Presolana and Brentonico - ideal ski resorts for beginner skiers
Last week, Energy Travel’s Mike set out to Italy looking to discover more ski resorts to add to the Energy Travel portfolio. Presolana and Brentonico proved to be small, charming resorts that will be ideal for newer skiers and groups on a budget. Read more about how he got on…
I’ve skied every year of my life since being about 20 years old. I’m fortunate to have worked in the industry for many years but it had been 21 months since I’d last stood on a piste and it was a fantastic moment. Stood on the Cima Pora piste looking far down the valley, the sun piercing the cloud cover and providing that mystical feel that comes when you’re in the mountains, I knew what I’d been missing. No matter that there was more grass visible than snow (it was only November afterall), there’s nothing quite like the feeling of being at the top of a mountain!
My trip had begun 2 days earlier. I’d flown into Bergamo and transferred to Milan for one night. It’s a successful and vibrant city, planning for a successful future with bike lanes, pedestrianised zones and new food markets. Architecturally interesting, you can walk from the Mussolini-era ‘Stazione Centrale’ to one of the new ‘Bosco Verticale’ (literally a Vertical Forest) in just a few minutes. It’s a great place for a group to visit either on its way to the airport or for an overnight stay at the end of a ski trip and would provide a fantastic counterpoint to time spent in the mountains.
From Milan, I headed up to Presolana in the Bergamasche National Park, located north of Bergamo. Like many Italian ski resorts, Presolana is a town first and a ski resort second. This means it has a much more welcoming feel to it, even out of season, with traditional buildings lining the streets and local people preparing for the winter season to come.
We headed to the Casa Neve, a fantastic hotel right opposite the learner ski area. The hotel has excellent rooms of 2-5 beds, superb views across the to the pistes and communal areas including games room, cinema room with big screen and a bar to ensure evenings in are fun and relaxed.
Across the road is the hire shop and ski school meeting point, you can also see the local pizzeria and ice-rink from the front door and a guided walk on snow-shoes in the wood behind also takes you up to a mountain hut or ‘baita’ where you can experience something unique. If ‘convenience’ is part of your mantra for a ski week, I’ve never seen anywhere better!
From the Casa Neve, a short drive away is a second area of slopes covered on your liftpass. It’s likely that any group would split its time across the two areas providing diversity and interest for better skiers. The second area takes you up to Monte Pora, from the top of which you see some of the most spectacular views in the Bergamasche range. The slopes include numerous beginner areas as well as wide, open red runs which provide perfect progression. After a morning skiing and a hot lunch in the ‘rifugio’, the local English-speaking instructors will ensure all groups get the most from their time here.
The next day I headed to Brentonico, located north of Verona and within reach of Lake Garda. Heading up from the valley floor, you quickly reach 1,200m, the air thins and grows cold, and only an autumnal sun provides any warmth. Nestled here is the Hotel Bucaneve, an impressive structure that provides the beating heart for the local area.
First to the ski area. Offering 35km of pistes, the ski area at Brentonico which incorporates the villages of La Polsa and San Valentino, provides another incredible location for newer skiers to learn and love the sport. That isn’t to say that there isn’t anything for experienced skiers. The pistes here are narrower than in Presolana with some interesting looking runs and some free-ride ski areas too.
However, it’s the hotel that would make this the ideal location for a school ski trip. Located at the heart of the resort, within 30m of the nursery slopes as well as the main chairlift, the Hotel Bucaneve has large rooms, multiple communal areas, games rooms, discos, in-house ski hire and large swimming pool. The pool is no token gesture but rather a fantastic, indoor heated pool that would be a fantastic option for a group. Near to the hotel is the local pizzeria, ice-skating rink and snow-tubing. The local ski school will also organise a ‘fiaccolata’ ( torchlit descent) to add a real wow factor to any week.
Finding a location that has it all is rare. Once here, skiers can learn and progress throughout the week, taking the links over to other resorts and enjoy the beauty of skiing in the mountains. In the evening though, there’s no need to go anywhere. The Bucaneve has it all and it’s impossible to imagine school pupils leaving for home with anything but a heavy heart.
As it was, I’d enjoyed fantastic hosting from Matteo in Presolana and Nicola at the Hotel Bucaneve. Fingers and toes are crossed that they have good snow this winter. Both are confident that the Italian domestic market will be strong this winter but they also want UK groups to come and see their hotels for themselves and to take in the magic of their mountains.
I hope so too. It was incredible to be back in Italy and to receive such warm hospitality. I can’t wait to go back and I hope that when I return it will be with British school children, discovering the wonder of the mountains and the beauty of skiing.