Dolomiti Superski, many ski areas open but with few slopes

The lack of snow is striking at the heart of Italy’s largest ski area. The ski resorts of the Dolomites are suffering from the lack of snow, and even the state-of-the-art snowmaking systems seem powerless in the face of the absence of snowfall and above-average temperatures.

Although conditions are disastrous, some ski resorts have gritted their teeth and tried to open a few ski slopes, starting a rather unusual ski season.

Among the resorts that have already opened their first ski slopes we find: Val Gardena, Plan de Corones, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Alta Badia, Val di Fassa, Obereggen, Tre Valli, Val Racines (Valle Isarco).

Plan de Corones tops the rankings in terms of kilometers of ski slopes available: the staff report that 50 km are already skiable, and the webcams show that it is all the result of carefully planned snowmaking, put into action from the very first days of November.
Val Gardena hasn’t wasted any time either: it was the first to switch on its snow guns, and it has now managed to open 21 km of slopes. Here artificial snow is saving not only the start of the tourist season but also the start of the sporting season, with the World Cup races looming.

Although Cortina can boast only 4 km of open slopes, thanks to the Faloria the season of the Veneto resort has started in fair conditions. The “high” altitude provides sufficient conditions to continue the snowmaking program.

Bringing up the rear are Val di Fassa, Alta Badia, Obereggen, Tre Valli and Valle Isarco.
In these ski resorts only a few slopes have been opened, the only snow is artificial and the conditions are far from ideal. Last weekend in Obereggen people skied in the rain, and the other resorts are seeing their hard work undermined by high temperatures that prevent snowmaking.

The rest are:

• San Martino di Castrozza, where snow has fallen at the highest altitudes and the opening is scheduled for December 8
• Arabba, which plans to open its lifts on December 7 (Marmolada already well covered with snow)
• Civetta Ski plans to open on December 10