Airolo – Pesciüm lies in Ticino and is a small, family-run ski area: 30 kilometres of piste served by 8 lifts.
The area runs from 1175 to 2250 metres above sea level, giving around 1,075 metres of vertical. The lower slopes depend on snowmaking in mild winters.
The season usually runs Dec – April.
An adult day pass costs CHF 59.
Of note: The largest ski area in the Leventina
Pistes by difficulty
- Leicht (blau)1 km3%
- Mittel (rot)15 km50%
- Schwer (schwarz)14 km47%
Distribution calculated from OpenStreetMap and applied to the 30 official kilometres of piste. An approximation, not a figure from the lift company.
Snow report
Not currentThis reading is 47 days old and is not being updated automatically at the moment. Current figures are available from the SLF and from the resort itself.
Source: SLF / WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. A single measuring station, not the resort’s official piste report.
Piste map, map & webcams
Interactive piste map
Every piste and lift colour-coded by difficulty, zoomable, built on OpenStreetMap. Community-maintained data; where it differs, the official piste map next to it is authoritative.
Open on OpenSkiMap →Official piste map
The lift company’s drawn piste map, plus lift status and tickets.
airolo.ch →Webcams
Live images from the mountain on the resort’s official site, usually several locations.
View webcams →Piste maps and webcam images belong to the lift companies and are protected by copyright. That is why we link directly to the original instead of copying it.
What sets this ski area apart
Airolo lies at the top of the Leventina, at the southern foot of the Gotthard pass, 55 kilometres north of Bellinzona. The village borders two language areas at once: German-speaking Switzerland to the north, Romansh Grisons to the east.
Everything here has always depended on the Gotthard. Roman graves at Madrano show people were present in the second and third centuries, and for hundreds of years the village lived from pack-transport and innkeeping. The name probably goes back to the vulgar Latin oriolu, meaning a narrow edge or rim, which describes the position at the head of the valley well.
For skiers, transport is still the argument: Airolo has its own railway station and sits directly on the motorway. The ski area on Pesciüm is reached by cable car from the village, and it lies on the sunny side above the fog that often hangs in the Leventina in winter.
With 30 kilometres of piste, Pesciüm is the largest ski area in the Leventina. Within Ticino it shares that rank: Nara-Leontica and Bosco Gurin both state 30 kilometres as well, while Airolo is ahead on lifts with eight against seven each. What is unusual for an area this size is the spread of difficulty: one easy kilometre against fifteen intermediate and fourteen hard.
Sources: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airolo, Auskunft des Skigebiets Airolo-Pesciüm, September 2026, skiresort.com/en/ski-resorts/ticino/
Snow’n’Rail at Airolo – Pesciüm: up to 20% off the ski pass
This resort takes part in Snow’n’Rail, the combined offer from SBB RailAway: book the journey and the ski pass together and the pass costs less.
Getting there by public transport
Destination stop: Airolo. Fastest connection on a Saturday morning in the currently published timetable, from the open Swiss timetable interface, retrieved 10 August 2026. A guide value, not a timetable: the real journey time depends on when you leave and what you connect to, and winter-only bus services are not yet included.
Worth knowing: this resort is in the Snow’n’Rail scheme, so the lift pass is up to 20 per cent cheaper if you arrive this way. From Zürich HB that is 2 h 01 on the train instead of behind the wheel.
Frequently asked about Airolo – Pesciüm
How high is Airolo – Pesciüm?
The ski area runs from 1,175 to 2,250 metres above sea level, a vertical range of 1,075 metres. For snow reliability the lower figure matters more: that is where the snow disappears first, and where a mild December is felt before it is felt at the top.
How many kilometres of piste does Airolo – Pesciüm have?
30 kilometres on 8 lifts, according to the operator. There is no binding standard for measuring piste kilometres, so the figure is comparable between resorts only to a point. The lift count says at least as much about how big a place feels.
What does a day pass at Airolo – Pesciüm cost?
CHF 59 for an adult day pass at the standard rate, as of summer 2026. Booked early it is often less; on a peak Saturday it is not. Arriving by public transport takes up to 20 per cent off through the Snow’n’Rail scheme.
When does Airolo – Pesciüm open?
The usual season window is Dec – April. For winter 2026/27 the resort has announced 19 December 2026 as its starting date (Wintersaison). Every announced date depends on enough snow and cold.
How do I get to Airolo – Pesciüm by train?
The destination stop is Airolo. From Zürich HB the fastest connection on a Saturday morning takes 2 h 01 without changing; from Bern 3 h 04. A guide value, not a timetable.
Is there Snow’n’Rail at Airolo – Pesciüm?
Yes. Airolo – Pesciüm is one of the destinations in SBB RailAway's combined offer: book the journey and the ski pass together and the pass costs up to 20 per cent less. At SBB the destination is listed as Airolo. That percentage is the maximum SBB advertises; what actually comes off depends on the ticket type and the date, and only SBB can tell you bindingly.
Airolo – Pesciüm in the magazine
Will the Sölden World Cup go ahead? The figures say yes, and the ski area still stays shut
On 24 and 25 October the alpine World Cup is due to open on the Rettenbach glacier. At 2,900 metres, 86 hours over the next sixteen days are cold enough to make snow; nine hundred metres lower, ten Swiss areas together manage 95. Why a race is easier than a season.
The warmest September in 36 years. It says almost nothing about the winter
September 2026 was the warmest at 2,000 metres in our series. We ran the numbers on 35 winters: after the ten warmest Septembers, 316 centimetres of snow fell on average; after the ten coldest, 267. The relationship points the opposite way to the one people assume, and it is weak.
Too warm to make snow: the cold window has slipped five days
Five days ago the first usable snowmaking nights fell on 4 to 6 October; now they fall on the 9th and 10th. Over sixteen days, 95 of 3,840 hours are cold enough, and seven of ten areas get not one centimetre of snow. The figures, and what they mean for the season start.
Where you can practise transceiver searching: 27 facilities in Switzerland
More than two dozen Swiss ski areas have a permanent practice facility for avalanche transceiver searching. Use is mostly free and needs only a valid lift pass. The complete list, linked to our resort pages, and what such a facility can do.
Where this resort stands
Airolo – Pesciüm is one of 4 ski areas in the canton of Ticino, and it is quickest reached from Zurich by train, in 2 h 01.
Nearby ski areas
Distances are straight-line, not driving time. In the Alps a ridge between two valleys can turn 12 km into a two-hour drive.
Key figures
- Region
- Ticino
- Season
- Dec – April
- Kilometres of piste
- 30 km
- Elevation
- 1175 to 2250 m (1,075 m of vertical)
- Lifts
- 8
- Adult day pass
- around CHF 59 (guide value)
- Summer skiing
- no
- Glacier
- no
- Snow park
- rated 3/10
- Coordinates
- 46.528, 8.610
- Official website
- airolo.ch
All values are guide figures still being verified. For day-to-day information, use the resort’s official website.