From Pila to Abetone race to upgrade cableways and snowmaking

In 2024, investments of more than 310 million will be made to increase the capacity of the ropeways and to be ready for the risk of a lack of snow. A record expenditure "the most important in the last 10 years. The sector is investing a lot and not only on the Olympic sites,' says Valeria Ghezzi, president of Anef-Confindustria. From the Alpine arc to Laceno, in the province of Avellino, work has been done to renovate the ski lifts and upgrade the systems for programmed snow. Among the various ski areas, the big spender is the Dolomiti Superski consortium, whose members have invested 120 million this year in cableways, snow cannons and snow groomers.

During the course of the year, some 40 ski resorts on the Peninsula renewed their infrastructure. 'The Italian market is seeing growth compared to last year in the area of ropeways and snowmaking systems,' explains Anton Seeber, President of the HTI Group. The Group sold Leitner ropeways for 140 million, some 80 new and used Prinoth snow groomers for 25 million, and Demaclenko snowmaking systems for another 20 million. Doppelmayr is a competitor that designs and manufactures ski lifts and has delivered 11 gondolas, chairlifts and ski lifts. As far as snowmaking is concerned, Wolfgang Psenner, sales manager of TechnoAlpin Italy, the leader in these solutions, adds: "Investments in snowmaking systems in Italy have been stable over the last three years, supported by an increasing demand for modernisation projects.

New additions to Dolomiti Superski include in Valdaora the Plateau 8-seater carenata chairlift that replaced the old 4-seater chairlift while in Corvara the Braia Fraida chairlift increases the hourly capacity. A new 6-seater chairlift for the Porzen on Monte Elmo while for the Malga Valcigolera trail in Rolle-San Martino Leitner has supplied a 10-seater gondola lift that replaces a 2-seater system.

Snowmaking systems have been upgraded everywhere: among the many construction sites closed are those in Val Gardena in the Monte Pana, Risaccia, and Piz Sella areas, in Cortina d'Ampezzo for the Tofanina, and in Arabba on the Antercrep slope. In Mottolino, Livigno, Doppelmayr has installed a 10-passenger gondola lift with heated seats, while the chairlift to Monte Sponda now has 8 seats and is the first in Lombardy, with a capacity of 3,200 people per hour. Strategic investment in two phases in Pila for the 10-seat Aosta-Couis gondola lift, which will make it possible to reach the 2,700-metre Stella del Couis refuge even from Aosta. In December 2025, all sections will be open.

In the 6 ski centres in Friuli, the facilities are owned by the Region, EUR 4.4 million were invested in order to strengthen, above all, the infrastructure for planned snow. As much as 2.5 million enabled the construction of a new water basin in the Ravascletto-Zoncolan area.