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February 29th, year of the pandemic.
The OKC Ski Club embarked on a whirlwind journey across the pond to test their mettle against the Italian Alps. The snow reports showed a nice foot+ dumping of snow to greet us shortly after our arrival and it didn’t disappoint. Although our first day had questionable visibility the dumping of snow was greatly appreciated. We skied for a couple days above the clouds and then broke out into several bluebird days. Each morning started with excellent food and super strong coffee at Hotel Menardi. Afterwards most ventured out for more skiing and the rest played tourists throughout the town and region. The City Center was just a short walk from the hotel which allowed everyone to pick and choose various shops, “patisseries”, and cafes to patronize.
Most nights we all had group dinner at the hotel that never disappointed. During one of our days we made a trip to the next valley to ski the Sella Ronda. While the mastiff was mostly shrouded in clouds for our day we had a glorious time making the 31 mile loop around the mountain on skis. There were a couple times we unclipped from our skies and had to cross the road to get on another lift. What an exhilarating day. Thankfully we only lost one person and he eventually found his way back to the starting point. As the week neared an end for part of the group that was heading back to the USA we unfortunately received bad news that the rest of us that had planned to visit Venice for the rest of the trip would not be allowed to enter Venice due to the governmental lockdown on the city. So the next best thing! Stay in Cortina for another three days and go skiing some more.
As a consolation for the diversion from Venice one of the local restaurants owners that was from Venice set us up with a “Italian Lunch” family style for eleven of us. We didn’t even get menus but yet all kinds of different seafood and wine just kept coming. Three hours later our feast was complete and we rolled ourselves back down to the hotel for a nap! That evening we had a really long happy hour that had the local semi pro hockey team join us for fellowship and commiseration regarding the suspending of the season due to the lockdown. They had one lone American on the team from Nebraska so it was fun to visit. While we spent the next day skiing we heard on one of the gondolas that this would be the last ski day of the season and shutdown of the all of the Italian mountains was commencing. World events were starting to kick into high gear needless to say. So we spent our last day doing a little bit of shopping and a large amount of the group had their own private cooking lesson at the hotel with the chefs. They made us all some amazing risotto, tiramisu, and the hotel broke out the private stash of Limoncello. That evening we all had our final dinner at the hotel and said our goodbyes to the staff and new friends. Our bus came to pick us up and we started our journey north across Austria as we heard the Sound of Music playing in the background. Ciao Italy.
Goodbye Europe.......
See you soon Red White and Blue. #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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Glad to hear you all snuck out just in time!
Self-quarantined once you get home?
Another wonderful day! We had our own private cooking class that starts with drinking presecco and snacks. After class our newly crowned master chefs fed the rest of us their creations. risotto, tiramisu, and a HIGH alcoholic Limon cello did some of us in. Some more shopping and it is time to pack.
Thanks to all the staff for making the trip such a wonderful time. Antonio, Andre, Alberto , Giuseppa, Michael, Elena, Flora, and Odelia. It never really felt like a hotel. It felt like we had a room in their large house. #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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The news has a lot of coverage about quarantines and restrictions in Italy. Glad you don’t seem to be impacted. Everything melting in the Adirondacks.
Are you able to get home?
What a fantastic ending.
Last ski day! We took a cab ride up to Falzarego and Cinque Torri to complete the "Super 8". The groomed runs were glorious and some seemed to never end. Especially when we unknowingly took a wrong turn and ended up in another town. However the run to Armentola was awesome and we were able to see a spectacular frozen waterfall coming out of the shear rock face. Thankfully the locals expect this and we were able to take another cab ride back up to Falzarego. This time we went the correct way and came across some of the Italian military training on the mountain (see video in comments). For us it was a wonderful day of skiing but a sad day also. We found out today was the last day of skiing for all of Italy as they have closed the ski areas for the season. Time to think about coming home....
#Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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Of course Jane Mudgett from Tulsa is the only woman in this day’s skiing group...
Are you going to be able to come home or will they keep the group there under quarantine? Randy Montgomery’s mother is wondering when he might be home.
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Wonderful day! Walking through town was quite the treat until "nap time" from 12:30-3pm. Amazing Italian family seafood lunch that was 7 courses and took 3 hours. Did we say amazing yet? Needless to say we didn't need a big dinner.
Semi pro hockey team that had the night off was at the hotel. A couple family members from the hotel play for them and we all had a blast visiting. They even have the token American player from Omaha Nebraska. #cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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give an update on your travel plans. people here are concerned about you
Day 6 had the sun gods shine on Cortina yet again. We had excellent visibility and excellent company. The day was stamped complete at the trip party that enjoined prosecco, various local appetizers, and our token Italian for the night. #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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Steamboat last summer.
Skied with a few them. Back in the. Day. Lol. Good to see the few I remember still out there doing good.
Yep I have skied with a few of them. Remember I grew up as a ski jumper at howlsen hill steamboat. Then mt. Werner down hill steamboat. I can almost ski ..
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OKC Members skiing Faloria #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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Great picture
Today the adventuresome club members conquered the Sella Ronda. If you get a chance look it up on Google maps in 3d mode to visualize the views. We traveled 31 miles through ski areas and small towns. Saw some interesting things along the way and only lost one person (he showed up by the end of the day.....headphones). Definitely need to come back again someday and explore this area more. Yummy food and deserts were had along with some grappa! #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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After the USA, the next best country in the world is Italy. Hands down.
Was that like a cross country ski route?
Wow hope I catch the next trip
Day 3 and 4 were polar opposites. Another 6"+ of afternoon snow created some visibility issues but the refills were wonderful. From groomers to off piste tree and waist deep powder runs all had a blast. We came back a bit wet from all the snow and the hotel dried all our gear for us. Some people found the local stuffed animal zoo at the city centre. Another evening of amazing food (have you had duck or veal or roasted fennel before?) and desserts lulled everyone to sleep.
We then woke up to sunshine and a bluebird day. Adventure was started at a new location of Faloria and Monte Cristallo. After a quick stop at the church we rode a cable car up to an absolute wonderland for the day. The views were amazing and smiles were had all day. Some ventured out of town for a sleigh ride through the countryside and forrest. Dinner was wonderful yet again.........and what follows amazing desserts again? Sleep. #cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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I’m missing all of you!! And would have had to self quarantine upon return, per our company policy that implemented yesterday. Glad it’s been wonderful!!!
Sounds great. I enjoyed Floria on a visit there. Crazy to ride a tram up to the base of the resort. Ski Apache in New Mexico should consider that.
I hope you encounter few problems when returning to the U.S.A.
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Day #2 in the books. Dinners and breakfasts are awesome at the hotel. The coffee is thick and the deserts will pack some pounds on if we aren't careful. Amazing how long hotel Menardi has been family owned and run. After our hearty breakfast meal the early first group posed for a picture across the street from the hotel and then headed off to ski the local Tofana slopes riding two magic carpets from the bus stop to the lift. Morning ski session was relatively clear with great views of the valley. After lunch the snow started coming and still hasn't let up 10 hours later. Afternoon ski session with refills the rest of the day. The final ski run of the day crossed 4 roads and a 2 foot narrow bridge across a river.....all on skis. To top it off who knew you would find a dog with a leather jacket in the grocery store.....evidently it's not an odd thing here. #cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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Looks amazing!!
Bus #2 on its way. Pow here we come! #Cortina2020 ... See MoreSee Less
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I hope you all have a safe and healthy trip. My wife and I took a trip to Cortina and had a great time! Who rides a tram up the mountain to the ski area? Cortina reminded me of Lake Placid, another former Olympics host. I would go back. We also visited Venice. Very interesting place. Have a great time!
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