Snowkiting is a sport that in recent years has become increasingly popular in our country, so much so that it is now quite common to come across this fascinating discipline in our mountains.
Would you like to try it yourself but have no idea where to go for snowkiting? Here is a list of 10 excellent snowkiting spots in Italy. Of course the list is not exhaustive and to limit ourselves to only 10 spots we necessarily have to exclude many places, but we have tried to include spots scattered a little throughout Italy, so that it will not be difficult to find the most suitable location and maybe even a snowkiting school near you.
1. Roccaraso
When you say snowkite it is impossible not to think of Roccaraso, probably one of the best places to practice snowkiting in Italy. Roccaraso is located in the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, and here you will not find a single snowkite spot, but endless possibilities: from 1200m to 2100m there are many spots for snowkiting, reachable by car or ski lift, from choose depending on weather conditions and level as each spot has specific characteristics and works with different winds.
Here is a brief review of the main snowkiting spots in Roccaraso:
Pizzalto a small spot easily reachable from the road that connects Roccaraso - Pizzalto-Aremogna, without ski lifts.
Aremognaa very large spot of about 50km square, accessible with the Aremogna cable car.
Pratello can be reached by taking the Monte Pratello cable car and getting off on the right blue runway. The spot is very wide and runs along the entire track.
Valle Fredda is one of the best spots in the district, characterized by a flat part but also by slopes. Easily accessible from a large parking lot next to the Heidi refuge. From here the most expert can go back up to the gravare plants, and from there even get to the spot at altitude of the Aremogna.
Piana delle 5 Miglia is another very large spot accessible from the connecting road to the Monte Pratello lifts.
Here is a video to get an idea of ??
In Roccaraso there is the Snowkite Roccaraso school
2. Campo Imperatore
Campo Imperatore is another Mecca of Italian Snowkiting. an immense plateau on the slopes of the Gran Sasso massif where the southernmost glacier of Europe is located and which boasts peaks such as the Corno Grande which with its 2,914 dominates the whole Apennines. In this immense plain there is not a single spot but tens of kilometers to explore pulled by a sail.
At Campo Imperatore there are 3 main spots for snowkiting:
FONTE VETICA: an immense plateau reachable from Castel del Monte with bumps and slopes. It can be reached directly from the road.
RACOLLO: the spot of Piana Racollo, another huge plateau with bumps and slopes that can be reached from the SCINDARELLA road
at the top of the Scindarella chairlift it is reached by the ski lifts. From here you find yourself in front of a huge surfable plateau.
For information and courses www.gosnowkite.com and www.kitesporting.it
3. Ovindoli - Campo Felice
Let's stay in Abruzzo for another area of ??
CAMPO FELICE is an immense plain (cut in two by the road) at an altitude of 1530 meters.
OVINDOLI is another famous and incredibly rich area for snowkiting spots: many different spots for 1350 to 2200, with different accessibility and different wind exposure. The main spots include: VALLE D'ARANO, a flat spot near the town of Ovindoli and the road; GREENHOUSE OF CELANO; WIND IN THE WIND; ROCCA DI MEZZO, immense plateau north of Ovindoli, PIANI DI PEZZA, large and beautiful spot; HUT BRINN - Valley of the Sheets spot at the arrival of the chairlift of the same name; MONTEFREDDO spot for experts only at the arrival of the Montefreddo chairlift near the Telespazio refuge; MONTE SIRENTE a valley about 2km north of Ovindoli towards Valle d'Arano.
And here is a short video to get an idea of ??
For information and courses you can contact the two local schools: www.gosnowkite.com and www.kitesporting.it
4. Lake of Resia
Lake Resia is an artificial alpine lake located at 1,498 m above sea level in the municipality of Curon Venosta in South Tyrol, near the smaller lake of San Valentino. In winter both lakes freeze completely and are covered by about 40cm of ice and snow, making it the privileged stage for skaters and of course snowkiters. The spot for snowkiting is really wide being made up of the whole area between the Resia pass and below the San Valentino alla Muta lake. Every year, the Int. Snowkite Open, with freestyle and race disciplines.
On site there are 2 schools: the Proboarder snowkiting school and the Kiteschool Adrenaline
Here is a video to get an idea of ??
5. La Thuile
In Val d'Aosta the famous ski resort of La Thuile has a large snowkite area located at the Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo (2.188 m), exactly on the border between Italy and France, where you will find immaculate slopes with the imposing Mont Blanc behind The snowkite area of ??
The spot can be reached with the ski lifts, but a special snowkite convention is available.
There is a school on site: ask for Edy and his family.
Info: www.lathuile.it/snowkite
Here is a video showing how to reach the snowkite area in La Thuile:
6. Passo del Tonale
On the border between Lombardy and Trentino Alto Adige, surrounded by the Adamello - Presanella, Ortles Cevedale and Brenta groups, is the Passo del Tonale: another exceptional ski area that is also home to a renowned spot for snowkiting.
The Snowkite area of ??Parking is right in the area where the Valbiolo lifts depart, but it is not necessary to take ski lifts to access the snowkite area: it is right in front of the parking lot. The Snowkite area is divided into three zones with different characteristics and of increasing difficulty and is located in an area where the wind rarely misses, as does the snow.
Here is a video shot at the Tonale spot:
The school www.nikite.it is present on site
7. Colle della Maddalena
The Colle della Maddalena is located in the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont, right on the border with France. The spot that is located at a height of about 1900 meters is in an area well exposed to the winds that blow very frequently here.
The spot is divided into two parts: one on the side of the car park which is characterized by gentle slopes and is suitable for beginners, a part on the side of the frozen lake, on the opposite side of the refuge, more demanding.
8. Passo Giau
The Passo Giau which connects Cortina d'Ampezzo to Selva di Cadore in the province of Belluno, is considered one of the most beautiful passes in the Dolomites, probably because from its summit at 2236 m altitude, you can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view.
But Passo Giau is also one of the most famous spots for snowkiting, also thanks to the work of Michele Alì, founder of the Kite4freedom school that is present on the spot and has been working for years to spread this sport.
9. Piancavallaro
Going down towards central Italy, on Monte Cimone, there is the spot of Piancavallaro. The plateau of Piancavallaro at an altitude of 1800 meters is a large half-pipe spot: about 1500 meters long and 500 meters wide, slightly sloping along the length, with pro jump natural ramps in an enchanting setting. The spot can be reached with the ski lifts.
The inkite school is on site
Here is a video of the Piancavallaro commercial:
10. Corno del Renon
The Corno del Renon, in the province of Bolzano, is one of the best snowkiting spots in the Central Alps: an immense plateau at an altitude of 2200 meters. A very varied spot with wide flat stretches and other more challenging ones. Here you will have the possibility to surf for more than 10 km exploring the surroundings. The spot can be reached with the ski lifts.
Are there other Snowkite spots in Italy?
Of course yes, there are many more than 10 snowkiting spots in Italy, but as I anticipated I limited myself to just 10 spots because otherwise I would have ended up publishing this article after the break-up of the latest snows!
Moreover, to do snowkiting it is not necessarily necessary to limit yourself to the "official" areas. In theory, any open valley, plateau or snowy field is ideal for snowkiting. The important thing is obviously to make sure that there are no dangers of any kind such as pylons, fences, lakes or ponds covered only by a thin layer of ice that could easily give way and so on.
During outings in snowkiting, especially in locations far from the ski lifts and redoing it is easy to get carried away by exploring the places and the vastness of the spaces that are often available but it is always important to keep in mind that if you go away you have to then go back and the wind could even abandon us, or the fog could come, we could get lost, etc. In the high mountains there are many variables, it is not possible to improvise. The rules are the same as for a hike in the high mountains so, just to remind ourselves of some, never leave without proper equipment (which includes snowshoes or skins, gps, compass, appropriate clothing, arva ...) and without adequate winter hiking experience in the mountains, never alone, never without having warned someone of our excursion. Moreover it is good to keep in mind that where we are venturing there may not be shelters and mobile phones almost never take to the mountains, so we cannot rely on google map to orient us and go home !.
Moreover, writing it is certainly superfluous ... but better to specify it , it is forbidden to do snowkiting on the ski slopes and near the ski lifts, except for the areas dedicated to this discipline.
To deepen the research I suggest a site where over 100 snowkite spots have been reviewed: www.skitealp.altervista.org
Pubblicato il 11 febbraio 2019 | Blog > Spot: KITESURF | SNOWBOARD