The ski areas are almost countless, including such legendary destinations as Val Gardena, Alta Badia, the Hochpustertal, Kronplatz, Ratschings-Jaufen, Plose, Meran 2000, the Schnalstal, Sulden, and the Seiser Alm. South Tyrol is therefore regularly the venue for international winter sports events, from EC and World Cup races to World Championships.
The South Tyrolean winter sports areas are characterized not only by state-of-the-art infrastructure, ski lifts, and gastronomy, profiled ski schools, and excellent service, but each one can also boast at least one particularly prominent ski slope. One of the most famous slopes is of course the fantastic Saslong in Val Gardena. Since the Alpine Ski World Championships in 1970, the exciting men's downhill races have been taking place here, which are among the highlights of the World Cup winter every year. The Saslong with its famous camel humps is one of the "Big Five," the five classic men's downhill races - along with the Streif in Kitzbühel, the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, the Daille in Val d'Isère, and the Kreuzeck downhill in Garmisch. The list of winners includes the greatest downhill skiers from Franz Klammer (record holder with four wins), Christian Ghedina, Peter Müller, Michael Walchhofer, and Patrick Ortlieb to Bernhard Russi, Rob Boyd, or Franz Heinzer. One who never won on the Saslong is Hermann Mair.
About 20 km away is the second "classic" World Cup slope in South Tyrol, the Gran Risa in Alta Badia. Due to its steepness and often strong icing, the Gran Risa is considered one of the most difficult slopes of all. The giant slaloms and slaloms here are also among the absolute highlights in these disciplines, with the winner lists including top stars from Ingemar Stenmark to Bode Miller, Marc Giradelli, Kalle Pallander, and Michael von Grüningen to the four-time winner Alberto Tomba.
No World Cup races take place on the Trametsch in the Brixen-Plose ski area. However, this 9 km long and 1,400 m altitude difference slope is clearly the longest downhill run in South Tyrol and therefore places high demands on the condition of anyone who wants to ski it in one go. Enjoyment skiers, on the other hand, appreciate the great view of the Eisack Valley.
The steepest slope in South Tyrol is found in the Rotwandwiesen in Sexten ski area. The Holzwiesen descent with its 71% gradient is already a small test of courage. Also very steep is the Hernegg descent on the Kronplatz. This slope, "designed" by the Olympic champion and world champion Bernhard Russi, is the new showpiece of the ski mountain: 5 km in length, over 1,300 meters in altitude, and up to 68% gradient require both condition and skill.
You can follow historical traces in the Schnalstal: The so-called "Smuggler's Descent," the valley descent from the glacier ski area to Kurzras, runs along the old smuggler's paths, on which goods were once smuggled across the main Alpine ridge. With a length of 8 km, the Smuggler's Descent is also one of the longest slopes in South Tyrol.
A tip from ski instructor Vroni from South Tyrol. She loves the sun, the snow, loud laughter, and children.
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