Livigno - World Snowboard Guide

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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.

Hotel search

Top holiday offers

£664

Livigno, Italy
12/Jan/13 , Birmingham

San Giovanni Hotel - Half Board
Enjoying an informal atmosphere and a prime location backing onto the piste, the family run San Giovanni boasts easy access to the slopes. By taking a drag lift

Property	Date	From	Basis	Price
Hotel Le Alpi	16/Mar/13	Manchester	HB	£ 743
Hotel Le Alpi	09/Mar/13	Belfast International	HB	£1,438
San Giovanni Hotel	12/Jan/13	Edinburgh	HB	£1,338
San Giovanni Hotel	23/Feb/13	Edinburgh	HB	£ 794
Hotel Le Alpi	02/Feb/13	Belfast International	HB	£1,784
San Giovanni Hotel	16/Mar/13	Edinburgh	HB	£1,414
Hotel Touring	09/Feb/13	Edinburgh	HB	£2,059
San Giovanni Hotel	19/Jan/13	Stansted	HB	£1,302
San Giovanni Hotel	26/Jan/13	Birmingham	HB	£1,413
Hotel Le Alpi	09/Mar/13	Bristol	HB	£1,422
San Giovanni Hotel	12/Jan/13	Birmingham	HB	£1,283
San Giovanni Hotel	23/Feb/13	Birmingham	HB	£ 769
San Giovanni Hotel	09/Mar/13	Birmingham	HB	£1,393
Hotel Touring	12/Jan/13	Birmingham	HB	£ 810
Hotel Touring	09/Mar/13	Bristol	HB	£ 809

Resort Statistics

Resort Type: Alpine
Winter: beg Dec to end April
Summer: None

Lifts

Total Lifts: 31
Gondolas: 4
Chair lifts: 14
Drag lifts: 13
Max people per hour: 46,460
Board Leashes required: No

Mountain

Total pistes/trails: 73
Total ride area: 115km
Longest run: 3.5km

Top lift: 2792m
Vertical drop: 932m
First lift: 1860m

Piste suitability

Green runs: 50%
Red runs: 42%
Black runs: 8%

Lift Passes

	Low Season			High Season
	EUR	GBP	Average	EUR	GBP	Average
Day Pass	28.00	22.89	-26%	33.00	26.98	-21%
6-Day Pass	115.00	94.02	-34%	150.00	122.64	-25%

	EUR	GBP	Average
Season Pass:	-	-

Lift Passes:
Half-day pass 24 euros
1 Day pass 33 euros
6 days 163 euros
Season 515 euros
Lift times:8.30am to 4.30pm

Snowfall

Average annual snowfall: 2.50metres
Artificial snowmaking coverage: 15%

Facilities

Night Riding: : No

Other activities

Heliboarding: : Not available
Snowmobiles: Not available

Further information

www.livigno.eu
Email:info@livigno.eu

With an amazing park, open terrain, illegal but accessible off-piste, a warm Italian reception, and prices far cheaper than most other resorts in western Europe, Livigno is one excellent Italian job.

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ON THE SLOPES: Pretty Good - lift passes cheapish
OFF THE SLOPES: Excellent - cheap booze and food
MONEY WISE: Duty-free zone so very cheap shops but bars & restaurants average.

HALFPIPE: Yes - 1
TERRAIN PARK: Yes - 2
BACKCOUNTRY/OFF-PISTE:Some good
TREE RUNS:A few

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