Monte Pora, Mountain peak in Lombardy, Italy

Monte Pora is a massif of the Bergamasque Prealps rising to 1,880 m, the highest point of the chain that closes the Castione della Presolana plateau to the south, together with Monte Scanapà, Monte Lantana and Monte Alto. Its east face drops steeply over the Val Camonica, while the gentler west side holds the ski area, reached by a road from Castione della Presolana up to the Malghe di Pora at 1,312 and 1,489 m.

The road from Castione della Presolana to the Malghe di Pora, at 1,312 and 1,489 metres, is usually kept open in winter but closed during heavy snowfall. The climb to the malghe hosted the finish of stage 19 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia, won by Vasil Kiryienka ahead of Danilo Di Luca and Aleksandr Efimkin. The black FISI-approved piste has hosted three editions of the Italian Alpine Ski Championships, in 2005, 2015 and 2016.

The mountain restaurants on the slopes serve dishes from the Bergamo Alpine tradition, such as polenta and local cheeses that have been eaten in this area for generations. Stopping at one of these places gives a concrete sense of how people in the surrounding valleys have long cooked and gathered.

The ski area is easy to reach from the surrounding valleys, and the main lift station sits at a mid-mountain elevation, so getting to the slopes does not require a long approach. Checking snow and weather conditions before heading up is always a good idea, as conditions at this altitude can shift within a few hours.

On certain evenings, the slopes are lit up for night skiing, turning the mountain into a different kind of place once the sun goes down. From the pistes, the lights of the towns in the valley below are visible in a way that daytime skiing does not offer.