Freeride in Livigno: the Freeride Project

It is not the first time that we post something about Livigno's Freeride Project on wePowder. But a few years after the introduction, it is still the best example for ski resorts in terms of how to approach freeriding. Fabiano Monti is the driving force behind Livigno's Freeride Project. After years of working as a researcher at the SLF, he returned to Livigno to help it grow as a freeride destination.

Isolated location

Livigno is quite isolated in the main alpine ridge at an altitude of about 1800 meters. The village got a tax-free status in the beginning of the 19th century and that's still going strong. The combination of the remote location and the fact that they want to inform skiers and snowboarders as much as possible about the current conditions in the ski area resulted in the daily publication of a local avalanche forecast by Fabiano and his team.

From banning to informing

It wasn't that long ago when freeriding in Livigno was completely banned, but with the growing popularity of the sport and the fact that Italians generally don't really care a lot about prohibition signs, it has been decided to inform skiers and boarders as good as possible. This happens in a number of ways:

• Daily avalanche forecast in English specifically for Livigno
• Routes for beginners and advanced riders are indicated on the mountain
• Relevant information for freeriders at the lifts
• Points where you can do a avalanche beacon check
• Information evenings where you can learn more about avalanche safety

Great terrain

When you add the terrain in Livigno that offers plenty of challenges for almost all levels and you understand why we are very enthusiastic about this resort. You will not find the steep lines as you can find them in Chamonix or Verbier, but there are more than enough runs with more than 1000 meters vertical. There's fantastic ski touring and there isn't much powder panic compared to the more well-known resorts.