortina, I would hope you get something already. And, you know, I saw pictures online somewhere of what they're putting in for the athletes. They're bringing in trailers that hundreds of trailers for the athletes to stay in.

Yes. Yes. If they want to stay over there, because, you know, only voice by the bar, since they don't want to stay on that place that they set up.

But, you know, it's something I heard here and there. Nothing, nothing to rumor, rumor and innuendo. Yeah.

So if you stay out of Cortina, you mentioned a lot of places to go. One of the things about skiing in Italy is the food. Do you have any favorite restaurants up in some of the towns that you were talking about, like on the Sella Ronda or even where you'd go, where you go mountaineering? Well, you know, the restaurants are from a really high level, like free Michelin star, especially in Val Badia and Val Gardena.

So that places as well in Cortina. But so super expensive, super good food. You know, that kind of food that you stay sit for like three, four hours.

And so I don't like very much of that kind or just traditional food on the way. That is my favorite one, you know, more or less expensive. Good food was difficult to find bad food in Italy.

But, you know, sometimes if you if you are not careful, you can find, for example, one of my favorite on this side is Baitadovice, the bottom of Marmolada. Baitadovice, really nice for meat, deer meat. Venison? Yeah.

But yeah, like a steak. Yeah, very, very, very nice. And some other traditional food, like the Fodome Hut is very nice.

Along there, there are all places on the ski slope. So you can stay, you can stop when you want. It's important to book in advance, really, really in advance.

Some of these, the main one, for example, one of the main people like very much for the fish is a high quality level is a Refugio Comici. For example, Refugio Comici, you eat a very, very good fish up in the Dolomites. It's located in a position of super nice with a spectacular view.

Which town is it in? It's, I want to say, Val Gardena, at the top between Val Gardena, between Passo Gardena and Passo Sella, more or less. So on the way of the Sella Ronda. And it's a super nice food.

But as well over there, probably in the most crowded period, you have to book one week in advance. That far? That's, oh, it's popular. Yeah, it's a popular one.

Very, very one. So how booked are you? How booked are you during the season so far? You've booked all season already? Not everything. No, no.

I am free some week here and there. And then I am planning to move a little, you know, by the Dolomites as well. I like to travel.

So I'm planning to go in Japan probably at the end of January. And Norway for skiing and Georgia. What's the company that you do all your work through? I can't remember the name of the company that you work with.

I work for the organization of the tour up here in the Dolomites. I work with the Dolomite Mountains, which is a tour operator organizing the well-known ski safari. Ski safari, I don't know if you know, but it's a way, I think, really nice to move on all the ski resorts, I told you, because it's very difficult to understand where to go, more or less.

Or you go with a map all the time or you don't enjoy, sincerely, the view you are always checking. And so moving from one valley and then you stay in a hut, you spend the night there and then that is close to the ski slope, you know. And then you move another valley, you do all the best ski slopes in the area and then another one and so on.

You can plan like three until seven days all around. And they are very nice. The Dolomite Mountains are very nice because they plan really carefully, managing all the transfer between one hut to the other.

So you don't have to carry anything for you, just a small backpack if you want. So your bags just go from one place to the other every day, every day you move. Every day, every day.

And then you ski and you don't think to anything. Every night you find your bag at the hut and so you have all the necessary you need to stay for the night. It's very nice.

So that's an option during the Olympics to do a safari. Well, it's an option a bit stricter as well because all the area of Cortina probably is untouchable for that period. But the winter is very long.

After the end of February, the 23rd probably the Olympics is done. So you have all the time until Easter to do what you prefer. For sure, there is the option of ski touring on the same way, so without touching the lift.

It's a great option. You stay away doing, if you like ski touring, it's my first passion of skiing. The best way of visiting the mountain in a not crowded, you know, side.

There are no one. You can visit the wild place. Oh, and you're all by yourself out there, which is nice.

Yes, yes. It's what I prefer generally, yeah. You get really excited when you start talking about some of the ski touring, especially.

I mean, you've got a passion for the mountains that just doesn't give up. Oh, yeah, yeah. I love to be wild, to be wild.

Yeah, like the movie. Well, I just want to thank you for taking some time and talking us through the Olympics. It sounds like there's some options there in the Dolomites.

Even during the Olympics, you just have to get out of Cortina and explore a little bit. Thank you for taking the time. And you might see Enrico climbing in the Dolomites, or you might see him out all by himself with a tour.

If you want to contact him, the best way will be through the links on the website. And if you like our podcast, please share them and subscribe on our website, where to ski.org. It's free. Stay connected to us to listen to perspective on some of the world's best mountains from the legends that live there.

Thank you, Enrico. Thank you all. And thanks to the Grits for the music.