Oli Brown
Tour Consultant
When Mike, Ski & Sports Tours Manager, told me I’d be part of the Tarvisio Inspection Visit this January, I couldn’t wait to get back on the slopes. So I dusted off my Rayburn Ski jacket, packed my bags and flew off to Italy.
As an avid skier, Tarvisio was surprisingly one resort I’d never visited before. Sitting in Manchester Airport waiting for my flight, I set myself the task of writing down what my pre-envisaged thoughts of the resort would be:
1. I knew, from speaking to colleagues who have visited Tarvisio before and looking at photos back at Rayburn HQ, that Tarvisio is a picturesque, traditional ski village
2. In terms of actual skiing, I knew Tarvisio had some challenging runs, but was most probably suited for beginners & intermediates
3. Being quite an affordable destination, I expected it to be perfectly suited for first time party leaders
After a pleasant flight and drive from the airport, we arrived in resort to be greeted by the beautiful village. It was exactly as I imagined – traditional and quaint, with nice restaurants, bars and shops to entertain groups when the ski day ends.
The purpose of the trip was to visit some new accommodation options and make sure the ski schools were fully prepared for all the groups visiting during February Half Term. In all honesty, we were so busy that I only had time for half an hour of skiing, which in itself was limited as visibility was quite low.
However, I found the beginner area was very well organised, had good progression for new skiers and the upper slopes were home to a couple of pretty testing runs (Di Pampero and ‘B’), which both took a few egos on the day!
Monte Lussari is a must for any group wanting that picture-perfect scene (see for yourself below!), made even better by the most delicious hot chocolate served at the top of the mountain.
The highlight of the Inspection Visit was definitely driving through the village on Friday morning, after around a foot of snow transformed the place overnight into a typical winter playground!
All in all, the visit was a huge success! We achieved all of our targets, I confirmed my pre-envisaged thoughts of Tarvisio and learnt a lot more than I thought. I can’t wait to get back – I just wish I could’ve spent more time on the slopes!