What is there to do on weekends in January and February when the hours of daylight gradually begin to surpass the hours of darkness? If you enjoy the cold, a good idea might be to visit the Umbrian mountains.
The highest mountains of the region, the ones on the eastern Apennine ridge, separate Umbria from Le Marche. This chain forms the mountainous backbone of the region and extends from monte Catria and monte Cucco up to the Sibillini where il Vettore at 2476 metres (8123 ft.) is the highest elevation in Umbria. Other summits of great natural interest, monte Subasio near Assisi, the monti Martani between the provinces di Perugia and Terni, the monti di Amelia and monte Peglia above Orvieto complete the mountainous geography of the region.
Amid the splendour of the Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini are a number of ski installations since the 1500 metre (almost 5000 ft.) elevation attracts heavy snowfalls in winter. The rifugio Colle le Cese in Le Marche organizes guided snowshoe excursions in the park and there is a cross-country ski school in the ring right around the rifugio.
In the Parco naturale del Monte Cucco as well, in the midst of a centuries-old beech wood, the winter tourist season is open to promote the area around the mountain.
In the area above Norcia in the Piana di Castelluccio is the largest cross-country ski centre in all of Umbria: a total of 25 km of trails spread along the Pian Piccolo, the Pian Grande and the Pian Perduto with all levels of difficulty.
Afterwards you can take comfort in lentils, hot soup and delicious ricotta, regional specialties that act as ideal restoratives after the cold and, in so doing, make a contribution to revitalizing a region badly hit by the 2016 earthquake.
A WINTER PROJECT: VENTURING INTO THE UMBRIAN MOUNTAINS
