South Tyrol's ski mountaineers are facing the season finale.

This weekend, the 18th edition of the Marmotta Trophy, the only ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Cup stage on South Tyrolean soil, will take place in Martell. However, no South Tyroleans will be competing.

March 19, 2026

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With the exception of Val Gardena individual athlete Alex Oberbacher, the local athletes are primarily competing in the Italian Cup and the various Italian youth championships. This year, young Annalisa Pitscheider has been particularly impressive in these competitions.

Nineteen-year-old Pitscheider comes from Badia and has been one of South Tyrol's leading ski mountaineers for several years. She currently competes in the youth categories, this year in the U20, but from next season she aims to establish herself in the senior category, specifically the U23. "Unfortunately, South Tyrol lags somewhat behind other Italian regions. There's only one club here, Badiasport ASD, for which I also compete. While the other regions begin glacier training in the autumn, we don't start our preseason preparation until the beginning of December, which is why we have a training deficit, especially in the first few competitions. Towards the end of the season, however, we manage to achieve some top results," reports the Val Badia native.

She herself has been particularly successful this year. She started the first Coppa Italia on December 13th in Madonna di Campiglio with a fifth-place finish in the U20 category, before taking fourth place a week later at the Italian Vertical Championships in Piancavallo. But things took a sharp turn for the better at the beginning of 2026: Pitscheider finished third at the Italian Sprint Championships in San Martino di Castrozza. "For the third time in a row, that was really satisfying," says the Val Badia native. This was followed by a fifth-place finish at the Coppa Italia in Macugnaga, and a second-place finish in the individual competition at the Coppa Italia in Valtartano.

Since the beginning of March, Pitscheider has been riding a wave of success. On March 1st, the Badiasport athlete achieved a sensational second place in the U20 individual event at the Italian Championships in Alpago Transcavallo. A week later, she won her first individual title at the Coppa Italia in Lanzada Pizzo Scalino. Last weekend, she followed this up with a prestigious result at the Pierra Menta in the French Alps, considered the premier ski mountaineering race. Teaming up with Gaia Calcini, Pitscheider finished second in the U20 category. "I'm most pleased with second place at the Italian Championships this season, which has gone so well so far that I'm surprised myself. But second place at the Pierra Menta was also great; after all, it's THE race in ski mountaineering," she reflects.

This weekend, Pitscheider and her teammates will compete in the season finale in Colere (Lombardy). At the final stage of the Italian Cup on the Spiazzi di Gromo, Pitscheider aims to confirm her excellent form and end the season with a top result. Her seven teammates will also be there. Sofia Pitscheider, Annalena Tasser, Adam Piccolruaz, Leon Pitscheider, and Daniel Pizzinini will compete in the U16 category, while Sofie Irsara and Maria Pescosta will race in the U18. None of them have yet achieved a podium finish this season, although Irsara has made a name for herself with two fifth-place finishes in the Coppa Italia. Alex Wierer, a ski mountaineer from Toblach competing for the Valdobbiadene club (Veneto), will also be competing; he is one of the most promising South Tyroleans in the U18 category.

Keywords Ski mountaineering