Sestriere to reopen historic Kandahar for night skiing

Sestriere will introduce floodlit skiing on the historic Kandahar piste during selected evenings in the 2026–27 winter season, giving recreational skiers the chance to descend one of Italy’s most famous race courses after dark. The programme will revive a slope closely associated with World Cup racing and Alberto Tomba, more than 30 years after the venue hosted the first night race in the World Cup.

The exact evenings have not yet been announced. Access to the illuminated piste is expected to be included in the seasonal ski-pass products offered for the coming winter, although details of the operating timetable and any separate session arrangements remain to be confirmed.

From World Cup history to public skiing

The Kandahar is one of Sestriere’s best-known pistes and occupies an important place in the history of international alpine skiing. In 1994, it hosted the first World Cup race held at night, with Italy’s Alberto Tomba winning the slalom in front of a large crowd.

The race demonstrated the atmosphere that floodlights could create around a World Cup venue. Under artificial light, the course became a theatre: spectators could watch from the resort, television pictures gained a dramatic visual quality and the athletes raced on a surface prepared specifically for evening competition.

The new initiative changes the relationship between the piste and its history. Instead of watching elite racers descend under lights, ordinary skiers will be able to experience the same course after dark. The plan turns a historic competition venue into a participatory attraction while preserving its sporting identity.

The Kandahar has long been associated with the Banchetta mountain and with some of Sestriere’s most demanding terrain. It has hosted major international races and remains one of the slopes that gives the resort a stronger connection with alpine competition than its compact, purpose-built village might otherwise suggest.

A new evening offer for the 2026–27 season

Night skiing will be available on selected evenings during winter 2026–27. Sestriere has not yet published the dates, but the programme is expected to be scheduled around the busiest holiday and mid-season periods, when demand for après-ski and evening activities is highest.

The resort’s decision to include access within its seasonal ski-pass offer indicates that the night sessions are being treated as part of the wider winter product rather than as an entirely separate premium attraction.

For visitors, the experience could provide a different way to use the mountain:

• Skiers can return to the slopes after the daytime lift network closes.

• Visitors can ski a piste linked to World Cup history.

• Families and groups can add an evening activity without leaving the resort.

• The resort can extend the value of its lift infrastructure and ski-pass products.

• Sestriere gains a distinctive feature within the wider Via Lattea area.

The concept also gives the mountain a stronger evening rhythm. Skiers may finish a day on the wider Via Lattea network, return to Sestriere and then use the Kandahar for a shorter, more focused session under the lights.

Sestriere’s high-altitude advantage

Sestriere sits at approximately 2,035 metres and is the central resort of the Via Lattea, or Milky Way, ski area. The linked domain includes Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario, Cesana, Claviere, Pragelato and Montgenèvre, with around 400 kilometres of pistes and 69 lifts across the network.

The resort’s altitude is a significant factor in the night-skiing project. Floodlit skiing depends on reliable snow conditions, and Sestriere’s high base provides a stronger foundation than many lower-altitude European resorts. The wider Via Lattea is scheduled to operate from late November or early December 2026 through April 2027, although dates remain subject to snow and operational conditions.

The Kandahar is also close to the built-up resort, making it more suitable for evening access than an isolated upper-mountain run. Guests can move between accommodation, restaurants and the piste without requiring a long transfer or a separate mountain excursion.

A tradition of night racing

Sestriere has a particularly strong association with night competition. Alberto Tomba won his first World Cup race at the resort in 1987, taking a slalom victory before going on to become one of the defining figures of Italian alpine skiing.

The resort later hosted additional night slaloms, continuing a tradition in which the Kandahar became a stage for both elite competition and Italian ski culture. Tomba’s victories helped make Sestriere a major part of the sport’s popular history, with large crowds gathering to support the home favourite.

Night racing was especially valuable at a time when alpine skiing was seeking stronger television presentation and more event-style formats. Floodlights created a clear visual identity and allowed competitions to take place at times when more spectators could attend.

The 2026–27 night-skiing programme draws on that heritage but removes the competitive barrier. Visitors will not be racing for World Cup points, but they will be skiing on a slope where the sport’s modern evening tradition was established.

More than a floodlit piste

The initiative fits a wider trend among resorts seeking to make skiing more flexible and experience-led. Ski areas are increasingly adding evening products, including floodlit pistes, illuminated sledging, music sessions, torch descents, night-time mountain restaurants and guided uphill activities.

Night skiing can help resorts spread visitor demand across a longer part of the day. It may also provide additional value for holidaymakers who arrive late, take lessons during the day or want a shorter session after exploring the wider ski area.

For Sestriere, the Kandahar provides a stronger proposition than a newly built floodlit run because the attraction already carries sporting meaning. The combination of historical reputation, high-altitude snow reliability and direct access from the resort gives the project a compelling narrative.

It also fits the identity of Sestriere as a purpose-built, event-oriented destination. The resort was created in the 1930s by the Agnelli family and has long been associated with major competitions, Olympic skiing and international tourism. A night-skiing offer on the Kandahar connects that history with current visitor expectations.

The practical questions

Several details still need to be clarified before the programme launches:

• Which evenings will the piste operate?

• What will be the opening and closing times?

• Will the full Kandahar route be available, or only a section?

• Which lift will provide access?

• Will night sessions depend on weather, visibility or snow conditions?

• Will snowboarders be able to use the piste?

• Will seasonal-pass holders need to reserve a place?

• Will day-ticket holders be able to buy evening access separately?

The resort’s announcement confirms that the initiative is planned but does not yet provide a full operating schedule. Those details will be important for visitors planning accommodation, dinner reservations and transport.

Night skiing also brings operational requirements. The piste must be groomed to a high standard, lighting must provide sufficient visibility without creating glare, and patrol teams must manage safety after dark. Weather can change rapidly at Sestriere, particularly in wind, snowfall or cloud, meaning sessions may be cancelled even when the lift is technically scheduled to operate.

Part of a wider Via Lattea strategy

The Kandahar project will add a new attraction to the Sestriere sector of the Via Lattea, one of the largest interconnected ski areas in Italy. The wider domain already offers extensive terrain across the Italian-French border, including the Montgenèvre sector.

Sestriere’s challenge is to ensure that the central resort remains a destination in its own right rather than simply a gateway to the wider network. Night skiing helps address that by creating an activity that is tied specifically to Sestriere and its local history.

The programme could also encourage guests staying in neighbouring resorts to travel to Sestriere for an evening session. That would support restaurants, bars, shops and accommodation in the village, although the extent of the economic benefit will depend on transport links and the number of scheduled nights.

The project arrives during a period of continuing infrastructure investment in the Via Lattea. Planned and completed lift developments across the wider area include new gondola and chairlift projects, reflecting the region’s efforts to improve capacity and comfort ahead of the 2026–27 winter.

An attraction with a light environmental footprint to consider

Floodlit skiing can extend the use of existing infrastructure without requiring a new lift or new piste. In that sense, it may offer a relatively contained way to create additional visitor value.

However, night operation also requires electricity for lighting, lift operation, grooming and buildings. The environmental benefit will depend on the efficiency of the lighting system, the source of electricity and the number of skiers using the facility. If the sessions attract guests who would otherwise make separate journeys for evening entertainment, the overall impact may be more favourable than simply adding extra operating hours.

Resorts are increasingly expected to assess those trade-offs as energy costs and climate concerns shape mountain operations. Sestriere’s high altitude may improve snow reliability, but it does not remove the need to manage electricity use, lighting impacts and late-night transport.

A historic piste gets a new audience

The Kandahar’s return to the night-time spotlight is an example of how ski areas can reuse sporting heritage to create new experiences. The slope already has a story: it has hosted World Cup racers, Olympic-era competition and one of the defining victories of Italian ski racing.

The 2026–27 programme will allow visitors to become part of that story. Skiing the Kandahar after dark will not reproduce the intensity of a World Cup slalom, but it will offer a direct connection with the atmosphere that made Sestriere’s night races distinctive.

For the resort, the project is a modest but strategically effective innovation. It does not require a new mountain sector or a major lift installation. Instead, it combines existing terrain, lighting and access with a powerful sporting narrative.

When the floodlights come on this winter, Sestriere will be offering more than an evening ski session. It will be inviting skiers to experience a piece of World Cup history for themselves—on the same Kandahar piste where Alberto Tomba once turned night racing into one of the defining spectacles of Italian alpine skiing.