The New Year’s Torchlight ski descent is one of the most anticipated events by the inhabitants of Val Gardena and by the tourists who daily populate the ski slopes and who, in particular, like to spend the most evocative day of the year here. In Ortisei it has become a real tradition: it is held every year and organized in collaboration with the Ski & Snowboard school Imam center in Santa Cristina, a village at walking distance from Ortisei.
Despite being very small and accounting for under five thousand inhabitants, Ortisei still represents the most populated village in Val Gardena, which is characterized by the high influx of tourists throughout the winter season. The torchlight descent is a unique event, offered by the best skiers in the area, which provide a succession of breathtaking techniques and acrobatic jumps aimed at impressing the audience.
An unmissable end of the year event
The New Year’s torchlight descent is a fantastic and suggestive event celebrating one of the most awaited, if not the most loved date of the year, not only in Italy but also worldwide. The New Year marks the end of a circle and the beginning of a new one, a brand new start and a door open to a thousand new opportunities. While Christmas, traditionally, is a holiday to be spent purely with the family and the company of loved ones, New Year can be celebrated almost everywhere and there are more and more families, couples or singles who deliberately decide to spend it away from home.
Actually, spending the New Year at home means having to cook (usually for many people, since it is a holiday and guests are the normality!) and then ending up getting tired and stressed during the whole day . Guests will be relaxed and will enjoy the evening but the host will have to think about welcoming everyone and, obviously, dealing with the mess the following day. But why load yourself with useless commitments if there are so many interesting events around Italy?
New Year’s Eve Torchlight ski descent: Ortisei in holiday mode
The New Year’s torchlight descent has now been organized for quite a number of years in the small town of Ortisei, in Val Gardena, birthplace of the famous skater Carolina Kostner as well as other renowned skiers, in Trentino Alto Adige. It consists of an impressive show lasting a couple of hours performed by the region’s ski instructors indulging to impressive acrobatic freestyle jumps.
The event ends up with breathtaking fireworks organized to celebrate the arrival of the new year with the evening also animated by live music and entertainment for all ages!
Info about the evening
The event is held at the Pista Palmer in Ortisei and will be organized by the Ski School Imam Center in Santa Cristina, a village adjacent to Ortisei. Below is the complete calendar of events organized in honor of the New Year:
- 31/12/2017 – 6.15 p.m. New Year’s candlelight procession
- 31/12/2017 – 7.00 p.m. New Year’s Eve party in Ortisei with aperitif offered and live music by Dj Ondy
- 1/12/2017 – From 10.00 p.m. celebrations in Selva di Val Gardena with party shopping by nightbus available until 4 a.m.
What to do in Ortisei?
If you have finally decided what to do on New Year’s Eve in Italy and you think you want to go to beautiful Ortisei to be entertained during the festivities and watch the famous New Year’s torchlight descent organized by the best skiers and snowboarders in the area, know that Val Gardena offers a thousand opportunities!
Spending the holidays away could be a great way to visit Italy: we advise you not to miss the opportunity of a pleasant visit to the Val Gardena Museum, located right in Ortisei. If you love skiing, then there is certainly no lack of adequate facilities and above all ski schools and equipment rental services!
