Conditions Report
Report from July 6, 2025
Dal mare al monte—from the ocean to the mountain—was the motto of this week. One day, I was roasting in 38°C (100.4°F) on an Italian beach, and the next, I was skiing on a glacier, just a couple of hundred miles north.
Passo dello Stelvio, Italy, is one of only six summer-only ski resorts in the world, and the only one in the European Alps. Three other European summer-only resorts can be found in Norway, while one summer-only resort is situated in Japan and another in the United States. These resorts can only open in summer as the access roads are inaccessible during the winter months. Summer skiing at Stelvio has a long-standing tradition dating back to the early 1930s when the mountain hut Livrio was built, and the first ski courses were created.
Arriving at Stelvio, one can be forgiven for wondering where on earth you can ski. As one user on our recent Facebook post remarked, “Stelvio, summer only? I think not. Not a drop of snow on it in summer.” The famous pass road, once referred to as “the greatest driving road in the world” by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, cuts through the mountain ranges at an altitude of 2,758 meters (9,049 feet). However, the ski area only begins at this altitude and reaches a peak altitude of 3,450 meters (11,319 feet).
Call it journalistic integrity to prove to our valued reader that there is in fact snow, or just the die-hard skier in me, but when I realized I was only about an hour’s drive from Stelvio, I packed my skis in the car and roped in my husband for a roadtrip to the Swiss-Italian border.
We got up early to avoid the motorcycles and cyclists that we knew would be on the Stelvio Pass and got to Stelvio just after its 7:30 opening time (after some rather adventurous driving up the Umbrail Pass). A day pass is only €59 (plus a €5 fully refundable deposit for the key card), and we buckled up our ski boots and trudged to the first gondola.
The bottom tramway station, Passo Stelvio, sits at 2,760 meters (9,055 feet), and the Passo Stelvio-Trincerone tramway takes you to Trincerone at 3,050 meters (10,007 feet). After a hot June, there wasn’t enough snow left to ski at Trincerone, so we continued onto the next tramway, Trincerone-Livrio, which takes you to 3,140 meters (10,302 feet).
Once we got to Livrio, we were a bit confused. The glacier spread out in front of us, but there was no lift. In the past, two surface lifts, Geister 1 and 2, would take skiers up the glacier, but I knew from my own articles that the two lifts are currently being relocated to a new location. A mountain ops member on a skidoo informed us that a snow cat would take us across to the Naglerspitze (Punta Nagler), where we could ski down to the Pajer and Cristallo ski lifts, which also reach the highest lifted point of the resort at 3,450 meters (11,319 feet). From there, we were told we could ski back down to Livrio, but were reminded to stay on the piste as there were crevasses everywhere. Welcome to glacier skiing!
We got to sit in the front of the snow cat and were driven across to the operating lifts and got to talk about the current status of the Geister 1 and 2. It is evident from the twin bottom station that much of the glacier has eroded, forcing a relocation. Our snow cat driver told us that they were hoping to have them up and running by September but that progress was hindered by having to wait for the right permits from the Bolzano community.
We reached the other side of the ski area and clicked in our skis but were met by a wall of fog. Typical for this time of year, the driver explained. “Come back in September, there is fresh snow and blue skies,” he emphasized. We thanked him for the ride and made our way through the fog to the bottom station of the Payer run. We had a couple of runs with poor visibility but not before long did a break in the cloud lift the fog cover and we actually got to see where we were going. Yay!
After the extreme heat from June and last year’s excursion to Fonna, Norway, I was expecting more ice on the glacier, but there was a thick snow layer and conditions were great. Rather than slush, the snow was surprisingly firm and held up really well all morning. Being in the middle of summer, it naturally had not snowed in weeks, so the snow was looking grey, but it was not from the eroding snow exposing soil but rather airborne debris that had settled on the snow. Once you are on the poma, the depth of the snow cover on the glacier becomes clear. The lift has to be dug out each spring in time for summer operations, and the snow is easily 3 meters (10 feet) tall to your left and right.
Passo dello Stelvio is a mecca for ski racing teams who flock to the resort for summer training. Today was no exception, and we watched race training all over the mountain. While there isn’t much recreational ski area for the everyday skier, we were not the only skiers not in racing attire. Some keen skiers had even traversed up the mountain on skins.
While the ski area is not huge by European standards, it is an incredible experience to be skiing in the middle of summer on a glacier. Several signs remind you that you are on a glacier but you can find some holes even on the main piste that are obviously over meter-deep crevasses. The joy of skiing on this incredible glacier comes with the sad sidenote when you see the recline of the glacier with your own eyes. According to the AEM Foundation, the Forni glacier in the Stelvio National Park has decreased in thickness by about 70 meters (230 feet) in the last 80 years.
If you want to experience skiing on the glaciers at Passo Stelvio, the resort will be open until November 2 (or weather permitting). The access road closes for the winter if there is too much snow. The Stelvio Pass–Trincerone cable car and Trincerone–Livrio cable car operate daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. while the Pajer and Cristallo ski lifts operate from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
When we got back to the bottom station of the Stelvio-Trinecerone cable car, we found ourselves in the middle of the 200-year anniversary celebrations for the pass road. Forced to wait for the road re-opening in the afternoon, we enjoyed the local parades and bratwurst. What a fun way to end the ski day!
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