Enjoying the Italian Cross Country Skiing
Cross Country Skiing unlike Alpine Skiing involves skiing around the countryside both uphill and downhill, while Alpine Skiing is only downhill. Cross country skiing is easier on the ecological balance of the environment as it doesn’t use a single trail for repeated action.
The Italian Alps are a favorite among skiers and snow sport enthusiasts and have innumerable ski resorts and trails along their expanse. Italians, as people, are known to hold skiing as dear to their hearts as they do food, drink and music. With improved facilities and agreeable accommodation options more and more tourists are beginning to make Italy a destination for winter skiing holidays.
The whole of the Italian Alps are divided into seven major regions namely; Piedmont, Trentino, Aosta Valley, Alto Adige, Lombardy and Friuli Venezia Giulia and each of these regions offers optimum Alpine and or Cross-Country skiing trails that have seen a serious influx in tourists. Outstanding sceneries, pine forests and Alpine Glaciers make these magnanimous mountains everybody’s favorite ski resort destination.
Dobbiaco enjoys pride of place in Italy for adventurous cross country skiing action. Set at 1200m amidst the picturesque Dolomites, Dobbiaco falls closer to the Austrian border and its inhabitants speak Italian as well as German with equal fluency. In fact Dobbiaco is called Toblach by the Germans.
The cross country tracks in this region are spread out among wide valley floors along kilometers of untouched trails that are best for beginners. There are also challenging tracks for professionals that start from a vantage point and lead across Cortino d’Ampezzo under the triple rocks of the majestic Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Prags and Sexten valleys that lie within the network offer challenging routes for intermediates. Likewise the Platzwiese Plateau has routes as high as 2000m.
Piedmont is another favorite ski destination for skiers from across the globe. Pragelato, Prali and Sestiere offer easy and hard cross country trails for all types of skiers. There are other snow activities of equal interest within this region for non skiers as well.
Apart from the above two Italy has a multitude of ski resorts and expanses that are used every winter for pleasure as well as sporting events. What makes Italian cross country skiing so popular is the fact that all ski expeditions are taken in safe and secure measures and duly avoid alpine forest areas that are prone to create mischief of any kind.
Additionally, cross-country skiing, by avoiding facilities such as ski lifts, graded pistes and or snow cannons creates a minimal impact on the environment. In the same vein most cross country ski holidays use country homes or family owned hotels as their accommodation options thereby avoiding the need to construct more buildings and tarnish the natural beauty of the region. These resorts also make use of locally sourced items to cook and serve food that is again made from local produce. Last but not least they are also known to recycle their waste.
