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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Olympic spectators in Cortina are getting a new way to visit the Dolomites during the Games, with Uber and a local winter-activities operator rolling out a one-month “Uber Snowmobile” experience that sends riders from town to the snow-covered area near the UNESCO-listed Three Peaks of Lavaredo.
The tour is set to begin Saturday and run for about a month, offering a side trip from the Cortina venues where athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The three jagged limestone pinnacles are roughly 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) from those Games sites.
Giulia Baffetti, an Olympic torchbearer who runs snowmobiling tours through the Cortina-based company Snowdreamers, said the point of the arrangement is to broaden access to the mountains. “We want to give an experience to the tourists, so they can feel the mountains in a different way,” she said. She also described the peaks as something people can appreciate more directly than from a distance, noting their appeal to hikers and climbers in warmer months and to winter sports such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledding.
Baffetti said snowmobiling is allowed only in a limited area to help protect the environment. The “Uber Snowmobile” tours can be booked only through Uber, and the package begins with an Uber transfer bus ride for up to eight people from Cortina to the spot where riders mount their snowmobiles for departure. Tourgoers then follow the instructor as a line of snowmobiles moves along the route.
Uber spokesperson Caspar Nixon said the first slots offered went quickly, and that Uber planned to add more departures. The operator’s safety and handling details are part of the experience, including mandatory helmets and heated handgrips. Passengers are also told about a red button that they can press to stop the snowmobile if it veers off course or if riders feel unsafe.
During an advance tour before the Saturday launch, riders followed an instructor along a route to the base of the Three Peaks of Lavaredo and were able to see deer and wolves along the roughly 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) path to the starting area. The ride can reach speeds up to 40 kph (25 mph) when passing snow-covered trees, and drivers are instructed to slow when they encounter cross-country skiers and sledders. On the return trip, riders also take a short loop around Lake Antorno.
The experience was designed for both tourists and spectators, according to the tour setup described by Uber and Snowdreamers. One participant, Saher Deeb, an Israeli tourist, was celebrating his 29th birthday the day before the tour; the trip was his first time on a snowmobile, and he said, “It was perfect.”