Movimënt

Alta Badia embraces inclusion: sit-skiing returns with Freerider Sport Events

A new vision of the mountains is taking shape in Alta Badia, a place where everyone is welcome and barriers fade away. Here, among peaks carved by the light, sit-skiing is becoming part of the local culture thanks to the long-standing work of Freerider Sport Events, a leading Italian organization with more than twenty years of experience.

The first event in Alta Badia, launched in 2024 following an initiative by Movimënt Alta Badia and Oakley, exceeded all expectations: over 150 participants, including 38 wheelchair users, created a vibrant network of people, professionals and families. What began as a sports event quickly grew into a meaningful cultural movement. Since then, interest within the valley has continued to rise, together with a desire to rethink how the mountain is experienced and shared.

From 27 to 29 March 2026, Alta Badia will host a new edition of the Freerider Skitour, dedicated to sit-skiing and based at the Movi Family Apart Hotel in Corvara. More than a sporting event, it is the result of a strong partnership between organizations committed to building a more inclusive mountain environment: Movimënt Alta Badia, the Skicarisello lift company and the renowned Club Moritzino. A team that has repeatedly shown commitment, openness and a shared vision.

Behind every run lies the support of instructors, operators and volunteers who guide people with disabilities as they discover, or rediscover, skiing as a source of freedom, autonomy and well-being. Some try the monoski for the first time; others, already experienced, reconnect with the thrill of gliding through the snow and feeling the wind on their face.

Inclusion, however, is not limited to the winter season. Alongside the snow activities, summer trails have been tested, accommodation facilities assessed, and improvements promoted to enhance accessibility in public spaces. Local operators embraced these goals from day one, determined to create a mountain that is enjoyable year-round.

The strength of this project lies in a growing network: instructors trained in monoski techniques, mountain guides developing accessible routes, tourism operators adopting inclusive practices, local associations offering energy and volunteers, and families sharing experiences and mutual support. This network is fuelled by the determination of the Freeriders, who in the past two decades have explored all major Italian ski resorts, spreading know-how and shaping a true culture of accessibility.

Stories of emotions, encounters, smiles, fears and “first times” have been enriched by prestigious collaborations, such as with the Alpine Training Center of the State Police in Moena, and by projects ranging from spinal unit programs to summer camps with Spina Bifida Italy, all the way to a recent cable wakeboard tour with the Italian Water Ski & Wakeboard Federation.

In the 2026 Freerider Skitour calendar, which opens in December with the traditional equipment test in Madonna di Campiglio, one stage stands out: Cortina, in the heart of the Paralympic Games, a symbolic event full of meaning and visibility.

Today, Alta Badia, firmly among the ten annual tour stops across Veneto, Trentino-South Tyrol, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Abruzzo, stands as a model of what can be achieved when collaboration, trust and vision come together to build a mountain experience truly “for everyone.”