Obereggen, the snow of the hag has arrived.
Obereggen, the situation
Obereggen, the snow of the Befana to the delight of children, families and operators. The Befana, who all holidays take away according to the popular saying, is giving sweet snowflakes to Obereggen in Val d’Ega, in the heart of the Dolomites, which has woken up under a gentle snowfall. More than 20 centimeters of snow have fallen since last night on the well-known South Tyrolean resort 20 minutes from Bolzano. In Obereggen, which is part of the Ski Center Latemar (with its Trentino sisters Pampeago and Predazzo), the snow of the Befana è has been greeted, opening the windows of hotels to the delight, first and foremost, of children and families who are spending the last days of the Christmas vacations before returning to their school desks and workplaces.
The heavy snowfall is a godsend for operators and lift companies such as Obereggen Latemar SpA, chaired by Siegfried Pichler and directed by Benjamin Kirchmaier, who have planned a full calendar of events in January. Starting with the traditional Night-Show, organized by the Ski and Snowboard School chaired by Thomas Prinoth, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 8 at 9:30 p.m. on the lighted slope near the Obereggen valley station.
Grand opening on Jan. 19, at night, with the Night-Shred on the lit slope: freestyle competition on the structures, boxes and rails in a race that promises to be spectacular, lighting up the night in Obereggen. During the day, athletes and fans will be protagonists in the snowpark, an Italian and international reference point for the joy of snowboarders. The facility will be the cradle of several sporting events. Starting with the prestigious Red Bull Hammers with Homies» scheduled for Feb. 3, organized by the Black Yeti sports club led by Marco Sampaoli. The event will be the only Italian qualifying stage for the world finals of the international circuit scheduled in the spring. On February 24, the snowpark will host a high-level competition, in jargon a team battle, dedicated to snowboarders who make creativity, style and competition their way of life. On March 23, it will be the turn of Go-Shred Bingo, organized by the German company of the same name from Stuttgart: obstacles of different levels will be set up on the slopestyle course with kickers. Winners will be declared the freeskiers and snowboarders who get all the tricks first, spectacular aerial evolutions.
Grand closing on April 6 with the Skolf Obereggen Snowpark, organized by the Bolzano Skateboardproject association chaired by Riccardo Larcher and coordinated by vice-president Andrea Coppola: the individual snowpark structures will be treated like holes on a golf course. To complete the hole, the rider will have to complete a specific trick on the structure and will be assigned a score depending on how many attempts he needs. In the end, as in golf, whoever will have totaled the fewest points (thus the fewest attempts used) will win the Skolf Obereggen Snowpark. The snowboarding and freestyle events follow the start of the sporting season in the South Tyrolean resort, marked by the 40th edition of the European Cup slalom. Held, as per tradition, on the Maierl slope and won by Swiss Schmidiger. Maierl slope (maximum slope gradient of 55 percent, elevation gain of 433 meters, length of 1.6 kilometers of slope), which is one of the six gems that make up the Latemar Sixpack in the heart of the Dolomites: literally the “abs of Latemar” that is, skiing on 6 of the best adrenaline slopes in the presence of Latemar, the pearl of the Dolomites. The others are the Oberholz, where the European Cup has been held for 34 editions: it can be reached, by chairlift, from 1550 meters at the Obereggen valley station to 2096 meters upstream, where the eponymous Oberholz hut, an architectural gem, makes a fine show. Its business card è inimitable: a length of no less than 2 kilometers and 750 meters, more than 500 meters of elevation gain. In Trentino’s Predazzo here is the slope on which Italian and other nations skiers often train: the Tower of Pisa. The slope è was so named in honor of the unmistakable Dolomite spire of Latemar and its refuge. This slope has the steepest gradient in the Ski Center Latemar, 60 percent, and a total elevation gain of 459 meters, enough to make its 1550-meter length suitable for expert skiers looking for strong thrills. Moving on, also in Predazzo, to the Five Nations, a challenging red slope with a maximum gradient of 50 percent, baptized with this high-sounding name to pay homage to those champions of the past who competed in the '70s in the international trophy of the same name. Then a gentle descent leads to the Pampeago valley station to reach Agnello: 2550 meters in length with a breathtaking variant and an elevation gain of 420 meters. And off to Obereggen in Alto Adige, strictly with skis or snowboard on your feet, but not before skiing on the Pala di Santa at 2315 meters of altitude, which becomes 2400 meters after taking the subsequent ski lift. Pure adrenaline in a picture-postcard panorama: the "Santa Wall" and its 58 percent gradient leave no doubt. From here we head to Obereggen. We are in South Tyrol to experience the thrill of the last 2 slopes of the Latemar Sixpack.
