
3 Zinnen Dolomites: 115km slopes, 31 lifts, Italy's steepest piste. Award-winning South Tyrol resort in UNESCO Dolomites. Five mountains, one pass.
Rising dramatically in South Tyrol's eastern Dolomites, 3 Zinnen Dolomites offers 115 kilometres of perfectly groomed pistes across five interconnected ski areas within a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Named after the iconic Tre Cime di Lavaredo peaks visible throughout the resort, this award-winning destination combines Italian hospitality with Austrian alpine precision in a trilingual region where Italian, German, and Ladin cultures converge.
The terrain spans Monte Elmo, Stiergarten, Croda Rossa, Monte Baranci, and Passo Monte Croce, with elevations reaching 2,225 metres ensuring reliable conditions across predominantly intermediate slopes. Notable features include the Holzriese run with its 71% gradient—Italy's steepest groomed piste—and the legendary 34-kilometre Giro delle Cime ski circuit traversing all five mountains on a single lift pass.
3 Zinnen Dolomites spreads 82 runs across 86.4 km of piste of terrain. It leans beginner at 47%, with 39 beginner runs to find your feet and 7 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025/26 season operates from 28 November 2025 through 12 April 2026, with optimal snow conditions from January through March when full terrain access typically extends across all five mountains. The resort's northern Dolomite position captures snowfall from both Dolomite storms and overflow from Alpine weather systems, delivering above-average precipitation compared to southern Dolomite resorts.
Comprehensive snowmaking covers 100% of marked runs, ensuring consistent grooming quality throughout winter despite the relatively modest 1,130-metre base elevation. Monte Baranci offers floodlit night skiing every Tuesday and Friday from 7pm to 10pm, whilst spring brings extended sunshine hours with morning freeze-thaw cycles maintaining excellent conditions on higher north-facing slopes through early April.
Set in South Tyrol's Hochpustertal Valley near the Austrian border, 3 Zinnen Dolomites stretches across five distinctive villages including San Candido, Sesto, Dobbiaco, Villabassa, and Braies, each offering authentic alpine character with medieval architecture and boutique accommodation. The resort sits approximately 100 kilometres from Bolzano Airport, 130 kilometres from Innsbruck, 170 kilometres from Treviso, and 190 kilometres from Venice, with multiple access options via the A22 Brenner motorway.
The Ski Pustertal Express railway provides direct connections to lift stations at Versciaco, whilst regular bus services link all villages eliminating the need for personal vehicles. As part of the Dolomiti Superski network, the local pass grants access to 1,200 kilometres of terrain across 12 interconnected ski regions throughout the Dolomites.
Hotels and lodges near 3 Zinnen Dolomites, powered by Stay22.
3 Zinnen Dolomites's season typically runs from November 28 to April 12, roughly 135 days, weather and conditions permitting.
3 Zinnen Dolomites has about 86.4 km of piste across 82 runs.
3 Zinnen Dolomites operates 24 lifts in total.
3 Zinnen Dolomites averages around 138 inches (11.5 feet) of snowfall per season.
Lift tickets for 3 Zinnen Dolomites can be purchased directly from the resort online, or in person at the ticket office. See the full pricing breakdown on the lift tickets page.

Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.

Nassfeld is putting €13 million into a new 6-seater chairlift, the Tressdorfer Almbahn, connecting Sonnleitn with the Tressdorfer Alm from December 2026. It replaces three ageing drag lifts and will run through summer too, from June 2027, moving up to 2,500 people an hour on the roughly three-minute ride. It's the latest step in Carinthia's largest ski resort building out a genuine year-round offering, following last year's Gartnerkofelbahn gondola.

Italy's Stelvio Glacier has pulled the plug on summer skiing from August 15. It was the last lift-served ski option left standing in continental Europe, and now there's none. Operator SIFAS pointed to persistent heat, storms, and a snowpack that simply wasn't refreezing overnight anymore. The cable car keeps running. Whether skiing comes back later this summer depends on the weather turning - and right now, nobody's promising anything.

Firefighters saved every base building at Maverick Mountain, Montana, but the resort's sole chairlift didn't survive the Sand Creek Fire. Owners Erik and Kristi Borge say the lift is "most likely" out for the 2026/27 season after flames tore through the mountain on August 8. The wildfire has since grown past 27,700 acres with zero percent containment. It's a gutting result for the tiny, one-lift operation near Dillon - though the lodge, groomers and equipment all made it through untouched.

Fairmont is bringing its second Japanese property to Niseko, and this one's got history. The 165-room resort will rise on the site of the stalled La Plume project, which collapsed into bankruptcy in 2025 before J-Will Partners bought the site for redevelopment. Set between Mount Yotei and Mount Annupuri, it's slated for an early 2028 opening - putting it in play for the 2027/28 season. Expect two restaurants, a spa, onsen bathing, and a kids' club, a short drive from Niseko Village and Hirafu.

Saas-Fee is closing its glacier to summer skiing from Monday, August 10 - the second major Swiss resort to shut in under two weeks after Zermatt suspended operations on August 1. Persistent heat and warm nights that won't let the glacier refreeze are behind the call, per Saastal Bergbahnen. That leaves Italy's Stelvio as the only glacier ski area open in the Alps. Reopening could come as early as August 17, though nothing's confirmed - and racing teams are already looking south instead.

Silvretta Montafon wants to retire one of its most distinctive lifts. The plan: a single 10-person gondola running direct from Schruns to 1,870 metres, replacing both the two-stage Hochjoch cable car and the 1985 Kropfen chairlift in one move. Capacity jumps from 620 to 3,000 people an hour, and the mid-station transfer disappears entirely. The public hearing lands August 27, 2026 - construction hasn't been confirmed yet, though lift databases are pointing to 2027.

Dolomiti Superski's general assembly has unanimously re-elected Andy Varallo for a third consecutive term, running through 2029. Alongside the leadership renewal comes a bigger shift: a Smartpass that puts your ski pass on your smartphone, more AI in guest services, and an expanded Dolomiti Supersummer program. The 46-year-old Alta Badia cable car entrepreneur says the region's marketing is moving beyond skiing alone, toward positioning the Dolomites as a year-round destination.