Livigno
Mountain stats
Lift count :
4 x Gondolas
14 x Chairlifts
13 x Drag-lifts
115km of pistes
Pass (Low/High Season) : £22.89-26.98 Day, £94.02-122.64 Week
Pissed off paying £5+ for a post-boarding beer? Want to escape the fur coat brigade? Want to ride decent terrain without breaking the bank? If you answered YES to these questions, than Livigno is the place to head this season.
Situated in the northern Italian Alps, Livigno is a great place for snowboarders of all levels and disciplines. The town is essentially one long road (10km) running through a valley, with pistes on either side. The pisted terrain is very open, with wide motorway runs making it perfect for beginners and intermediates. For more advanced freeriders, there are easily-accessible off-piste areas, and if you are willing to break sweat (and th law) and hike for half and hour or so, you can reach some beautiful open powder fields on both sides of the valley. Since December 2010, all off-piste is officially banned with fines ranging from 50-500 euros if you get caught. They always were a little tetchy towards it, but it was largely ignored unless you tried dropping into some of the more hard-core areas, where you'd be chased by a lifty screaming and waving like he was on fire.
Livigno does terrain parks very well. The main park is situated on the Mottolino and is packed with some mighty wedges, the other main park on Carosello is geared more towards intermediates and also has a boardercross. Beginners aren't left out with plenty of easy jumps & small boxes around the San Rocco area. Helmets are compulsory now on all of the terrain parks, and they do enforce this rule.
Terrain Park on Carosello
Photo: Steve, WSG
Cost-wise, Livigno is dirt cheap. Being a duty-free zone means that everything from booze to boards is cheaper here than the rest of Europe. A 1L bottle of Smirnoff Vodka will set you back a measly £3, a half-litre bottle of beer just 40p. BUT, don’t be fooled, Livigno’s low prices doesn't mean low quality; far from it, this is a top-notch location. The prices when in Bars & Restaurants are not quite the same bargain, but still slightly below the norm and spirits are nicely free-poured. Expect 4 euros for a large beer and 2-3 per shot.
The lift system is mostly modern, with high-speed quads and gondolas servicing the majority of slopes. However they've kept a few classics like the Monte Della Neve 2-man chair that'll give you 18 minutes of snooze time. Most of the great beginner slopes along the foot of the valley are served by pomo-lifts but there is one chair in San Rocco to head for.
Slopes from Carosello
Photo: Steve, WSG
Lift passes are hands-free, and free ski buses run up and down the length of the town every fifteen minutes or so, connecting the valley together, however getting from one side of the valley to the other is still a pain in the arse.
Night life is pretty decent and not posy. There's a few bars that do apres ski but things generally kick off a little later.