Winter holidays (the best ideas in South Tyrol and Trentino)

This article is published in number 1 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until January 5, 2020

INNER PEACE AND NIGHT STORIES
Welcoming, silent, therapeutic: the winter forest will be the great habitat of 2021 for the human animal. But in a new version, to seek a profound and beneficial “connection” that will transport us a little to the Great North. If desired, mountain well-being can also be sought with the guidance of experts. In Trentino, for example, those looking for the hidden qualities of the Alpine environment will have wellness trainers available, Pinzolo guides (Mountain Friends; campigliodolomiti.it) who experience “sensorial” activities using the natural elements of winter. What is done in practice? Short excursions – suitable for everyone – with breaks in which to try to become familiar with the winter. Don’t expect mundane walks, some of the themes are Life under the snow, “Observation and search for vital traces in apparent suspension”, or Cool friend, that is, to make the cold our ally and try our hand at developing the “inner warmth”. But if wellness trespasses into the woods, even the night will be the protagonist: the trekking above Ossana in Val di Sole, one of the best destinations in Italy for gazing at the stars, begins at dusk towards the Malga del Doss in Valpiana (ursusadventures.it). When night falls, the Himalaya effect is guaranteed.

RIDING THE NEW YEAR
The image is one of the perfect ones: a horse-drawn sleigh ringing in Alta Badia, we are well covered to feel like Anna Karenina, with the muffled forest flowing by, slow and welcoming. Or a ride, not necessarily solitary, among the snow-covered meadows (a safe address, the Teresa riding school). South Tyrol, fairy-tale by nature with its Nordic saga scenarios, castles sprouting among fir trees and the enchantment of valleys kissed by geological fortune, has adventure – or magnificent non-activities – in store. Like it snowkite, sport on the rise. Literally: yes flies on the ice of Lake Resia, in Val Venosta, where beginners find rental equipment and professional teachers at the snowkiting school. Too much effort? In the area of Vipiteno Roots skiing and wellness have come together in the sign of yoga: in March before and after the slopes you can sign up for morning yoga, from which you can then go directly to the skis, or in the afternoon, with the qi yoga to the sound of Tibetan bells. The Zen style is completed by excursions to the refuge with lighting of the fire in the brazier: melt the snow and make yourself a super herbal tea with a breath that frees the mind. But the true heirs of Ötzi, the man of 5200 years ago, choose the splendid isolation of the Alpe di Luson, in one of the most intact and natural valleys of the entire Alpine area. Cross-country skiing is practically a means of transport here.

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