Snowshoeing & Winter Walking Holidays

Snowshoeing is one of the Val Aurina’s big attractions, and we are delighted that our partnership with the Hotel Drumlerhof represents a magical winter adventure in a destination largely free of downhill skiing. Loomed over by magisterial 3000m peaks, this is the perfect gateway to heart-warming snowy landscapes of glistening white pastures and enchanting woodland, where the silence is overwhelming, and the pure cold air generates joy and energy under sunny blue skies.

We will make the best local snowshoe hikes available to you. With the help of our friends at the Hotel Drumlerhof, we have identified the Top 5 intermediate/harder routes and the Top 5 easier routes – and there are more to choose from. With excellent waymarking, route notes, our smartphone navigation app and support from the hotel team, all itineraries can be self-guided, but there is the option to be guided on the intermediate/harder options – see below. Many of these excursions involve snowshoeing to a mountain lodge (rifugio), where you can enjoy refreshment and hearty food, either outside on panoramic sun terraces, or inside amidst warm and cosy Tyrolean hospitality. Flexibility is at the heart of this holiday and ultimately, day-to-day, you decide whether to self-guide or join a guided snowshoe itinerary.

Guided Snowshoeing
Your holiday includes 4 moderate-level guided snowshoeing excursions. Weather permitting, these are generally provided on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays by the hotel’s hiking guides, usually Stefan, owner of the hotel. Simply sign up the evening before and be ready to leave the hotel the following morning between 8.30 and 9am. Snowshoes are available at the hotel for €5 per day. On Day 1 (Sunday) the guided snowshoe itinerary is likely to be quite leisurely by means of accommodating walkers who are new to snowshoeing, whilst also aiding the acclimatisation process. Thereafter, a moderate/moderate longer programme is available, as the easier shorter routes are simple to self-guide. Below, you can see what a moderate snowshoe itinerary might entail in terms of ascent, duration and distance.
Supplementary Guided Options – Just 200m from the Hotel Drumlerhof, the local tourist office also organises daily guided snowshoe hikes, working in close collaboration with Stefan and his team. So, if you should seek something a little different from what is being offered at the hotel, Stefan and his colleagues will sometimes be able to steer you to an alternative itinerary provided by the tourist office. As a guest of the Drumlerhof, you will only pay about €10 – €15 for one of these excursions.

Self-guiding
A key priority of our holidays in the Val Aurina is to make self-guiding easy and hassle-free. At the Hotel Drumlerhof, you will be provided with everything you need to enjoy many blissful self-guided days out. This includes comprehensive route notes, map sections and the daily support of the hotel’s team, who are connoisseurs of all the routes. Furthermore, via our Holiday Handbook and smartphone app, Collett’s provides easy navigation of Stefan’s Top 10 Snowshoe Hikes and Top 10 Winter Walks. In addition, this is a destination where waymarking and trail maintenance is excellent.

Our Top 5 Favourite Intermediate Snowshoe Hikes

Kofleralm
Ascent: 600m
Approx. Duration: 4hrs 30mins
Walk Type: Out & Back
Distance: 8kms

Klammljoch – Step into Austria!
Ascent: 700m
Approx. Duration: 6hrs
Walk Type: Out & Back
Distance: 12kms

Pircheralm
Ascent: 550m
Approx. Duration: 3hrs. 30mins
Walk Type: Out & Back
Distance: 8kms
Option to toboggan back to the start!

Schlafhäuser
Ascent: 650m
Approx. Duration: 4hrs 30mins
Walk Type: Out & Back
Distance: 6kms

Sonnklar
Ascent: 480m – after cable car ascent
Approx. Duration: 4hrs
Walk Type: Out & Back – with Circular option
Total Distance: 7.5kms

Winter walking opportunities in the Val Aurina are numerous and it is a fabulous way to relax, reflect and reinvigorate. Picturesque villages and hamlets are connected by a network of waymarked trails, which traverse woodland and winter pastures, occasionally flanking rivers and streams, usually frozen. If walking is your way of getting away from it all, you won’t do much better than the many options here, whether you venture out for an hour or two before relaxing at the spa, or choose a longer day walk of 10 or 12kms incorporating lunch at a mountain lodge or a neighbouring village. These walks are as invigorating as it gets. Peace and tranquillity reigns in bewitching landscapes and pure bracing air. Our base at the Hotel Drumlerhof is the perfect launchpad for winter walkers, providing access to three local valleys, each different in their own way, each towered over by absorbing 3000m peaks.

As with snowshoeing, Stefan and Emma, have identified (specifically for guests of Collett’s) their Top 5 easy walks and their Top 5 moderate winter hikes. All the relevant maps and details await you on your arrival and, as ever, Stefan and his team are ready to give their guidance enthusiastically. In addition, each of these walks will be made available to you before your departure via our smartphone navigation app.

In the Val Aurina there are 51 kms of  cross-country ski tracks in 4 different centres, each easily accessible from the Hotel Drumlerhof.
Groomed daily, and with reliable snow conditions from December to April, these tracks traverse heavenly winter landscapes, comprised of white meadows and peaceful forests. Set against remarkable mountain backdrops in Europe’s prettiest cul-de-sac, there won’t be many more relaxing ways of improving your heart health, something for which this pastime is renowned.

Riva di Tures (1600m – also known as Rien in Taufers) – 4 tracks ranging from 3-15 kms; circular options, varying in difficulty.
Casere (1582m – also known as Kasern) – this is called the sunny trail and it is found right at the far end of the Val Aurina, the most northerly place in Italy. Itineraries vary from 3kms to 10kms.
Rio Bianco (1300m – also known as Weissenbach) – a pretty 10km track with 110m of cumulative ascent.
Selva Molini (1400m – also known as Selva Mühlwald) – the 16 kms Mühlwald-Lappach trail starts at the restaurant Meggima on the Lake, traversing snow pastures and blanketed alpine farmland as you close in on your destination at Lappago (Lappach).

Beginners & Biathlon
Through the nearby local tourist office, guests can join a cross-country skiing beginners lesson every Wednesday, plus a Biathlon Taster every Tuesday.

There are two ‘stand-alone’ downhill ski resorts in the Val Aurina – Speikboden & Klausberg
Within a few metres of the Hotel Drumlerhof, free buses, operating every 15 minutes, serve Speikboden (5 minutes) and Klausberg (15 minutes), so getting to and from the slopes is easy. The Val Aurina might not be your first choice for a full week’s skiing, but as an alternative to snowshoeing, walking or cross-country skiing, it they provide a sublime day out for downhill skiers, who can expect pristine pistes and impressive lift infrastructure, all in a destination that has a good snow record.

Skipasses
A one-day lift pass varies in price from approximately €52 to €65 depending on the season and your date of birth.

Speikboden – 15 miles of easy green/blue runs, 8 miles of intermediate red runs and 3.5 miles of black-run challenges Top Station: 2400m / Bottom Station:950m – including the highest chairlift in the whole of the South Tyrol!
Klausberg – 8.5 miles of easy green/blue runs, 16.5 miles of intermediate red runs and 4 miles of black-run challenges. Top Station: 2510m / Bottom Station: 1050m
Kronplatz – Further afield (45 minutes), but easily accessible by free public bus (via Brunico) are the vast ski fields of Kronplatz (Plan de Corones in Italian), the largest single resort in the Dolomiti Superski network. Here you can play on 75 miles of piste – a heady mix of greens, blues, reds and blacks, including two of Italy’s Top 5-rated black runs.

Tobogganing
For something different, the longest natural toboggan run in the South Tyrol is accessed via the Speikboden lifts: 10kms of manicured track will bring you all the way back down to the valley bottom. It is one of 7 toboggan runs in the valley, some more adrenalin-fuelling than others!

Ice Climbing
A session on a local ice wall is available every Wednesday for anyone interested in getting to work on the ice and snow with pickaxe, hooks and ropes. Cost: €65.00.