UKH

The winter Olympics are coming to the Dolomites in 2026 and the right wing Veneto government is using it as an excuse to expand ski infrastructure. 

The Dolomiti Superski area is one of the largest integrated ski areas in Europe if not the world with something like 1200km of piste. For years now it has been a dream for the developers and ski companies to create an uninterrupted route across the entire Dolomites. With the creation last yea of a high speed link between Pecol and Cinque Torri, it is now possible to ski from Cortina to Kastelruth, east to west without needing to use a car. Its a pretty astonishing piece of engineering and planning, and one which I, as a long time devotee of the Dolomites have mixed feelings about. The problem is that its not possible in both directions, and it also misses out two unlinked resorts to the south, Civetta and Falcade.

For many years now this has been the stated goal of the developers who show little regard for real environmentalism. In a UNESCO world heritage site there should be NO further development permitted and yet the Olympics have thrown this out. The latest project is to create a link between Passo Giau and Civetta, a cable car which would descend from Giau one of the most beautiful and unspoiled areas of the Dolomites down to Selva di Cadore and then over the valley to the ski area which covers three valleys with the main station being Alleghe.

It's VERY big money we are talking about here, billions of Euros and as we all know money talks. The developers say it will create a system which removes pollution from car travel. But anybody who has ever witnessed a ski lift being built will know that it involves lots and lots of concrete, steel, plastic and energy. Not to mention ripping apart forests, digging up the ground, creating snow cannons and water catchment lagoons.

This project is being painted as the sustainable option, when it's anything but. The reality is that there is already a vast amount of pistes and very few areas which have been left alone. Even Giau is already busy, summer and winter with tourists. But it will undoubtedly get worse.

Financed by the Venetian government, the "New Snow Plan of the Veneto Region"  it only benefits the tourism industry, and in particular an already incredibly wealthy ski consortium, whilst trashing biodiversity in an area explicitly protected by the EC Habitats Directive, amongst other protections including by the Italian state itself, which it seems is not enough to protect this beautiful area. If this plan comes to fruition it will see the destruction of yet another amazing valley.

I'm writing this post as campaigners need international support to put pressure on the powers that be. I'm not sure how much weight can be brought to bear, but saying nothing guarantees that they win and the mountains lose.

But surely its good news for locals? Unfortunately not really. Whilst it's true that lifts bring jobs and tourists, it also allows tourists to visit from the wealthier resorts without stopping in the quieter areas. The ski there and then leave, appreciating  the views but not actually spreading money. The vast majority of cash goes into the ski companies pockets and bypasses the locals. The locals desperately need tourism, but real, slow, local tourism which helps them.

And if this project goes ahead it will undoubtedly embolden the developers, who already have designs to complete their so called ski carousel, with a completely unsustainable link between Corvara and Passo Falzarego which would allow west to east travel, and another to link Passo San Pellegrino and Canazei, and finally another to erect a new cableway to the top of Marmolada, with a new piste down the already crumbling glacier.

Any suggestions of how we could raise awareness would be very welcome.

I'm not sure, but there may be campaigning charities who could offer good advice. Suing the Veneto government for failing on their own legal commitments would kick up a stink. Getting academics to write to newspapers. There may be other means. Reach out to organisations and hopefully new ideas will come with new connections.

Mike,

Thanks for bringing this up.  As a frequent past visitor (& your one-time one-off tenant) I would share all your concerns.  Trashing Passo Giau in particular would ruin a very special place.

I'd suggest some local or at least Italian points-of-contact are needed to align objections.  The only one I know of is Cuori di Ghiaccio, a fairly active FB group.  With your permission I'll copy your post in there & see if I get any feedback?  I assume there are also a number of CAI sections (& gli Scoiattoli?) interested?

Damian

Hi Damian, CAI is already very well aware of the situation, as are mountain wilderness and various other lobby groups. I suppose there might be someone at the BMC, Alpine Club or other such group who might have an interest in adding a voice. I suspect  the guys a Cuori di ghiaccio who might not know what's going on but I suspect many already do. 

Is the plan to create new pistes, or just connect existing pistes together? If the latte,r then is some sort of underground infrastructure acceptable?

Would the wealthier stop in the little resorts though?  Little resorts in the alps are already struggling, with many closed down over the years (especially if not snowsure). The decline of on-piste activities means the smaller resorts lack the economy of scale to fund their aging lift infrastructure and invariably close down when the lifts reach end of life.  I would suggest that the little resorts would benefit from the increased ski area that currently holds them back - people go to the bigger resorts for the piste area they offer, if the smaller resorts can offer that they'll gain custom.  Is there any evidence to support either theory? There are plenty of small resorts which have been connected to bigger ones.

It depends on the scheme you're talking about. The one at Passo Giau is as far as I am aware a cableway only. An underground structure would be impossible to complete as it involves a long descent followed by spanning a valley and going back up the other side so at some point you have to exit the mountain, atleast in the way they are currently planning it. And of course a cableway is much cheaper to construct than a tunnel.

My point is that the ski company who profits from the infrastructure and resulting environmental damage, doesn't have to contribute in any way to the local economy which means that although its sold as a benefit to locals, it doesn't actually mean that in reality. The people who go to small resorts do it because they like that smaller resort and will continue to do so. What will change is that there will be an influx of day visitors who don't really contribute much other than to the lift company. Currently the lift infrastructure is actually pretty good at Civetta and Falcade and it seems to me to be reasonably well subscribed. It's actually developers from the Cortina side who are keen for the link, not Civetta, so it's a way for them to claim an expansion for their clients rather than the other way. In addition to this there is currently a regular bus link.

In not so many years time there'll be no snow left to ski on.

Probably big business cashing in whilst they've got the chance. 

For sure. And when the lifts are no longer viable, who removes them?

Could you please provide links to the project or plans?

I completely agree that the connection from the Fedare-Averau chairlift crosses currently unspoilt terrain that also is not useful for skiing - rather low and facing south is not a good combination. A system of ski busses along existing roads would be completely sufficient - as have been between Pecol an Cinque Torri. 

There already is a bus link from Fedare to Pescul. I will ask my friend who has maps of the proposed schemes, I'm sure. 

The second proposal is to link Cherz to Passo Falzarego with a piste from Passo Setsass which is a WW1 site of incredible importance, and another down to Castello Andraz, a medieval castle and then a two way lift to Passo Falzarego. The piste on the Cherz side is completely unsustainable as the angle is too flat to hold snow well and is south acing so would rely entirely upon artificial snow. On the eastern side the terrain is really beautiful and is well known as a ski touring area.

Oh shit.

Indeed. The mayor of Arabba is fighting the second hard but if the first passes it will give the second real weight. And if that second one passes, there's the third and fourth. 3rd is a two way link from portovescovo to fedaia dam, then up past the old rifugio to just below marmolada summit with a piste extension between the summit an the hut. This would go over the glacier which is already being decimated by climate change. Its entirely political because its a way for the Trentini lift companies to gain access to the summit without crossed veneto land who have been blocking their applications because it would see tourists bypass the existing lift to get to marmolada, taking with it their dollars.

The fourth which I think is extremely unlikely would be to dig a tunnel from Canazeo to passo san Pellegrino. Facade San Pellegrino is a separated resort but I think the huge investment required would put them off.

I am pretty sure they will be fine with artificial snow in the future. From locals' water sources. In the already dry as hell Dolomites.

Oh shit indeed.

I admit it's heavily academic in style, but this article gives a useful broad overview of the issues across the Dolomites: https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/78/295/2023/

The drive for this mega-development confirms that (as predicted by some world-weary old cynics) giving the Dolomites World Heritage status has proved to be little more than a promotional gift to the tourism industry.  Sadly, this case and others tend to show that despite its high aspirations, World Heritage designation in practice too often confers virtually no defence against rampant  environmentally degrading commercial pressures.

I've spoken with my friend  who says he asked Mountain Wilderness, an environmental organisation who are very active in the Dolomites but they have been unable to obtain plans. However I did find this very poor picture in a newspaper article from this year. Once you compare it to Google maps with terrain turned on it looks t be from Rifugio Fedare down the valley to Colle Santa Lucia and then across the fiorentia valley to reach the Civetta Ski range in the Fertazza area. 

As somewhat of an aside I'm finding it harder in my head to justify lift based skiing.

Absolutely although I somewhat doubt that the majority of pistes skiers will find it within themselves to agree. Year on year I've watched as Audi tout their wares as the official sponsors of the FIS series, and as they illuminate Sasshonger above Corvara, hosting a driving experience not with their electric or green vehicles but with their high power RS series. Piste skiing really has very little to do with immersing yourself in nature these days as the marketeers would have you believe. And the obstacles to more environmentally aware forms being promoted are ever greater.

The whole thread is utterly depressing. I’m just about to head to the Superski area for my first ever ski holiday. Aged 58. Kinda finding it hard not to think I shouldn’t be.

Funny you say that as we did the first time ski resort thing just before Covid and I really didn't feel it after many years enjoying the mountains in quieter ways. It felt like a very different crowd to what we're used to on the mountains. Easy to caricature the skiing scene with the Audi stuff but having been there once, it's hard to disagree.

I agree that it's depressing. I have to admit before I started a business there I was really pretty unaware of the issues caused by ski tourism, or even summer tourism in the area. When you're on holiday you are so immersed in enjoying the beautiful scenery that you overlook what impact your choices have either environmentally or socially.

I still piste ski but much less so than in the past. Instead I skitour. Sometimes I will buy a points card so that I can use individual lifts, but in general I have reduced the amount of days of uplift I use. As a business I am working towards encouraging more sustainable forms of sport tourism, but I am only one in a sea of others who don't really care or don't know how to change, or even that they CAN change. The vast majority of people in the valleys don't have the money or the inclination to go into the mountains, they see them as a resource and that is a result of historical ways of thinking. Mountains were to be feared and you didn't venture far up. 

So what can you do to play a part? Yes you can not go. But IMO that doesn't actually achieve much, because one person is barely going to be missed. Instead a positive influence is required as a market will respond to people visiting and doing other things - snow shoeing, ski touring, ice climbing, cross country skiing. Businesses will promote those things and shift their model gradually. 

And yes I am neglecting travel being an inherently environmentally unfriendly thing to do, but I'm trying to balance reality (not everybody is going to stop travelling, not everybody is going to stop piste skiing) with environmental and social needs. So for example, spend a few days skiing, and then spend a few days snow shoeing or touring or ice climbing. Spread your tourism by visiting less known areas, and get away from the honeypots. Locals will be grateful for you custom and you will I can guarantee see a more authentic side of the area. 

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I was actually thinking of ice climbing in Val di Fassa on at least one day. But not sure I can afford a guide. My mates just want to ski. Shame as I’m with you on the ‘variety’ aspect of a holiday. The idea of doing the same thing every day on a holiday, just doesn’t sit with me. Not from an environmental aspect, just plain boredom.

How about snow shoeing? If you go round to alpe di siusi where you can quite easily do a really beautiful trip. There is a "snow bus" from Monte Pana. If you get off half way up you can walk up towards the deep valley between Sassolungo and Sassopiato. It's really incredible up there. You could end up at Berghaus Zallinger for lunch. Then they will loan you a toboggan which you can ride down to saltria, you just put your snowshoes on your pack and off you go. Then you get the snow bus back to Monte Pana. It's a really fun outing...

Thanks for the suggestion. My mates are also aware I want to take a couple of photo days. So I’ll def have a look at that. I was only planning on taking a 22l pack. Would that suffice? Also I assume I’d need some sort of hiking boots, as opposed to approach shoes?

Bummer. Quick google shows that’s the wrong side of the mountains for me, no transport from Canazei.

Bugger, just found a video of it for you...

https://youtu.be/TxS080heRxQ?si=b2t6DNf9qO-lmPAy

Might be worth getting a copy of James Rushforths ski touring and snowshoe guidebook. I think there are some snowshoe tours you could do on that side of the mountain...

Thanks. There are. I’ll do some more research.