With its 3,069‑metre elevation, the Presena Glacier is a paradise for lovers of nature, history, and mountain sports. It lies within the Presanella mountain group, between Val di Sole and Val Camonica, on the border between Trentino and Lombardy. During the First World War, the glacier marked the frontline between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro‑Hungarian Empire: numerous traces and testimonies of the conflict are still visible today. For more than fifty years, it has also been a key destination for skiing and high‑altitude sports. Thanks to the cable cars, slopes, and mountain huts, the glacier can be experienced both in winter and summer, with descents, trekking routes, and panoramas stretching from Mount Adamello to the Ortles‑Cevedale mountains, Pian di Neve and the Brenta Dolomites.
A giant of ice, to be experienced through high‑altitude landscapes, history, sports, and views over some of the most beautiful mountains in the Alps.
The Paradiso Cable Car and the Presena Cable Car make it possible to reach the Presena Glacier from the Tonale Pass in just a few minutes, both in winter and summer. The Paradiso Cable Car departs from the Tonale Pass and reaches 2,585 metres in only 5 minutes, near the Paradiso Mountain Hut and the legendary Paradiso Black Run. From here, the Presena Cable Car continues in two sections: the first reaches Capanna Presena at 2,730 metres, while the second arrives at the top of the glacier, at around 3,000 metres, with a total ascent time of just 7 minutes. Its enclosed 8‑seater cabins allow for quick and convenient travel with skis and equipment. Once at the top, you can set off for a descent on the slopes, a freeriding itinerary, a ski‑mountaineering excursion, or a summer trek. The Tonale Pass is also connected to Ponte di Legno: thanks to the ski lifts, you can reach the top of the glacier from the village in about 26 minutes. All this with just one ski pass, valid throughout the entire Pontedilegno‑Tonale ski area.
From the Presena Glacier’s ski slopes to summer trekking routes, discover new high‑altitude experiences all year round.
Ski‑mountaineering routes allow you to leave the more frequented slopes behind and cross the open spaces of the glacier. Snow, silence, and high‑altitude panoramas accompany both the ascent and the descent, which must be tackled with proper preparation, specific equipment, and a careful assessment of conditions.
The upper stations of the ski lifts provide access to several off‑ski slopes itineraries featuring fresh snow, wide open slopes, and a glacial environment. Freeriding on the Presena requires experience, proper equipment, and knowledge of the terrain, as well as priors check of the weather and the avalanche bulletin.
The Path of Flowers is a spectacular high‑altitude via ferrata that retraces several positions of the White War. Metal rungs, ladders, and a long suspension bridge guide the route across rocky terrain and wide‑open panoramas, all the way to the Amici della Montagna bivouac. It is a demanding itinerary, recommended for experienced and properly equipped hikers.
When the ski season ends, the Presena Glacier reveals itself to hikers. Summer excursions and trekking routes of varying difficulty cross rocky terrain, snowfields, and high‑mountain environments, with views opening onto the Adamello, the Ortles‑Cevedale, Pian di Neve, and the Brenta Dolomites.
Many routes follow the positions and paths of the First World War. At the Paradiso Pass, a long tunnel carved into the rock hosts “Sounds and Voices of the White War”, a multimedia installation that reconstructs the war through artefacts, images, and sound testimonies.
At the end of the 1960s, with its 82 hectares of surface area and a ski season that stretched from October to August, the Presena Glacier was already a landmark destination for ski enthusiasts. Today, however, due to rising temperatures, our Giant of the Alps is rapidly losing both surface area and thickness. This is why, in 2008, a preservation project that involves the use of large geotextile sheets, was launched capable of covering portions of the glacier from June to September and reducing summer melting of snow and ice by around 50%. It is a useful tactic, but not a definitive solution: every winter, about 350,000 m³ of snow accumulates on the Presena, while the annual loss of glacial mass reaches 600,000 m³. The sheets slow down melting but protecting the glacier ultimately depends on global actions capable of reducing the emissions responsible for climate change. The story of this project therefore tells of a challenge that not only concerns the Presena, but also the balance of the mountains and the communities living at its feet.
From the development of skiing on the glacier to the first signs of melting, scientific studies to awareness‑raising initiatives: retrace the key stages of the project created to protect the Presena Glacier.
