At Homeland, a lift-free ski experience in Lombardy, you have to hike up to ski down. Our writer wonders if this is the future for winter resorts
he first sign we’re heading into the wild, having left the cosy confines of our resort for a ski touring taster, comes when three mountain goats jump in front of the car, eyeball us skittishly, then launch themselves off a vertiginous drop to our left.
First-time visitors, who need to be good but not expert skiers or snowboarders, are encouraged to hire guides, while those with backcountry experience can rent ski or snowboard touring equipment and follow one of the 14 designated trails, shown on the noticeboard at the base. Two of the trails are “easy”, the rest medium, while a couple are hard enough to require ropes, boot crampons and mountaineering knowhow.
Walter comes out to greet us and introduces us to Giacomo Casiraghi, our guide for the day. I’ve toured a few times and have my own equipment, but this will be my son’s first time, so Walter sets him up with some touring skis, which are lighter than regular skis to aid uphill ascents, and “skins”, which will stick to the bottom of his skis for traction while climbing.fine skiers and snowboarders caught in the backcountry without it – though Giacomo tells us the avalanche risk is currently low.
We’ve done an easy route, but Giacomo gives us a taste of a medium difficulty run up towards a peak called Pizzo Tamborello, which gets our hearts beating faster and allows us to practise our kick-turns. But after a while, rock and grass take over the snow and we have to stop.We rip off our skins, have a quick snack break and begin our descent.
Walter says they’ve had visits from other resorts in Italy and France who are interested in replicating the model. “We want to give an answer to the changes we’re seeing in ski resorts,” he says. “It’s difficult to keep going with the old model and Homeland is like a laboratory to test ideas for the future.”
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