Summer Ski Season Starts Soon in France and Italy
Summer Ski Season Starts Soon in France and Italy
Published : 27-May-2015 01:55
With work underway on new lifts on the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale in Italy, usually open for spring skiing through to June, it's believed there's currently no ski area open, with operating ski lifts and groomed pistes at least, in either France or Italy, assuming you don't include France's sole indoor snow slope at Amneville in the north East of the country where British speed skier Jan Farrell set a new indoor ski speed record last week, breaking the 65mph mark on the 620m long slope.
But French and Italian glacier areas are about to re-open for late spring and summer skiing and by the end of June, there'll be a choice of five areas operational again.
First to open, this Saturday May 30th, is Passo Stelvio in Italy, not far from Bormio - to which it is connected by a free bus service. Normally open in the summer and autumn only, its bottom lift station at 2760 metres, is the highest lift base in Europe, with trails up to 3450 metres, giving a near 700 metre vertical. The centre has 10 runs, all but one of which are graded 'red' or of intermediate/more difficult standard, the other is an easy trail.
This will be followed a week later on June 6th by the opening of the Pisaillas glacier above Val d'Isere, one of Europe's smallest summer ski areas which will operate for five weeks, weather permitting, to early July.
The larger French glacier options of Les 2 Alpes and Tignes will open two and three weeks later respectively on June 20th and 27th, 2015.
The latter date is when a second Italian summer snowsports option, Cervinia, re—opens for a 10 week spell when it will be possible to ski across the border in July and august to the year-round Klein Matterhorn snow slopes above Zermatt in Switzerland.
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