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Azienda per il Turismo Dolomiti Paganella
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MAKING A PIZZA RESONATES WITH YOU

Do you remember your first snowplough? Your first downhill, your legs shaking in fear, and a voice telling you: “Pizza to stop, French fries to go! Lean forward. Don’t sit.”

Behind that smile and professionalism, there’s a world you don't see from the chairlift. It means early starts every day, days spent teaching in the fog, 5-minute energy bar lunches, and a passion that burns brighter than the January cold. It's the daily reality for the ski instructors on the slopes of Paganella and Pradel.

Take Pietro Mattarelli. He learned to ski here as a child at the Fai della Paganella ski school, and now he teaches there.

A group of children, wearing skis and helmets, is lined up on the snow with an instructor from the "Scuola Italiana Sci Fai della Paganella." Seen from behind, they are waiting for a ski lift. | © Filippo Frizzera, 2025
Taking the lifts is a bit of a puzzle: you have to find an adult to accompany the kids for each lift.
A close-up portrait of a smiling ski instructor on the slopes of Paganella. The person is wearing a helmet, ski goggles resting on the helmet, and the red ski school uniform. | © Filippo Frizzera, 2025
“I’ll always remember Adriano. He was 4 and cried for the entire second lesson because I wasn’t his instructor any longer.”
On a wide Paganella ski slope, a ski instructor in a red uniform, seen from behind, gives instructions to three young learners. The instructor is pointing up the slope with a ski pole, surrounded by a coniferous forest. | © Filippo Frizzera, 2025
“When the slope is crowded or iced, safety is your first thought.”

He likes to be one of the first to arrive in the morning to prepare the kids' practice area: every day the magic carpets, nets, and teaching aids have to be set up. At the end of the day, it all has to be taken down again so the snowcats can groom the slopes.

Sometimes you have to deal with the unexpected, too. Like the time it rained so much that the entrance to the area flooded, and he and his colleagues had to build a makeshift bridge out of pallets just to get the pupils across.

Kids are still his favourite skiers. “They’re genuine,” he says. “They always say exactly what they think. Sometimes they don't listen much, but that’s all part of the game.”

Pietro doesn't stop in the summer, either. He’s a mid-mountain guide and dreams of becoming an alpine guide. The goal is to dedicate his life 100% to the mountains, which means he plans to keep teaching skiing "until the end of my days, or at least as long as I can still make a pizza."

It's time to head downhill

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