Heavy snowfalls up in the mountains allow Fondazione Cortina to prepare optimal tracks for the final act of the 2023-2024 Ski Mountaineering top circuit.
The event is set from April 6th to 10th. Emotional and ready to welcome especially the Italian team with Alba De Silvestro, who is currently third in the overall circuit standings.
After the two-day event in Schladming, Austria, the Ski Mountaineering World Cup experienced the last of its six stops for the 2023-2024 season last weekend. Now, following the stages in Val Thorens (France), Arinsal – La Massana (Andorra), Boí Taüll (Spain), Villars-sur-Ollon (Switzerland), Val Martello, and indeed Schladming, it’s time to focus on the finals.
The culmination of the Cup is scheduled from April 6th to 10th in Cortina d’Ampezzo, during the Cortina Skimo Cup, organized by Fondazione Cortina (the organizing body for major sporting events in the Ampezzo valley and the regional operational arm for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics) in collaboration with Guide Alpine Cortina (the Alpine Guides group), Scoiattoli Cortina, and Sci Club Cortina, with the support of the lift companies Ista Spa and Lagazuoi Spa.
The snowfalls characterizing this last part of winter brought abundant snow at higher altitudes. “Over a meter has fallen in recent days,” explains Federico Michielli, from the Guide Alpine Cortina, coordinator of the organizing staff for the finals. “These snowfalls will allow us to set up optimal trails, ensuring we can reach the top of Croda Negra (at an altitude of 2,580 meters), one of the most scenic stretches of the Individual race. Preparation of the course for the Individual race will begin around March 20th, after assessing the snow conditions, while for the Sprint and Mixed Relay, we’ll work on them in the days immediately preceding the event.”
The finals will kick off on Saturday, April 6th with the Vertical race. “The race will start near the Col Gallina refuge and end at Lagazuoi, just below the refuge,” says Michielli. “It will be a spectacular race both technically and in terms of landscape. Access for the public will be ensured, thanks to the agreement we’ve made with the lift company: the cable car will be in operation to take spectators to the summit.”
After the Vertical, the program for the Cortina d’Ampezzo World Cup finals includes the Individual race on Sunday, April 7th (starting and finishing near the Col Gallina refuge), the Sprint on Tuesday, April 9th, and the Mixed Relay on Wednesday, April 10th (for these last two competitions, the start and finish are also set near the Col Gallina refuge).
Start times for all races are set for 9:30 am.
There’s great anticipation for these finals, which showcase international ski mountaineering in Ampezzo after the valley hosted the Italian Cup and the Italian Championships in the past two seasons, all under the organization of Fondazione Cortina.
Great anticipation also surrounds the Italian athletes, especially Alba De Silvestro, the girl who feels at home in Cortina.
Not only because she grew up not far from the Queen of the Dolomites (precisely in Padola di Comelico Superiore), but also because she is part of the Youth Project, an initiative by Fondazione Cortina aimed at nurturing talents in winter sports grown in the Veneto region.
This project, which includes ski mountaineering, also involves Matteo Sostizzo from Vicenza, seeks to highlight local talents. “I’m thrilled to compete in Cortina,” says Alba De Silvestro, who has had an outstanding season and currently holds third place overall in the Cup, just a few points behind the leaders, French athletes Célia Perillat-Pessey and Emilie Harrop. “The four-day event in Cortina d’Ampezzo will be crucial for the World Cup. I’m currently third, and on the home snow, I aim to contend for something significant.“
