Campo Imperatore is a tourist and sports complex located in Abruzzo, in the center of the Gran Sasso and dominated by the highest peak of the Apennines, the Corno Grande, which with its 2912 meters guards the southernmost glacier in Europe, the Calderone.
Campo Imperatore, 2.130 meters, is a much loved destination especially by those who practice it Alpine skiing and freeriding. The ski lifts go up to the 2.233 meters of Mount Scindarella and, thanks to the high altitude, it is possible to have a excellent natural snow from December to May.
There are also two four-seater chairlifts with automatic coupling and the Gran Sasso cableway, which connects Campo Imperatore to the valley below. From the locality of Assergi, a modern cableway, open all year round, overcoming a difference in altitude of this spectacular plateau.
For those who love cross-country skiing, the Campo Imperatore plateau offers 60 km of trails, including the track in the area of Santo Stefano di Sessanio near Lake Racollo, or the tracks of Castel del Monte, at the eastern end of the vast plain of Campo Imperatore between Piano di Cretarola and Fonte Pietrattina and the ring of the three lakes that winds along the edge of Campo Imperatore.
The arrival of the cable car is also the starting point for many hikers who, with skins, climb to high altitudes and then descend on skis along the gullies of the Gran Sasso, there are many itineraries for ski mountaineering, the most classic of these is undoubtedly the descent of the TreValloni, from the hotel to the base of the cable car. Other important routes for ski mountaineering are:
Low crossing of the Gran Sasso
A splendid glide on skis from Campo Imperatore to Prati di Tivo passing through the Sella di Monte Aquila, the Garibaldi refuge and finally descending into the suggestive Val Maone;
High traverse of the Gran Sasso
A path full of satisfactions but decidedly more demanding than the previous one, despite having the same peak as its setting. In terms of altitude, it touches the 2912 meters of the Corno Grande summit. For the ascent, the Direttissima canal is used, while the descent takes place touching the Calderone glacier, the Franchetti refuge and the Arapietra;
Monte Shirt
This solitary peak of 2564 meters above sea level is the best-known destination in the eastern sector of the Gran Sasso. The itinerary that reaches it starts from Fonte Vetica, on the plain of Campo Imperatore.
The innumerable off-piste routes are guaranteed not only by the particular morphology of the territory but also by the record snowfall of this locality. Here the perturbations crash against the high peaks by discharging lots of snow which thanks to the altitude remains until late spring / early summer. The predisposition to snowfall is a strength but also a weakness, precisely these characteristics make the ski area exposed to rapid weather changes which sometimes force the closure of the lifts due to fog or wind.
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At high altitude there is a hostel and the historian Hotel Campo Imperatore, are the ideal accommodation solutions for those who want to immerse themselves completely in the snow and ski without stopping. Four hotels are operating in Fonte Cerreto, where the base station of the cable car is located. Given the great proximity, it is also possible to use the accommodation facilities of L'Aquila and nearby hamlets, such as Assergi, Camarda and Paganica. There are many accommodation facilities in the area and they offer a wide choice of hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and Residences.
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