Livigno has been one of our favorite areas in the Alps for years. Sometimes it is difficult to explain why something is your favorite, but in this case it is much easier to substantiate than just ‘the vibe is good’ when you are in Livigno to ski or board.
Isolated location
Livigno is not exactly the most easily accessible village in the Alps. It is located in the middle of the main alpine ridge and enjoys a tax-free status since 1805. It’s location was so remote that people were stimulated to live and work there by offering them the tax advantage. ‘Piccolo Tibet’ still has that tax-free status nowadays, which means you don’t have to pay VAT and that results in cheap liquor and gas. Anyway, the most important thing is that people choose to go to Livigno. That means hardly any day-trippers, a very good vibe, a close-knit community and slightly less competition in the powder than elsewhere.
Freeride Project
Livigno’s Freeride Project is still going strong. 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. And with success!
Freeride lines in Livigno
Let’s have a look at a couple 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.
