Worldwide Ski Resorts • Italy • Santa Caterina
Overview
Santa Caterina, a traditional but high and snow sure village with 40km (25 miles) of trails, it links to Bormio as part of the Alta Valtellina Lift Pass system which gives skiing access to the slopes of Livigno and San Colombano too.
Profile
Santa Caterina, a traditional but high and snow sure village with 40km (25 miles) of trails, it links to Bormio as part of the Alta Valtellina Lift Pass system. Bormio’s 1792m (5879 feet) vertical is one of the three greatest in Italy, beaten only by Alagna and Cortina. This is not a vast inter-linked skiing domain however, more a place for those who love to get to the top of the mountain and then have huge long hassle-free descents of up to 14km (9miles) back down to the resort. The lower two thirds of the slopes are forested and protected by snow making. There is a choice of two routes up, each from the edge of town (there is a ski bus but many will find their accommodation a short walk away). The cable car ascends first to Bor-mio 2000 — the main nursery area with guaranteed snow. It then carries on to the summit of Cima Bianca from where there’s a choice of descents, including the long blue all the way to the bottom, which beginners might attempt by the end of their first week.
The second route up is to take the shorter gondola to Ciuk, then a chair to the Bormio 2000 area. Intermediates will enjoy Bormio the most with its long sweeping runs and fast easy routes. Experts have a more limited choice but the Pista Stelvio was the course for the Men’s Downhill in the 1995 World Championship. Bormio is part of the Alta Valtellina Lift Pass system which gives skiing access to the slopes of Livi-gno, Santa Caterina and San Colombano and with a six day pass you also get one free day over the border, which includes famous St Moritz. The resort where you’re most likely to make use of the pass is Bormio’s near neighbour Santa Caterina, a traditional but high and snow sure village with another 40km (25 miles) of trails. It is the home of former Olympic champion Deborah Campagnoni. On the other side of Bormio the San Colombano lifts serve another mixture of mostly easy and intermediate trails, with one black at Oga.
Mountain Information
Beginners will like the ski school and the good nursery runs. They may also be slightly daunted by the abundance of reds and blacks. There is a chairlift down from mid station but the lack of easy long runs to progress to may trouble some beginners. Intermediates will love the challenging long red runs and experts will be able to enjoy the blacks to their hearts content- as well as some stunning through the trees skiing.
Apres Ski
The après ski is subdued, however, which makes it great for families and others wishing to get away from the heaving bars found in some other resorts.
Italian Resort Guide
Resort Information • Santa Caterina
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Resort Height | 1737m |
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Top Station | 2725m |
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Bottom Station | 1737m |
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Vertical Descent | 988m |
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Drag Lifts | 7 |
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Chair Lifts | 1 |
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High Capacity | 0 |
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Opening Dates | Dec - April |
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Rating Expert | 5 |
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Rating Intermediate | 6 |
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Rating Beginner | 7 |
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Apres Ski Rating | 5 |
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Snow Reliability | 7 |
