On the Road with Flip Byrnes

travel.com.au Roving Reporter

Unable to resist the call of the Alps, Flip leaves France and heads back into a Cliffhanger at Cortina, Italy.

Ok, so you have all seen the movie, right? Cliffhanger, or, as they say here "Cliffer'anger", which involved Stallone blowing up some baddies, getting the girl, a sky diving pursuit and mountains. Loads and loads of beautiful, jaw dropping mountains.

If, like me, the only thing you wanted to know was where those mountains are, the answer is in the Dolomites, Italy and the ski resort epicenter of here is Cortina d"Ampezzo. Cortina is more chic than St Moritz, more chi-chi than Zermatt and sports more fur wearers per square inch than possibly any other place on the planet.

I, however, was here to board. The only problem with Cortina is that it is near..nowhere. A couple of hours from Venice, Innsbruck or Trieste, the 7 hour journey (3 trains, 1 bus), was worth it for the scenery alone, and we haven't even talked about the boarding yet.

Because Cortina is part of the biggest skiing area in the world. Read that again peoples, the world!! It is a bit overwhelming, in Cortina alone there are four ski/board areas, but the pass is valid at 12 ski areas (including some biggies such as Val Gardena and Alta Badia) and over 1000km cruising kilometers. Or put this way, like boarding from Sydney to Melbourne.

If you like culture with your sliding there are a number of unique routes to take (through the Gruppo Guide Alpina Cortina guide.cortina@dolomiti.org). One, the First World War Tour takes in the sites of the on-mountain battles that were fought here (most of the soldiers died of cold). For something more frivolous, do a 26km tour of 5 ski areas, over the Falzarego, Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campoigono passes. Or do a Ski Olympia Tour, taking in the pistes of the 1956 Olympics. Or throw away the map and just go riding!

Back in Cortina, there are over 80 restaurants (one boasting "le flipper" salad, surely a must) and if looking for a place to lay your weary head, before Turin, they were the last Italian city to host an Olympics in 1956, a fact they are advertising as the Olympics loom.

Won't make it here in winter? No problem, check it out in summer when the days are long, the trekking good and the mountain air just as sweet. For more info check out www.dolomiti.org.

Next trip? The last and third of a trio of ski resorts beginning with the letter C. Chamonix, Cortina and saving the best for last...Chatel.