Hotel Garni Festil , Val Di Fassa, Italy

We took a party of 13 male only group. The accommodation was a little cramped and we ate in the Rododendro acroos the road. Food was plentiful although not a great quality. The staff were pleasant. We were extremely lucky with the snow as it had snowed heavily the previous weeks and it was sunny for us all week with temps below zero - ideal. The ski bus stop was right outside the hotel and although they were packed we were still able to travel to the Campitello lift or the lifts 5 mins away in Canazie. We found the Sella Ronda was much more popular at the end of the week and queues were heavy. One trick during this time was to stay on the bus to Alba, give it a good bashing for a couple of hours and then return to Canazie to no queues. The slopes were deserted here and the run to Pozza was spectacular. We still managed to cross to Selva the same day and give the Mens downhill to Christina a try before making our way back - about 40 km for the day. Night life was fairly quiet in Campitello although we made our own fun, having a guitarist with us. It was the final night when our party found a lively nightclub called "The Tomato" hidden below the Cantinetta, near the lifts and earlier in the week we had a good night in Guilios cavern bar.- Say hello to a pleasant Danish girl called Annette. One other alternative in the morning would be to take the bus to Pozza in the opposite direction and start from there. Also on the arrival day, if you have a couple of hours, there is a slope behind the Rododendro to warm up on. In all we had a great week, the skiing was awesome and we enjoyed the fantastic scenery and mixing with the locals on occasions in the small bars in the centre of the village. The only downside was our rep who was anonymous all week stating that he was at the Rododendro every night at 5 - 6 pm , he had obviously not heard of "apres ski"! Have a good time everyone.

Keith Corbett