headerbild
Story
Sleeping beauty

From sleepy village to ski destination

In the late 1960s, Innerratschings was still a sleepy town.

According to statistics, the village had just seven guest beds. As far as skiing was concerned, things took place on a small scale in Jaufen, where three private investors had been operating a lift since 1959. In 1972, Vinzenz Schölzhorn took the initiative and founded the Innerratschings-Jaufen GmbH lift company. Just two years later, on 19 January 1974, the first two lifts opened, and a year after that, the mountain restaurant. The project was greeted with a certain amount of scepticism by some members of the local community. However, it was also recognised that other ski areas in South Tyrol contributed positively to the development of tourism.

While further expansion of the area was always made considering the increase in guest beds in the valley, the narrow gravel road was already a big problem in the early years. In the morning, buses and cars pushed into the valley; in the afternoon, they headed in the opposite direction. It was a situation that’s hard to imagine today thanks to the well-developed transport infrastructure.

0010
1974 the first two lifts opened

The opening of the Saxner 6-seater chairlift in 1987 marked the end of the expansion of the ski area in terms of size – but not in terms of quality. And so there has been continuous investment in the modernisation of the lifts and the snow-making facilities. The favourable snow conditions and the good terrain, combined with the positive development in the valley, have made the ski area and the Ratschings destination a model of success to this day. Guests and locals alike are happy to take advantage of the diverse opportunities for winter leisure activities.

To ensure that this remains the case in the future, the board of directors of Innerratschings-Jaufen GmbH will continue to keep a watchful eye on the ski area’s sustainable development, which follows the spirit of the times and respects natural resources.

More inspirations
Discover more experiences!
experiences
logo-ratschings-dt-it
Ratschings Tourismus Gen.
Do you have questions? We are always there for further information.