There are a select group of ski resorts in the Alps where villages have grown up above the magic 1,800m altitude mark – St Moritz, Obergurgl, Val d’Isère …and snow sure Livigno. Essentially this means that even before you start your day on the slopes, you’re already up as high as the highest lifts in quite a few areas, but then the lifts climb higher, another 1,000 vertical metres in Livigno’s case.
Livigno © RobyTrab
This remote resort (actually just over the border from St Moritz for a skiing day trip), is in another small select group of ski resorts too – having tax-free status like Andorra and Samnaun linked to Ischgl on the Swiss/Austrian border. Legend has it, that it was just too remote in centuries past for the tax man to make it up there to collect the revenue and eventually its duty-free status became official. So along with reliable snow and great powder, expect an affordable and thus banging après-ski scene with countless bars to choose from. Don’t worry the access road is much better now.
The 23-24 season has got off to a great start in Livigno with three ‘powder alarms’ in November for up to 50cm of snowfall in 24 hours and the resort opened early too.
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