Freeride lines in Livigno

We spent some time in Livigno to shoot some of the videos for Mountain Academy last season. Normally we don’t often go on trips where everything is already set in advance (especially the dates and destination), but we were lucky and hit the jackpot. There was a big dump in the middle of the main alpine ridge. And so we could ride deep powder for a couple of days.

Long lines

Anyway, even if all that snow didn’t come down, there was a reason why we went to Livigno. The village lies at an altitude of 1800 meters and the mountains around Livigno are close to 3000 meter high. You can find some fine lines in Livigno. Not the real big mountain lines like you can find in Alagna, but definitely no bunny hill runs either. Nope, here you’ll both fine lines through open fields, and great tree runs. When the conditions are good it is possible to ride around 1200 vertical meters in one run. And because Livigno is quite remote you will find little competition (a bit too much of a hassle to get there) and you only to deal with the friendly locals and the tourists.

Our favorites

Let’s have a look at three lines that made us happy: the Calcheira Bassa, Crocifisso and Madonnone. The first one is a great treerun. Morris and I have skied quite a bit in British Columbia (with a helicopter) on this is the terrain your ride on a day that it’s dumping. Of course, there’s more vertical in Canada, you’re the only one on the mountain and it is a bit steeper, but the Calcheira comes pretty close.

The Crocifisso starts, just like the Calcheira, with an open field, but dives quickly into the trees. The trees on the Crocifisso are closer to each other and the slope is steeper. It doesn’t get tracked as fast as the Calcheira (although there is no such thing as powder panic over there as well). This is not exactly a run you should do as a beginning freerider.

Madonnone

The Madonnone is on the other side of Livigno (but also at the Carosello 3000 side). You just have to hike a bit, but the reward is a great run. Because you have to hike a bit, the chance of first tracks is quite big. The first part goes through high-alpine terrain and at some point you dive into the trees. You’ll end up on the road back to Livigno.

Have you ever been to Livigno? And what is your favorite run?