European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Resort Short on Charmf but guarantees Snow by j. King Cruger Northern Italy Bureau Why would anyone come skiing at a charmless cinder Block resort hidden away in one of Italy s coldest Corners the question posed itself to two visitors As they stood in the dark in a freezing wind and took in with a hurried glance All there was of the resort of Sella Nevea. Their drive from the Valley floor at Chius Forte up to the resort had been a 10-mile Corkscrew with More coils than a Slinky toy. A. A the answer to the question grew even More obtuse at dinner in Sella Nevea s sole pizzeria a place that served up such a diabolically awful pizza Diavola that the Devil himself could Well have Given a hand in preparing his namesake. Maybe people come Here for the april ski the visitors thought. No that certainly was not the Case unless several clutches of card players passed for night life in Sella Nevea. When the visitors turned in for the night they had no clue to the answer. With morning came great Gray Clouds and a biting wind. Sella Nevea grew Grimmer by the minute. The visitors in no hurry to hit the wind scoured slopes Dawdle Over Coffee in the Cable car station s restaurant. The restaurant s Only other customers turned out to be two . Army ski instructors. They had the answer. Quot Sella Nevea s attraction is that you can count on having Good Snow Here Quot said sgt. Steven Day co a 3rd in 325th inf regt airborne combat Tea Vicenza Italy. The 26-year-old Day an infantry team Leader had been skiing at Sella Nevea almost every Day for weeks while serving As a ski instructor in the 325th s annual cold weather training program. Although Day and fellow ski instructor pfc. Randal Gaulrapp 20, were on a Day s break from the cold weather training Camp at nearby Pontebbi they had come to Sella Nevea to get in yet another Day s skiing. The two ski instructors explained that the cold weather program is designed to give soldiers the Basic individual skills necessary to operate in an Arctic environment. They had been training troops in a continual two month Long rotation of 12-Day cycles. During that time All companies of the 3rd of the 325th would go through the training. The Pontebbi program also cycled through such diverse elements As two . Marine platoons from the aircraft Carrier John f. Kennedy a company of belgian paratroopers and various . Army units stationed throughout Germany. Gaulrapp said that much of the troops downhill training takes place at Sella Nevea and that it offers every thing from beginner slopes to a challenging 1.6. Mile Long run on its longest piste. As the instructors talked with the visitors the wind dropped to a whisper the Clouds vanished and the Sun burned brilliantly on the easternmost dolomites with their Rainbow coloured vertical Rock Walls and isolated Pinnacles that so make a photographer s Day. While Sella Nevea has a couple of modest runs served by drag lifts Starling nearly in the resort itself its prime # s4s Jim Oer Treim sgt Steven Day Waits for the right moment to tackle the 2.6 Kilometre run at the Sella Nevea Glacier. The area is a favorite practice run for Day who works As an army cold weather combat instructor. Skiing is reached by a Cable car that lifts skiers from gently forested slopes to the blanched and Bare Mountaintop. Sella Nevea with a reputation for being an especially cold spot is tucked away in the province of Udine in far northeastern Italy just below Austria and but a few Miles from Slovenia a breakaway Republic of the former Yugoslavia. Brooding Over Sella Nevea Are the Julian Alps totally in Slovenia. Sella Nevea s scenery is outrageous its skiing is fairly limited but would suffice for a Day s Outing or for a weekend break. Quot lots of italians and austrians come Here to ski plus quite a few hungarians Quot said Day a resident of Austin Texas no doubt the hungarians Are attracted to Sella Nevea by its Low costs. A single room with breakfast in the recently built sport hotel Povitz just a Short walk from the ski lifts at Sella Nevea Cost Only 55,000 lira just under $35 per night in Early february incidentally there is Lively night life to be found at the disco in this hotel s  tips a How to get there Sella Nevea is but a 20-minute drive off the autobahn Autostrada running Between Villacha Austria and Udine Italy and would make a Good ski break for anyone heading by car to and from Venice Italy. It is also less than a two hour drive from Aviano a in Northern Italy. A Best buy the ski pass for Sella Nevea can also be used at four other ski resorts a Forni Disopra Zon Colan Tarvis Iano and Pia Cavallo in northeastern Italy. Pia Cavallo is Only a 20 to 30-minute drive from Aviano a. Ski passes Are relatively inexpensive especially now that the . Dollar is performing so Well against italian currency. A Day s pass costs 33,000 lira about $21 on weekends and holidays and 28,000 lira about $18 on weekdays with half Day passes going for 26,000 and 21,000 lira about $16.50 and $13,30respectively. A j. King Cruger 6 stripes Magazine March 11,1993