Ski area Schnals Valley Glacier

The ski area on the Schnals Valley Glacier is half an hour's drive from Naturno. The cable car takes you from Kurzras up to 3,212 m above sea level, where winter sports enthusiasts can enjoy around 42 kilometres of slopes and 13 lifts. Thanks to the altitude and the glacier, the ski area guarantees snow until spring. There are blue, red and black runs, so there is the right slope for everyone.

Pleasure skiers feel at home on the wide glacier slopes with easy and medium difficulty levels. The slopes near the Hintereis chairlift are bathed in the glorious glacier sun and the red pistes near the Lazaunhütte meander through the forest with great variety. Experts will find their challenge on the black slopes below the glacier lake lifts. The very young skiers, on the other hand, are gently introduced to skiing in Tiroli's Kinderland next to the valley station of the glacier lift with magic carpets and ski carousel. For night skiing, there are also two floodlit slopes to choose from here. If you're not a fan of the classic downhill runs on the slopes, you can head out into the open countryside. Not far from the valley station of the glacier cable car is the Val Senales Fun Park. It is aimed at freestyle beginners as well as slightly advanced skiers and convinces with a varied setup over a length of 700 metres.

The glacier is also a popular training area for international skiing and cross-country skiing national teams. The conditions for effective high-altitude training are ideal here and so, as early as September, the Grawand slope becomes a race track peppered with blue and red gates. Around 40 different courses are offered on the training grounds and since 2015 there has even been a rental service for goal poles and drills.

Another attractive ski region with over 330 kilometres of slopes is the Ortler Skiarena. Here you can ski in 15 ski areas with just one ski pass, including Schnals, Sulden am Ortler and Merano 2000.

Rules of conduct on ski pistes in Italy

In order to ensure safety on the ski pistes in Italy, new safety regulations will come into force from 2022. In order to use the ski areas, everyone must have liability insurance that covers damage to third parties. It will also be possible to take out this insurance on site for individual days. Drunken skiing is prohibited and punishable by heavy fines, with a maximum of 0.5 mg of alcohol per litre of blood. To reduce the risk of injury, helmets are also compulsory for all minors when skiing, snowboarding or tobogganing.

Après ski Naturno

In Naturno and its villages there is not much après-ski. Rather, pure relaxation, tranquillity and the active experience of winter reign here. There is a wide range of options for winter sports enthusiasts and active people, including tobogganing, winter hiking on the sunny slopes of the Sonnenberg, snowshoe hiking and cross-country skiing. Not far from Naturno, at the entrance to the Schnals Valley, on top of a hill is Juval Castle, one of the six museums of mountaineer Reinhold Messner. Here, several exciting art collections deal with the "myth of the mountain".

When the weather is inhospitable, a visit to the Naturno adventure pool is worthwhile. Those who place even more emphasis on the wellness factor will find another oasis of relaxation in the Merano Thermal Baths. Shopping after a day's skiing is also perfectly possible in the main town of Naturno, thanks to its versatile rows of shops. In the evening, you can fully concentrate on the epicurean delights in the numerous inns and restaurants. They serve traditional dishes such as dumplings, Schlutzkrapfen or strudel.

Snowpark: Funpark Val Senales Naturno

Not far from the valley station of the Schnals Valley Glacier Lift and right next to the Glockenlift is the Val Senales Funpark. The snow park was primarily designed for freestyle beginners and advanced riders and is therefore also a great introduction to the world of shredding for children and beginners. The park has been at this location since 2015 and is the only fun park in South Tyrol to offer an easy line specially designed for freestyle and snowboard beginners. Various boxes, from rainbow to wave to street down box, are distributed over a length of approx. 350 m, resulting in a versatile setup. In addition, there are six kickers with a table height of up to 2 m, which allow jumps of up to 3 m.

Is the Schnals Valley Glacier ski area not right for you? Then have a look here instead: Ski areas Italy