Ski Italy

Welcome to the Ski Italy page, providing a regular round-up of the skiing conditions and current snow reports for the main ski resorts in the Dolomites and Italian Alps. Over recent years some of the most favourable piste conditions throughout the season have been reported at Cervinia, Cortina, Val Senales, La Thuile and Livigno although in any given week or season the best slope conditions may be found at any of the other high Italian resorts or at lower elevation ski stations among the trees in poor weather.

For off-piste powder, resorts such as Selva Gardena, Livigno, Chiesa, Madesimo, Arabba have proven among the most consistent either for fairly regular snowfalls, northerly aspect or for not getting tracked out quickly but check out the reports below for the latest news. Although there is excellent terrain for skiing and snowboarding in Italy, the scope for freeriding is a little limited because going into forbidden areas can land you with a €50 fine plus it is illegal to go off-piste without an avalanche beacon and rescue equipment. This policy means that secret snow spots are very well guarded but check out friendly snowboard shops for some useful advice.

While the snowfalls experienced by most Italian ski resorts are generally no match for those resorts on the northern side of the Alps they feature strongly in the record snowfall events for most seasons. Snowfalls of up to about 1m (3ft+) often occur during single storm events late in the Italian season and resorts including Cervinia, Madonna di Campiglio, La Thuile and the Monterosa ski stations (Gressoney, Alagna) commonly figure in those records. Italy is more temperate than its northern neighbours and the tree line often reaches over 2000m, which is great skiing or boarding in flat light.

Italy has one of the most diverse selections of ski areas of any country in the world with Italian ski resorts ranging from Courmayeur in the country’s North West by the slopes of Western Europe’s highest mountain, to ski areas on the slopes of Mount Etna on the southern island of Sicily in the Mediteranean.

You can ski Italy in almost every part of the country too, with resorts offering cross-border skiing in to Slovenia in the North East, as well as ski areas inland from Rome in the south of the central mainland and in the Apennine mountains further north.

There is a great variety in the types of resorts you’ll find when you’re skiing in Italy too.  One of the most famous areas, the Via Lattea, or Milky Way, in the North West of the country, was host to most of the on-snow events for the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics. It includes cross border skiing to Montgenevre in France, is home to Sestrière (Via Lattea), which was one of the world’s first purpose built ski villages, created by the family than ran the Fiat car company in the 1930s, long before the first French purpose-built ski areas were constructed, and only a few decades after the first Italian ski resort started at Claviere (Via Lattea), another part of the Milky Way only a few kilometres away.

In the north eastern side of the country the Dolomiti Superski region contains more than 50 individual ski villages spread between a dozen valleys which together offer more than 1,200km of piste.  These resorts are however more like traditional Austrian villages on the whole, as much of the pass, which takes 25% of the entire Italian ski market on its own, is in an area called the South Tyrol which was once part of Austria.

The Dolomiti Superski area is one of the largest passes in the world and remains the biggest to offer a fully inter-changable lift pass from day one (larger coverage areas that have developed recently in Austria have more usage restrictions). It also contains the world’s second largest lift/piste inter-connected ski region after the 3 Valleys – the Sella Ronda. This is a famous 23km circuit around the huge Sella mountain massif from which valleys radiate off, such as the famous Val Gardena, as well as Badia – famous for its gourmet food, and Fassa. Altogether more than 500km of piste is linked, putting it ahead of the Milky Way.

Italian skiing is also famous for its value – typically 10 or 20% below the average price for resorts in each size category, and even more so for dining out and drinking on and off the mountain. The price saving is most marked on the shared ski area of Cervinia in Italy and Zermatt in Switzerland which can be skied for substantiually less if you buy your pass on the Italian rather than the Swiss side. You’ll also pay up to 75% less for a nice handmade espresso on the Italian side than for a self service machine produced beverage in Switzerland.

Mountain scenery is another Italian forte – from the rugged Alpine mountains of the Aosta Valley in the West to the spectacular pink precipices of the Dolomites, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
And there’s also that famous Italian sense of style epitomised by the country’s more exclusive resorts including Madonna di Campiglio and Cortina d’Ampezzo, but visible almost everywhere. read more...

Snow: next 3 days

Ski resorts in Italy from A to I

Resort	Webcam (click to zoom)	Top and bottom snow depth	On-piste	Off-piste	Forecast snow in next 3 days (click for forecast)	Weather forecast for 3 days ahead Weather report	Last snow
Abetone					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Ala di Stura					1 cm	Moderate rain (total 13.0mm), heaviest on Mon night
Alagna					7 cm	Moderate rain (total 16.0mm), heaviest on Mon night giving way to a moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Mon night
Alba di Canazei					11 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 10.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Alleghe					4 cm	Heavy rain (total 34.0mm), heaviest during Sat night. Later becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Alpe Devero					2 cm	Heavy rain (total 37.0mm), heaviest during Mon night. Later becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Tue morning
Alpe Di Siusi					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with light rain (total 6.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Andalo					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 10.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Antagnod					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 42.0mm), heaviest during Mon night
Anterselva/Antholz					1 cm	Heavy rain (total 40.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Later becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Antey Saint Andre					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 39.0mm), heaviest during Mon night
Aprica					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 12.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Arabba					18 cm	A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Sat night. Turning milder with moderate rain (total 11.0mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon
Asiago					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 17.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Auronzo Di Cadore					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 48.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Avelengo/Merano 2000					2 cm	A dusting of snow giving way to moderate rain (total 10.0mm) heaviest on Sun morning
Badia					18 cm	A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Sat night. Turning milder with moderate rain (total 11.0mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon
Bardonecchia					4 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Bellamonte Alpe Lusia					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 10.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Bormio					6 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 6.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Borno					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 20.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Brentonico					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 11.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Breuil-Cervinia Valtournenche					20 cm	A heavy fall of snow, heaviest during Mon night
Bruncu Spina					0 cm	Light rain (total 5.0mm), mostly falling on Tue morning
Bruneck-Olang-St Vigil					9 cm	Heavy rain (total 22.0mm), mainly falling Sat afternoon. Becoming colder with a light covering of snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon
Brunico/Bruneck					9 cm	Heavy rain (total 22.0mm), mainly falling Sat afternoon. Becoming colder with a light covering of snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon
Brusson					5 cm	Mild with moderate rain (total 18.0mm) on Mon night, Becoming colder with a light covering of snow, mostly falling on Mon night
Camigliatello Silano					0 cm	Light rain (total 5.0mm), mostly falling on Sat night
Campitello					11 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 11.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Campo di Giove					2 cm	A dusting of snow giving way to moderate rain (total 11.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Campo Felice-Rocca di Cambio					9 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Campo Imperatore					9 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with light rain (total 5.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Campo-Catino					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Canazei					15 cm	A light fall of snow, heaviest on Sat night. Turning milder with light rain (total 9.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Capracotta					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 11.0mm), heaviest on Sat night
Carezza					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Carona					10 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 2.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Caspoggio					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 9.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Castelrotto/Kastelruth					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 20.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Castione Della Presolana					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 7.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Cavalese					1 cm	Moderate rain (total 12.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Cesana Torinese (Via Lattea)					2 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 3.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Champoluc					8 cm	Moderate rain (total 16.0mm), heaviest on Mon night giving way to a moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Mon night
Champorcher					2 cm	A dusting of snow giving way to moderate rain (total 17.0mm) heaviest on Mon night
Chiesa					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 9.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Cimone					4 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Civetta					9 cm	Heavy rain (total 27.0mm), mainly falling Sat afternoon. Becoming colder with a light covering of snow, mostly falling on Sat night
Claviere (Via Lattea)					2 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 3.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Cogne					2 cm	A dusting of snow giving way to moderate rain (total 19.0mm) heaviest on Mon night
Colere					9 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Colle Isarco Gossensass					1 cm	Moderate rain (total 16.0mm) heaviest on Sat afternoon, then becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Comelico Superiore					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 50.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Conco					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 16.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Cortina					24 cm	A light fall of snow, heaviest on Sat night. Turning milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Mon afternoon
Corvara					17 cm	A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Sat night. Turning milder with moderate rain (total 12.0mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon
Courmayeur					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 8.0mm) on Mon night
Crissolo					1 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Cutigliano					6 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Dobbiaco/Toblach					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 49.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Enego					0 cm	Heavy rain (total 20.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon
Entracque					0 cm	Light rain (total 9.0mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon
Falcade					11 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat night. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 14.0mm) heaviest on Sun afternoon
Folgaria					1 cm	Light rain (total 9.0mm) at first, then becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Folgarida-Marilleva					2 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Fondo					0 cm	Light rain (total 8.0mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon
Foppolo					7 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Formazza					1 cm	Heavy rain (total 44.0mm), heaviest during Mon night
Forni Di Sopra					1 cm	Heavy rain (total 35.0mm), heaviest during Sat afternoon. Later becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Frabosa Soprana					1 cm	Light rain (total 5.0mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon
Frassinoro Piandelagotti					4 cm	A dusting of snow turning to light rain (total 4.0mm) on Sun afternoon
Gallio					0 cm	Moderate rain (total 17.0mm), heaviest on Sat afternoon
Gambarie in Aspromonte					0 cm	Mostly dry
Garessio 2000					1 cm	Light rain (total 3.0mm), mostly falling on Mon night
Gitschberg-Jochtal					8 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with moderate rain (total 11.0mm) heaviest on Mon afternoon
Gran Sasso					4 cm	Light rain (total 9.0mm) at first, then becoming colder with a dusting of snow on Sat night
Gressoney-la-Trinite					12 cm	A moderate fall of snow, heaviest on Mon night
Gressoney-Saint-Jean					1 cm	A dusting of snow. Milder later with heavy rain (total 36.0mm) on Mon night
Haider Alm					13 cm	A light covering of new snow, mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Becoming milder with light rain (total 8.0mm) on Mon night