Italy Gets New Ropeways Ahead Of The Coming Ski Season. Modern LEITNER Systems For The Ultimate In Comfort And Safety
Italy’s ski resorts are gearing up fast for the coming winter season. And proven partner LEITNER is constructing numerous new ropeways that will help to increase quality, modernize the resorts and ensure safe transport.
Starting this coming season, a 10-passenger gondola lift will connect the pistes of the Tofane in Cortina, one of the most famous and distinctive mountain groups of the Dolomites in the province of Belluno, with the slopes of the Cinque Torri ski area. The new gondola lift, “Torri I and II”, will have 52 cabins and will span 4.5 kilometres over two sections, with a middle station in Cianzopè. The project is an essential element in developing tourism around the Cortina d’Ampezzo region. The gondola lift will also take a lot of traffic away from the busy road between Cortina and the Falzarego Pass. The new connection also has an important, strategic significance in view of the 2026 Olympic Games.
In Cortina, LEITNER has realized another project this year: In the Ra Valles area, at the foot of the Tofane, a 4-seater chairlift with bubbles from another ski area was repositioned. The installation replaces two old chairlifts and was modernized in the course of the repositioning.
Not far from Cortina, in the South Tyrolean ski resort 3 Zinnen Dolomites, LEITNER had already built the modern "Helmjet" gondola lift in 2020. The two-kilometer-long ropeway with the luxury cabins Symphony 10 was in operation for the first time this summer due to last winter's Covid regulations.
LEITNER is currently building a new 10-passenger gondola lift at the Ladurns ski resort near the Brenner Pass. Equipped with Diamond EVO premium cabins and DirectDrive, the system will soon replace an old chairlift and significantly reduce travel time while offering plenty of comfort. As well as a new middle station with one-sided access and featuring a new children’s area and a LEITNER surface lift, other renovations are being carried out along with the ropeway construction. A redesigned bottom station will include a ski rental shop, ski depots, a ski school office and new ticket counters. The ski area surrounding the middle station will be expanded to include a slope specially designed for beginners.
In the village of Colfosco in Val Badia, a modern 8-seater chairlift will replace a 4- seater chairlift which is now 30 years old. The “Sodlisia” chairlift, which features DirectDrive, has lockable safety bars, premium cushioning and bubbles and will make it far more comfortable to ascend in the ski area, which belongs to the Sella Ronda. A new premium station designed by Pininfarina is being built on the mountain, while the bottom station will be integrated into a newly constructed building which includes an underground vehicle magazine. The 8-seater chairlift will be capable of carrying up to 3,600 people per hour along its 785 meter length. In Alta Badia, the two chairlifts "La Brancia" and "Costoratta", which LEITNER had already built last year, will also be in operation this winter. As the Italian ski resorts had to remain closed last winter due to the Covid restrictions, these two chairlifts have not yet been in winter operation either.
Visitors to the Alto Sangro winter sports region in Abruzzo can also look forward to a new LEITNER 10-passenger gondola lift this coming winter. The new “Fontanile” gondola lift at the Monte Pratello Rivisondoli ski resort will replace a 4-seater chairlift, carrying twice as many people in greater comfort, with more wind stability, and reducing travel time by a third. Its construction is another step in the region’s modernization which began some years ago. Because it can transport mountain bikes, the new gondola lift is also geared towards increasing summer activity in the area. In Roccaraso, LEITNER had also built the new 10-passenger gondola lift "Pallottieri" last year. The installation will transport skiers for the first time next winter.
A new chairlift in Giro d’Italia colours and new surface lifts for beginners
The fixed-grip4-seater chairlift “Val di Nûf” built in the Ravascletto / Monte Zoncolan ski area in Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in 1998 will soon be making way for a new LEITNER chairlift. In the coming winter season, the region’s most famous peak, the 1,750 m Monte Zoncolan, will be attainable in the new “Giro d’Italia” 6-seater chairlift, which will be the first system of its type in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The ropeway’s exit is in exactly the same place as the end of the Monte Zoncolan stage of the Giro d’Italia, which is why six of the chairs will be designed in the pink of the renowned cycling race and each one will be dedicated to Monte Zoncolan stage winners.
In the Veneto region, LEITNER realized a new 6-seater chairlift on the Asiago plateau last year. However, this chairlift could also not be put into operation last winter due to the closed ski areas.
A total of five new surface lifts strongly focused on beginner skiers will be built by LEITNER in South Tyrol for the coming season. In Ratschings, the new “Abrahamwiese” surface lift will be used as a practice lift for ski schools and beginners in the valley. On Gitschberg, the “Pobist”, which will also be used by the ski school, will replace the existing surface lift and modernize the connection from Meransen to the ski resort. The new Maders ski lift will serve the village of Feldthurns, enabling children and newcomers to learn their first moves right on their doorstep. In Ladurns, the new “Holzstube” surface lift will provide an additional option around the middle station of the new gondola lift. In Pfelders, the “Zeppichl” surface lift will replace an existing surface lift, combined with a renewed ski slope, meaning upgraded transport and even more skiing fun.
