Video: An MTB Adventure in the Stunning Dolomites

 Depending on time of year they can be pretty empty. I have been to the hut you see at the end, its Rifugio Antermoia. We were hiking there in mid september a few years back and there was only two other couples at the hut that night. The valley they came up and over with Rifugio Vajolet, Rifugio Passo Principe and Rifugio Re Alberto sees more people but still wasn't busy by any means.

 @wilsonians: wow, that's surprising and good to know. Another reason to go! Thanks for the beta, I will look up those rifugios! I have had the Aosta valley on my bucket list for several years, I will need to extend the trip to visit this area as well!

 @fujisan: I have been to Aosta several times but not for riding unfortunately. They are both all-encompassing areas but vastly different and are far enough apart that youll want at least a full 10 days if not 2 weeks to hit both If you're in either area in mid-summer they can of course get busy as thats when everyone is on summer break in Europe. But shoulder season seems to slow things down really quick. Most of those huts you can reserve space ahead of time though.

 @fujisan The Dolomites are so vast that they genuinely don't get THAT busy, there's just so many places to go within them. August is typically the busiest time of the year as that's when Italians are on vacation. The first trail (2:45) is Tutti Frutti in Val di Fassa (Canazei), which is the Queen Stage of EWS. I raced it in EWS100 this year. And Aosta is awesome, I've ridden Cervinia bike park at the base of the Matterhorn and the scenery is absolutely epic. It doesn't matter where you go in the Dolomites, just go. Also, Paganella bike park is possibly the largest and the most dynamic park (yet few from North America have ever heard of it). I've spent a couple years in Italy, reach out to me if you have any questions. Global Trail Guide on Instagram / YouTube.

 @fujisan: I rode aosta valley back in 2016, with aosta valley freeride as guides. Totally worth it, look them up if you haven’t already

m.pinkbike.com/directory/10993/aosta-valley-freeride

 @IvanReid: Cervinia looks awesome! Great vids!

 @bravefart: totally! I came across them on pinkbike few years back and that's how I discovered the Aosta valley. We almost went in 2019 but with a family of 5 for a month it was just too expensive. We did a roadtrip to BC instead which wasn't bad at all , but I still dream of riding the Aosta alpine with mont Blanc and Les grandes Jorasses in the background!

 @fujisan: a road trip to BC sounds pretty damned good too!

The Aosta views are epic, the landscape bloody steep! Real European enduro stuff. You’ll love it. And lunches between rides in mountain huts… just fantastic.

 Well during the Italian holiday season all areas in the dolomites that are reachable by car (many passes), nearby huts and gondolas get very crowded.

 Just learned that in Spanish, a reunion can be like a gathering

 Have they ever not been? We came across a few MTB on the trails around Tre Cime in 2017, nobody seemed bothered so I assumed they were allowed. Admittedly Bolzano province rather than Canazei, but not too far away.