Sports in the Zoldo valley

In Val di Zoldo sport is not something you do in a gym. It happens on the mountain, on trails, ski runs and cross-country tracks, and for decades on the ice as well. Here is an overview of every sport.

Sports events

All sports

• Hiking Around Pelmo and Civetta, the Giro del Pelmo and the Alta Via 1.
• Climbing and via ferratas On Civetta, Moiazza, Pelmo and Bosconero, including the north-west face of Civetta, one of the most famous walls in the Alps.
• Mountain biking On forest roads and old paths between the villages.
• Trail and mountain running Dolomiti Extreme Trail in June, Transpelmo in late summer.
• Skiing and snowboarding In Pecol and Palafavera in the Civetta ski area, with night skiing in Pecol.
• Cross-country skiing and biathlon At the “Pompeo Fattor” centre in Palafavera.
• Ski touring and snowshoeing For example around Palafavera and up to Passo Staulanza.
• Ice hockey and skating At the ice rink in Forno di Zoldo. More under Ice hockey

Around Pelmo

In detail with times and height gain: Pelmo hikes →

The circuit of Pelmo, the Giro del Pelmo, is considered one of the finest loop hikes in the Dolomites. It passes Rifugio Venezia and Rifugio Città di Fiume. On the Pelmetto, Pelmo’s little neighbour, you can see dinosaur footprints on a boulder.

Alta Via 1

The most famous high route in the Dolomites, the Alta Via 1 from Lago di Braies to Belluno, touches Zoldo at Passo Staulanza and Passo Duran. In between lies one of the most spectacular stretches, below the north-west face of Civetta, with the Coldai, Tissi and Vazzoler huts.

Stages, huts and tips are in our Alta Via 1 article.

In the footsteps of the smiths

If you like culture, follow the Via del Ferro, the Iron Trail. It links sites of old ore mining and iron working, for example between Arsiera and Le Frattie. Along the way you pass old tabià barns and stone huts in the forest.

Mushroom season

In late summer and autumn the forests are full of mushrooms. Note: in the Veneto region you need a permit to pick them and quantity limits apply. Please ask the municipality about the rules first.

1857: Pelmo and the birth of Dolomite mountaineering

On 19 September 1857 the Irishman John Ball stood on the summit of Monte Pelmo (3,168 m). Ball was a naturalist and politician and later became the first president of the British Alpine Club. Pelmo is therefore one of the first major Dolomite peaks climbed by mountaineers.

Ball set off early in the morning from Borca di Cadore with a local guide. The rock terrace he used to cross the east side is still called Cengia di Ball (“Ball’s Ledge”) and is part of the normal route. He was probably not the first: local chamois hunters may well have been up before him, and historians still debate earlier ascents.

Opposite stands Civetta (3,220 m) with its north-west face more than a kilometre high, often called the “wall of walls”. It still attracts climbers from all over the world.

Dolomiti Extreme Trail

The biggest sporting event in the valley is the Dolomiti Extreme Trail (DXT), organised every year in early June by the local club Atletica Zoldo since 2013. Start and finish are in Forno di Zoldo. The longest course covers about 100 kilometres and around 7,000 metres of climbing around the valley. In 2025 more than 3,200 runners from 69 countries signed up for seven distances, including a children’s race.

In late summer there is also the Transpelmo, a mountain run of almost 20 kilometres starting and finishing in Pecol.

Civetta ski area

Everything for families in the snow: Skiing with kids →

The lifts in Zoldo belong to the Civetta ski area, which links Val di Zoldo, Alleghe and Val Fiorentina and is part of Dolomiti Superski. Depending on the source, the area has about 72 to 80 kilometres of pistes in total. On the Zoldo side there are two access points:

• Pecol (1,388 m): the main resort with ski schools, rental shops and the black Foppe run.
• Palafavera (about 1,500 m): quieter, with a lift into the ski area and the cross-country centre.

Ski passes, rental and ski school

Ski passes are sold at the ticket offices in Pecol and Palafavera or online from Ski Civetta (Civetta only) and Dolomiti Superski (all Dolomites ski areas). Buying online a few days ahead often saves a little. Skis, snowboards and boots can be rented right at the lift station in Pecol, for example at the Centro Servizi Ski Civetta. Skiresort.info lists further rental shops in the ski area. Pecol also has ski schools with lessons for children and adults.

Night skiing

Pecol is the only resort in the Civetta ski area with night skiing. About 5 kilometres are floodlit, including the Foppe and the red Cristelin. In the 2024/25 season it was open Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 pm to 11 pm. Please check current times with the operator.

Cross-country and biathlon

Palafavera is home to the “Pompeo Fattor” cross-country centre, named after the Olympic skier from Zoldo Alto. Two loops of 5 and 7.5 kilometres plus a biathlon range.

Pompeo Fattor: an Olympian from the Zoldo valley

Cross-country skiing has a long tradition in the valley. Its best-known skier is Pompeo Fattor, born in Zoldo Alto in 1933. He raced for the Fiamme Gialle sports group and skied in the Italian relay at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, finishing fifth both times. Fattor died in Belluno in 2009. The cross-country centre in Palafavera is named after him.

Off piste

Snowshoeing and ski touring are very popular in Zoldo, for example around Palafavera and up to Passo Staulanza. Only go out with avalanche equipment and after checking the current Veneto avalanche bulletin.

A century of skiing in Zoldo

Skiing has a long tradition in the valley. The first lift, the Marchisio chairlift from Pecol to Pian del Crep, opened at Christmas 1967 (history of the lifts). If you want to know more, everything is in the book “Con gli sci in testa – un secolo di storia dello sci in Val di Zoldo” by Silvano Cavallet and Paolo Lazzarin, published in 1997 by the Sci Club Valzoldana. It tells a hundred years of skiing in the valley, from the first wooden skis to today’s races. It is in Italian and easiest to find at the ski club or the library in Forno di Zoldo.

zoldo.de is not an official Ski Civetta website. Please check ski pass prices, lift times and piste conditions on the ski area’s official pages.