SunRisa: lifts at 07:15, breakfast at 2,079 m, Gran Risa before the crowd

Corvara in Badia, La Villa, San Cassiano

1. 6:50 am1

   Pass in hand at the Col Alt base, in the darkCorvara in Badia

   SunRisa needs nothing but an ordinary Dolomiti Superski pass — there is no separate ticket and no sign-up, which is why people assume it must be booked and then miss it. Have the pass already in your pocket the night before; nothing sells passes at 06:50.

2. 7:15 am2

   Col Alt chairlift, first cabin upCorvara in Badia

   Only a named handful open early — Col Alt, Costes dal Ega, Arlara and Piz Sorega from 07:15, then the plateau lifts (Bamby, La Fraina, Ciampai, Bioch, La Brancia, Braia Fraida) at 07:30. The Piz La Ila cable car does not open early at all, so do not stand at it. Check the Alta Badia events page for the exact date; it usually falls on the Monday of Ski World Cup week.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.8 km
3. 7:45 am3

   Breakfast at Ütia de Bioch on the PralongiàCorvara in Badia

   Five huts take part — Club Moritzino, I Tablá, Las Vegas Lodge, Ütia Bioch and Piz Arlara — and each is paired with one breakfast ingredient, so pick the hut by what you want to eat rather than by the map. Bioch cooks Niederkofler-influenced food and takes bookings on +39 329 5914008; call, do not email.

   3 min walk · 0 m
4. 9 am4

   The empty Pralongià plateau at first lightCorvara in Badia

   This is the payoff and it lasts about ninety minutes: wide, gentle, east-facing corduroy with the Sella pink behind you and nobody on it. Ski laps of Bioch and Braia Fraida rather than covering ground — the point is empty pistes, not distance.

5. 10:30 am5

   Gran Risa, La Villa — the World Cup giant slalom hillLa Villa

   Steeper than it looks from the bottom and much icier in the morning shade. Ski the top pitch, then move right onto the parallel red if your legs go — the mistake is committing to the full line on tired legs at the end of the day instead of doing it fresh at 10:30.

6. 12:30 pm6

   Lunch at Las Vegas Lodge above San CassianoSan Cassiano

   The Alta Badia huts run a proper wine list, not a ski-lunch one — ask for the Alto Adige whites by the glass rather than defaulting to beer. Reserve; the sun terrace is fully committed by 12:15 on any clear day in February.

   8 min by train or taxi · 2.2 km
7. 2:30 pm7

   Piz La Ila and the Movimënt slopesLa Villa

   Uncommitted — after a 06:50 start most people are finished by 14:30 and should say so. If you do keep going, Piz La Ila is the soft option and links straight back to La Villa for the bus.

   8 min by train or taxi · 3.1 km
8. 4 pm8

   Aperitivo in Corvara before the legs seizeCorvara in Badia

   One spritz and go — a 07:15 lift day ends with an early dinner, and the Ladin restaurants in Corvara seat their first sitting at 19:00. Book that table at breakfast, not at 18:30.