December 29, 2008 (Trento, Italy) – An alternative way to have fun, enjoy the snow and discover the beauty of Val di Non, the Trentino region, in the fascinating scenery of the Brenta Dolomites. That is the Ciaspolada 2009, the most important popular event in Italy on the snow, in its 36th edition. A snow-shoe competition that attracts thousands of runners coming from all over the World every year. A parade for sports champions, but also and above all a special occasion for families, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, who want to find new emotions and try different experiences in an enchanting atmosphere.
The Ciaspolada takes place during the weekend of the Epiphany, the day when people celebrate and renew costumes and traditions handed down from generations to generations. It is like reliving the past, when snow-shoes were the only means of transport between one “maso” (a farm house in the mountain) and another. Today these snow-shoes have returned to recreate the atmosphere of remote times; when the phenomenon of mass tourism did not impose the rhythm and the frenzy that are part of today’s lifestyle.
A day to relax, to return to the past through traditions and culture, to enjoy nature. At the end of the day fireworks and pyrotechnical effects put you in a suggestive and unforgettable mood. To enrich the event, a new proposal for the Guinnes book of records: gathering the highest amount of Befane (old ugly women that bring gifts on the day of the Epiphany) to take part in the competition.
At the moment the number of participants is 4,000 but, thanks to the abundance snow which has fallen during the past few days and has contributed to creating an even more suggestive winter atmosphere, the aim is to reach a total number of 6,000 starters.
The adventure of the Ciaspolada experienced in a landscape dominated by joy and serenity and without stress makes it a day to remember. That is one of the main reasons why this important event, born in Tret (Trentino-Italy) in 1972, is known today as an exceptional socio-cultural phenomenon. Through the years it has been attracting the interest of the national as well as the international media. To underline the importance of this event, in the last few years, the local word in dialect “ciaspole” (snow-shoes) has become an official Italian word.
For more information: www.ciaspolada.it.