Livigno image via Wikipedia |
Located at an altitude of 1,800m-3,000m, snow is somewhat
assured in Livigno starting November until May, and the place is ordinarily
postcard-perfect in heavy snow. It's not a welcome experience going in and out
(journeys from 'nearby' airports are seldom less than 200km), and its
geographic reclusiveness (it used to be known as 'Little Tibet') has led
overtime to Livigno's establishment as a duty-free town.
In Livigno Italy ,
the mixture of practically free vodka and abundant virgin snow means that more
Brits are making the journey to Livigno more than ever, joining the
predominantly Italian and German holidaymakers and crowding those rustic
cowsheds with their hard-earned cash. Because of this, the road has been
expanded, the buses made more and more efficient and more modern hotels and
resorts have sprung up on the outskirts. The center of the place, however,
remains untouched: Livigno still looks and feels great -although expert skiers
are not served well by the surplus of red runs - and on more tranquil days it
could still seem like the quintessential winter wonderland.
Livigno is an ideal place for skiing and snowboarding
beginners to find their feet. The whole north-western part of the valley is
fringed with a line of low-lying blue runs, all of them short and almost all of
them accessed with a draglift. The easiest and so far the most enchanting
tourist destinations in Livigno are those that face San Rocco, lifts 17A
(chair) and 17B (drag): the greatest way to tackle Livigno's lifts is through
their numbers, especially when they aren't bound to any noteworthy landmarks.
These blue runs go along the valley (lift 22 is a little longer, steeper one)
to the assortment of chairs that take skiers to the top of chair 28. More
comfortable riders can then traverse a couple of reds to the top of lift 16
(Veta Blesaccia, 2,796m), but either way the blue runs that find their way back
to the valley are some of the longest you'll find in the Alps. The same is true on the flip side of the
valley: from the tip of the Mottolino gondola get lift 6 to the top of Monte
della Neve (in good weather only; it's among the most exposed chairs in the
area), and next, stay on the blue run all the way back to base.
© 2012 Athena Goodlight