The skiing pioneers of Schnalstal Valley

From initial ski tourism to the founding of the ski school

Everyone starts small...

From initial ski tourism to the founding of the ski school

The first skiers came to the valley after World War I. While first there were just a few, gradually more people became interested in skiing. Between the two world wars the very first ski tourists arrived to Val Senales; in 1933, around 15 guests stayed at a mountain inn in Maso Corto. In the winter of 1934-35, Hermann Gurschler kept the refuge "Schöne Aussicht" open for skiers for the first time. In the following years there came more, and therefore Hermann Gurschler employed two fixed in-house instructors, Hias Kofler and Anton Tumler. They cared for his skiing guests, and thus were the first instructors in the valley.

Also the Similaun Refuge housed ski touring guests; the brothers Luis and Sepp Platzgummer lead their guests to the snowy peaks of the Ötztal Alps. A second generation of young instructors came along, Rainer Hermann and Adalbert Gurschler passed their skiing skills on to countless winter guests. Often they were not only working as ski instructors, but also as mountain guides.

After the founding of the Ski Club Val Senales in 1951, the skiing sport became socially acceptable in the valley. This resulted into a lot of young, talented skiers. With no difficulty several young men passed the ski instructors exam of the Italian Winter Sports Federation (F.I.S.I.): Gurschler Luis, Raffeiner Luis, Gamper Konrad, Gurschler Otto, Gamper Karl, Rainer Walter, Gurschler Max, Santer Sepp, Rainer Erich, Rainer Leo, Rainer Luis. The official founding of the ski school Schnalstal Valley dates back to the year 1967. The founders were Gurschler Luis, Raffeiner Luis and Gamper Konrad.

Ski School Schnalstal Valley
Tel.: +39 329 5942992
E-Mail: info@skischuleschnalstal.com