Industry News
Dolomiti Superski, Italy will swing fully into the 2025–26 winter season this week as most of its remaining ski areas open between December 4 and 5. The announcement comes after a strong early start on November 29, when the first group of resorts opened with 42,000 first entries and 540,000 lift rides, a 6% increase over last year.
The timing is ideal: Italy’s early-December public holiday—the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8—creates a long weekend that marks the start of the Christmas season but also, unofficially, marks the start of the Italian ski season. For American readers, this holiday functions much like Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S.: schools are closed, many workplaces shut down, and families travel en masse to the mountains. As a result, early December is one of the Dolomites’ busiest early-season periods.
Beginning Thursday, December 4, the core Sella Ronda valleys—Alta Badia, Val Gardena–Alpe di Siusi, Val di Fassa and Carezza, and Arabba—will open their lifts and slopes, completing the circular ski route that links four Ladin-speaking valleys around the Sella massif.
These joins the resorts that opened on November 29:
- Kronplatz (Plan de Corones)
- 3 Cime Dolomites
- Val di Fiemme–Obereggen
- Zoldo (Civetta)
On December 5, most lifts in Cortina d’Ampezzo, San Martino di Castrozza–Passo Rolle, Rio Pusteria–Bressanone, Alpe Lusia–San Pellegrino, and Civetta will begin operating. Nearly the entire Dolomiti Superski network will be running ahead of the December 8 holiday weekend.
“Thanks to some of the most favorable weather conditions of the past 20 years, we managed to prepare a large number of slopes in a short time,” said Andy Varallo, President of Dolomiti Superski. “The investments made over the past decades confirm that we are on the right path.”
Dolomiti Superski—an umbrella network of 12 ski areas, 450 lifts, and 750+ miles (1,200 km) of runs—continues its aggressive modernization. For 2025–26, its cableway companies invested €215 million, funding:
- Replacement of 13 aging lifts with new high-speed systems
- Expansion and efficiency upgrades to snowmaking infrastructure
- Slope regrading and safety improvements in select areas
Those heading to Italian ski resorts this season should remember that Italy’s new national rule has gone into effect: helmets are now mandatory for all skiers and snowboarders, not just minors. Italy became the first European country to enforce a legal obligation for all skiers and snowboarders.
Since the 2021-22 season, Dolomiti Superski is part of the IKON pass offering, giving IKON pass holders seven-day combined access to Dolomiti Superski’s 12 mountains.
