Plan de Corones – or Kronplatz – is a dome-shaped mountain in the Puster Valley that operates like a highly engineered ski machine. Instead of a traditional linear valley network, the pistes radiate outwards from a single 2,275-metre summit plateau. You can follow the sun or seek out the shade across 121 kilometres of runs. The local culture is a mix of Ladin, Italian, and Austrian influences, which translates to precise lift engineering paired with excellent mountain dining. The lift system moves over 75,000 skiers per hour, which mostly eliminates the morning bottleneck. If you prefer perfectly groomed corduroy and high-speed gondolas over rugged off-piste wilderness, this mountain is built for you.
Mountain culture & milestones
The development of Plan de Corones as a winter destination began in 1963 with the opening of the first cable car from Riscone, alongside the Belvedere lift. Before this, the mountain was mostly used by ski tourers. Over the following decades, the three main lift companies operating from Bruneck, Olang, and St. Vigil collaborated to build the unified network that defines the resort today.
In 2011, the resort connected the Ried gondola directly to the Perca railway station. You can step straight from the Pustertal train into a lift cabin, which cuts down on valley traffic. The summit changed significantly in 2015 when the Messner Mountain Museum Corones opened. Designed by Zaha Hadid, the concrete structure is built directly into the rock face and focuses on traditional mountaineering. The resort also joined the World Cup circuit in 2017, hosting the Women’s Giant Slalom on the steep Erta piste.
Valley bases: where to stay
Because the ski area is a single mountain with pistes descending in multiple directions, your choice of base dictates your morning routine. The accommodation is spread across several distinct communities.
| Base | Character | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Brunico (Bruneck) & Riscone | The main medieval town and its immediate lift base. | Direct gondolas to the summit; home to the steepest black runs. |
| San Vigilio di Marebbe | A traditional Ladin village with a quieter, family-focused atmosphere. | Access via the Miara gondola; connects easily to the Piculin sector. |
| Valdaora (Olang) | A sunny, sprawling community on the eastern flanks. | Fast gondola access to the wide, intermediate-friendly eastern slopes. |
| Perca (Percha) | A small village defined by its transport links. | Direct train-to-gondola connection via the Ried lift. |
Brunico is the commercial centre of the Puster Valley. It has a medieval centre, good restaurants, and high-end shops, but you need to take a short bus ride to the lifts at Riscone. Riscone sits directly at the foot of the northern slopes. It is the obvious choice for advanced skiers who want to tackle the steepest descents first thing in the morning. San Vigilio di Marebbe, tucked away in a side valley, feels entirely different. It is a Ladin village with a slower pace, traditional wooden architecture, and immediate access to the gentler southern slopes, making it popular with families. Valdaora provides a middle ground, with sprawling hamlets that catch the morning sun and offer quick access to the mountain’s widest cruising pistes.
Ski sectors at a glance
The mountain is divided by the direction its slopes face. The northern slopes towards Brunico hold the cold snow and the steepest pitches, while the eastern and southern flanks provide wide terrain that catches the sun for most of the day.
| Sector | Terrain style | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Riscone (North) | Long, sustained pitches and dense forest. | Advanced skiers tackling the ‘Black Five’. |
| Valdaora (East) | Extremely wide, sunny, and rolling pistes. | Intermediates and carving enthusiasts. |
| San Vigilio (South) | Sheltered, varied terrain with dedicated learning zones. | Families and mixed-ability groups. |
| Piculin | A steep, isolated face dropping into the Val Badia. | Experts and those connecting to the Sellaronda. |
The Riscone sector is defined by its vertical drop. The runs plunge over 1,300 metres through dense pine forests, offering a sustained physical challenge that is rare even in larger alpine domains. The Valdaora sector feels expansive and open. The pistes here are incredibly wide, allowing you to make huge carving turns without feeling crowded. The San Vigilio sector is the most sheltered, with a network of blue and red runs that weave through the trees, providing decent visibility on snowy days. The Piculin sector is somewhat detached from the main dome, featuring a single, fierce black run that connects the resort to the neighbouring Alta Badia ski area.
The mountain & skiing
Skiing at Plan de Corones is defined by the lift infrastructure. With 32 lifts – mostly high-capacity gondolas – the mountain can move over 75,000 people per hour. Even during the busy February weeks, you rarely spend much time standing in a queue. The terrain resembles a massive, manicured golf course tilted on its side. The snowcats work through the night to ensure every piste is ribbed with corduroy by morning.
For advanced skiers, the mountain is known for “The Black Five”: Sylvester, Herrnegg, Pre da Peres, Erta, and Piculin. The Sylvester and Herrnegg runs drop all the way to the Riscone base, offering nearly 1,300 metres of vertical descent. They are wide enough to carry speed safely but steep enough to punish tired legs. The Erta piste in San Vigilio regularly hosts the Women’s Giant Slalom World Cup, with a maximum gradient of 61% that requires sharp edges. The Piculin run drops sharply towards the Val Badia with a pitch that often turns icy by late afternoon.
Intermediates will find their rhythm on the Valdaora side, where the pistes are wide enough for giant carving turns. The Belvedere and Plateau runs near the summit are perfect for warming up, offering gentle gradients and 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks. The resort is also a strategic gateway; from the bottom of the Piculin gondola, a regular shuttle bus connects skiers to Alta Badia, opening up the massive Sellaronda circuit and the wider Dolomiti Superski network.
The village & après-ski
Unlike linear ski resorts where the village sits at the bottom of a valley, the après-ski scene here is divided between the summit and the valley bases. The flat summit plateau acts as a high-altitude meeting point. Skiers gather around the Concordia peace bell, which rings every day at noon, or have a drink on the terraces before the final descent. The culinary standard on the mountain is high, with huts serving a mix of Tyrolean dumplings, cured speck, and Italian pasta.
Down in the valleys, the atmosphere changes depending on where you end up. Riscone is the epicentre of traditional après-ski. The umbrella bars at the bottom of the Herrnegg and Sylvester pistes fill up from mid-afternoon, with skiers dancing in their boots to Europop and Schlager music. It is loud and unashamedly Austrian in its execution. For a quieter evening, Brunico offers wine bars tucked into historic cellars. San Vigilio provides a relaxed evening atmosphere, heavily influenced by its Ladin heritage, where the focus is on long dinners rather than late-night partying.
Snow & season
Plan de Corones is one of the most technologically advanced resorts in Europe for snowmaking. While natural snowfall in the Dolomites can be variable, the mountain is equipped with hundreds of snow cannons capable of covering 100% of the pistes. The system is so powerful that if the temperatures drop below freezing, the resort can prepare the entire mountain for skiing in a matter of days. This guarantees a reliable season from early December through to early April.
The quality of the artificial snow here is excellent, often indistinguishable from the real thing during January and February. The north-facing runs down to Riscone hold their condition well into the spring, remaining firm even when the sun-baked eastern slopes towards Valdaora start to soften by mid-afternoon. Because the mountain is relatively exposed, the summit can be battered by high winds during winter storms, but the lower forested sections usually remain sheltered.
Summer & year-round
When the snow melts, the gondolas keep running for downhill mountain biking. The mountain features several dedicated freeride trails that wind through the forests down to the valley floors. These trails range from flowing tracks suitable for confident beginners to steep, technical descents full of roots and rock drops.
The summit plateau becomes a launch site for paragliders, who use the thermal currents rising from the Puster Valley. It is also a destination for hikers visiting the mountain’s two museums. Alongside the Messner Mountain Museum, the summit hosts the LUMEN Museum of Mountain Photography, which occupies the former mountain station and features a mirrored room and a fine-dining restaurant. Down in the valley, the flat floor offers family-friendly cycling paths along the Rienz river, while the nearby Fanes-Sennes-Prags Nature Park provides high-altitude trekking.
Safety & mountain etiquette
The width and grooming of the pistes at Plan de Corones can encourage excessive speed, particularly on the long descents towards Valdaora and Riscone. The local ski patrol enforces speed limits in congested areas and designated slow zones, and they will pull over skiers who are riding recklessly. Because the mountain is shaped like a dome, many pistes merge near the valley stations, meaning you must be aware of merging traffic and check uphill before joining a new run.
While the resort is heavily piste-focused and does not offer vast lift-served off-piste bowls, anyone venturing off-piste into the trees must carry full avalanche safety gear. The steep forested sections above Riscone can be deceptive; they often hold hidden terrain traps and are prone to sliding after heavy natural snowfall. The general rule on this mountain is that the best skiing is found on the groomed trails.
Who it suits best
This mountain is built for skiers who value efficiency, perfectly groomed corduroy, and high-speed lifts. It is an excellent destination for mixed-ability groups, as the summit layout allows beginners and experts to ride the same gondola up, ski their respective routes down, and meet easily at the bottom for lunch. Mileage-hungry skiers will appreciate the long vertical drops of the Black Five. Families will find the dedicated children’s areas and the gentle slopes of San Vigilio hard to beat. However, those looking for easily accessible powder fields or a traditional chocolate-box alpine village right at the edge of the piste might find the highly engineered nature of the mountain a little too clinical.
Getting there
The closest major airports are Innsbruck (105 km), Venice Marco Polo (205 km), and Verona (225 km). The region is well-connected by rail, with the Pustertal railway line running directly through the valley. The primary rail hubs are Brunico (Bruneck) for town access and Perca (Percha), where the station platform integrates directly with the Ried gondola. [CTA BLOCK]
Deadline: February 13th
Winner Announcement: February 14th
