Winter sports boasts more than a century’s pedigree in Val Gardena. The milestones in the history of skiing were the founding of the first ski club, Ladina, in 1908 as well as the first ski race on the Dantercepies in that same year. An important highlight was the 1970 Alpine World Ski Championships in Val Gardena. Since then, skiing has taken off rapidly, cementing the reputation of the valley as a winter sports fortress. Val Gardena is also a perfect spot if you want to bring up medal-munching athletes, as it boasts numerous people who have made it to the top across a variety of disciplines: Carolina Kostner in ice skating; Isolde Kostner, Karl Senoner, Peter Runggaldier, Werner Perathoner, Alex Vinatzer, Nicol and Nadia Delago in Alpine ski races; Vinzenz Demetz, Karin Moroder and Pepi Ploner in cross-country skiing; Simon Demetz, Michela Ponza and Alexia Runggaldier in biathlon; Silvia Bertagna in slopestyle, a freestyle discipline; Lukas Runggaldier and Samuel Costa in the Nordic combination, as well as Evelyn Insam, Elena Runggaldier, Lisa Demetz and Manuela Malsiner in ski jumping. The history of skiing in Val Gardena Winter in Val Gardena THE SKI CHAMPIONS WALK If you were to pop behind the building of the ski and snowboard school in Selva di Val Gardena, you’d find the start of a walking trails that leads to Plan following the former railway track. This walk is a one-of-a-kind experience and dedicated to the ski champions who have won the World Championships in Val Gardena since 1969 or to those skiers who won the Alpine Ski World Championships in 1970. Moreover, even the pioneers who believed in the idea of skiing in Val Gardena over the course of the years thanks to their vision, ambition and single-mindedness are featured on this walk, too. 44 HISTORY OF SKIING
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