Ski Resorts in Italy
Skiing in Italy ranges from The Italian Alps and The Dolomites of northern Italy to Mt. Etna in Sicily on an active volcano. Some of the best skiing in the Alps is in Italy, even though it does not receive the alpine acclaim of Austria, France and the Swiss Alps. The Italians are passionate about their skiing, their food and their fashion - skiing in Italy is not about accumulating vertical - it's about looking stylish and enjoying the sun, the scenery and socializing in the mountains.
The Italian Dolomites, bordering Austria, offer incredibly alpine mountain scenery of the soaring jagged peaks amid the biggest collection of Italian skiing slopes and villages. Cortina d'Ampezzo and Val Gardena are the most well-known ski areas, beautiful villages in the Dolomite Super Ski Region that encompasses 1,200 kilometers of skiing among 12 unique ski areas and 450 lifts.
Courmayeur is on the opposite side of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) from France and the ski resort of Chamonix. Courmayeur is a wonderful alpine village and a top ski resort in Italy. Courmayeur’s peak, shared with Chamonix, is 9,064 feet.
Cervinia or Monte Cervino in Italy borders Zermatt, Switzerland. While not quite as charming as Zermatt, Cervino is less expensive, with wonderful Italian food, wide open gentler slopes, and cars are allowed, while they are not in the village of Zermatt. You can ski back and forth to Zermatt from Cervinia from the Klein Matterhorn on the Plateau Rosa. Cervinia is 6,725 feet, and the longest run is over 20km long, one of the longest in the world. the on mountain dining at Chalet Etoile is superb, especially on the sun deck with a view of the snowy slopes!
The Milky Way in Italy is massive, with six resorts extending over 400 kilometers with highest summit elevation of 7,815' bordering the French Italian mountains. While not as vast as the Dolomite Super Ski Region, Sauze d'Oulx Pragelato is the biggest among the Milky Way of Claviere, Sestriere, Cesana, and Montgenevre France. All these ski resorts are easily accessed from Torino, several of these Italian ski resorts hosted skiers during the 2006 Winter Olympics in nearby Piemonte. The Piedmont Region, in northwest Italy, offers 53 ski resorts - the best known skiing is Turin, or Torino, for hosting the 2006 Winter Olympics. Finally, Mt. Etna is an Italian ski resort located on Sicily's volcano.