Airolo

30 km of piste between 1700-2250m

The most significant winter sports resort in Italian-speaking Ticino has an enjoyable and invariably uncrowded ski area at Airolo-Pesciüm. The slopes face north above the point where the south side of the Gotthard rail and road tunnels emerge, opposite the dramatic Gotthard road pass in the high Ticino valley at the head of the district known as the Leventina. The village has a rail station with direct connections to both Basel and Zürich - the only resort in Switzerland for which this is true - making it a convenient ski resort to get to from Northern Switzerland. Unfortunately the slopes are a few hundred metres from the station and the courtesy bus service seems to have eschewed Swiss efficiency in favour of a more chaotic Italian approach. As a result it is usually easier to take the 15 minute walk to the valley station than suffer the frustrations of waiting for the bus only to find it is too crowded to take you, or you could have walked in the time it takes to arrive.

Even closer to the station is the small ski area Airolo-Lüina, with about 3km of piste between 1200 and 1350m. This is where Lara Gut learned to ski and, although the season is short on this south-facing slope, it's a good place for learners.

Best of the Slopes

From the cable car top station at Pesciüm, there is a choice of using the gentle runs and inappropriately named Yukipark served by surface lifts below Comascnè, or the more challenging runs above Ravina, which are mainly served by a second cable car and a modern chairlift. Although the runs above Ravina are rated black and red, there is not much to choose between them in terms of difficulty and a competent intermediate should feel confident attempting any of these runs. If the valley runs below Ravina are open, it is possible to ski a scenic run of almost a 1000m drop off either Sasso della Boggia or Varozzei. There is some reasonable off-piste areas off to the right of the Comascnè T-bar or left off the top of Varozzei chairlift. Yukipark has a reasonable variety of boxes, rails and jumps and there's a few more jumps alongside the Pesciüm button lift.

Getting There

By Public Transport

The best destination to access the downhill slopes by public transport in this ski area is Airolo. Station is 15 minutes walk from the cable car, or take the courtesy bus. The resort operates the Snow'n'Rail scheme, providing a 20% discount on the combined travel ticket and lift pass.

From Zurich the least travel time is 1 hr 44 mins with as few as changes. Typically, an adult one day combined ticket is 100.00 SFr, reduced to 68.00 SFr with a Half-Price card.
From Basel the least travel time is 2 hrs 57 mins with as few as changes. Typically, an adult one day combined ticket is 135.20 SFr, reduced to 85.60 SFr with a Half-Price card.
From Berne the least travel time is 2 hrs 58 mins with as few as 1 changes going via Zurich. Typically, an adult one day combined ticket is 138.40 SFr, reduced to 87.20 SFr with a Half-Price card.
From Lugano the least travel time is 1 hr 27 mins with as few as 1 changes going via Bellinzona. Typically, an adult one day combined ticket is 84.00 SFr, or 60.00 SFr with a Half-Price card.
From Luzern an adult one day combined ticket is 90.40 SFr, or 63.20 SFr with a Half-Price card.

Indicative prices are for travel to Airolo. Click here to find prices for other destinations. Under the combined ticket scheme the additional charge for a two day pass is 28.00 SFr.

By Road

Please refer to a map and check local conditions for accurate routing information.

The road distance from Basel is around 183 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs.
The road distance from Lugano is around 87 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hour 1 min.

Click here to find road directions at Google Maps.