News / 10.09.2015

LIVIGNO, ALL THE WINTER NEWS 2015/2016

From November to May, the watchword for Livigno is just one: snow. White is the color that tints the winter along with the blue sky and with the warm golden rays of the sun. The landscape turns into a postcard, white waves dotted with larches and timbered houses are the setting in which people around the world choose to spend their winter holiday. The dominant theme is sports: from alpine skiing to telemark, from snowboarding to freeride, from cross country skiing to snowshoeing, from fat bikes to mountaineering skiing, from paragliding to ice skating, from horseback riding to relaxing walking on groomed tracks, who chooses Livigno has only spoiled for choice to keep fit and have fun in the snow. Already in October the first flakes begin to fall on the plateau of Livigno, which is located at 1,816 meters above sea level, in a unique landscape, where nature has played a fundamental role in defining mountain scenes that confuse the normal logic. At 3,000 meters in Livigno you can still find vast grasslands, while not far away, on the border with the Stelvio National Park, stand at the same altitude, towering rocky peaks. This has got to Livigno the nickname "Little Tibet" for the analogy with the Himalayan plateau.

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING, LA SGAMBEDA, SKI PASS FREE PROMOTION

Autumn and early winter, from October to December, are dedicated to cross country skiing. In recent seasons, Livigno has improved a lot this sector, with the installation of artificial snow machines on the competitive part of the cross country trail (about 8 km out of 30 total) and with the creation of the Nordic Ski Center, in the heart of the resort. From November, the National Teams from all over the world choose Livigno for the first training on snow, not in glacier, and they remain there until La Sgambeda race, the cross country skiing marathon of Little Tibet.

Since last year, La Sgambeda became part of the prestigious international circuit Ski Classics, which includes the 9 classic races around the world including the Vasaloppet and Marcialonga, and that opens the season exactly from Livigno with a Prologue race in teams, programmed on the 05th December 2015. On December 06th, instead, will be the turn of La Sgambeda Classic, 35 km in classic technique, that will start from the town center and go up gradually, towards the ​​Forcola area, where the woods and the view on little enchanting huts, make the trail more particular and fascinating. And for the little ones, the appointment is with the Minisgambeda (05th December 2015), with tracks from 1 to 5 km, suitable for both young athletes and kids who want to learn to skiing on narrow skis.

La Sgambeda opens the doors to the traditional Feast of the Immaculate and is situated in the promotional period "Skipass Free”, which is scheduled from the 28th November to the 19th December 2015 and which will repeat at the end of the season, from the 9th April to the 1st May 2016. It is an advantageous proposal that will meet the needs of those who do not want to miss the opportunity to ski and to have a winter holiday at an incredible price. In these periods, in fact, guests will get their ski passes for free if they will overnight in a partner hotel for 4 nights or in a partner apartment for 7 nights.

 

IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE: CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR, BONDI’ GHIBINET

The Christmas atmosphere in Livigno is still deeply felt thanks to the typical alpine tradition of Christmas markets. A village of wooden houses situated near the square of the Church of Santa Maria, at the entrance of the pedestrian area, is open during the whole Advent time, till the 24th December and there you can buy jewels, luck charms for the new year, essences and magic herbs, wooden items like Christmas decorations but also tools and furnishings. Do not miss the traditional “Pezzotti” from Valtellina, and wooden statues for the nativity scene. As for the gastronomic part, roasted chestnuts, mulled wine, apple fritters and typical Valtellina desserts like Bisciola, are directly served directly from Santa Claus. In addition to the markets, there are several initiatives that can be found in attractive corners of Livigno with music and carols, hot chocolate, mulled wine, crepes, hot pancakes and surprises for children. And for New Year's Eve, Livigno lights up thanks to the traditional torchlight on skis, performed by ski instructors and guests, where the old year is "burned" and people welcome the new one. On the peaks, the new year is celebrated with dinners and parties in huts, accessible by snowmobile, and also in numberless après ski. And the day of the Epiphany in Livigno, people will greet you by saying: "Bondi Ghibinet", while children will walk the streets with sleds in search of sweets and treats. It is a common practice throughout the Valtellina to symbolize the arrival of the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the Christ Child, and probably the word “Ghibinet” is a mangling of the German word "Gaben-Nacht", which means "the night of the gifts“. Who doesn’t anwser immediately "Bondì Ghibinet!" at the greeting of 6 January, should “pay” by offering a small gift.

 

WORLD ROOKIE FEST, EUROPEAN FREERIDE FESTIVAL, FAMILY WEEKS KIDS GO FREE

Once the Christmas holidays are ended, January in Livigno is the month dedicated to snowboarding and freeriding. We start on the 9th January 2016 with the World Rookie Fest, an international competition of snowboarding under 16 to find promising young snowboarders from all over the world, while from the 14th to the 17th January is staged the second edition of the European Freeride Festival, a freeride festival with moments dedicated to learning and improvement of freeride disciplines like skiing, snowboarding, telemark and splitboard, through guided tours, also by helicopter (heliski). During the festival there will be also a projection dedicated to the best freeride movies and videos, workshops about safety with theoretical and practical lessons on the freeride equipment, tests of the latest materials, and parties with live music. In last years more and more freeriders choose Livigno as a destination for their trip, coming from any corner of the world, in search of the perfect track. Last year there was an increase of 20% on attendance and this thanks to the initiatives that our resort has undertaken in recent seasons, starting with the innovative Freeride Project, unique in Italy, which was immediately taken as a reference point from other winter resorts.

The highlight of the Freeride Project of Livigno has been the local daily information service about the stability of the snowpack, which integrate the avalanche bulletin released by the Regional ARPA in Bormio and the one released by the SLF Swiss Avalanche Centre.

This project was an innovation that allowed the skiers to be always updated every morning about local snow conditions through the news issued from the website of Tourist Board of Livigno (www.livigno.eu), then also displayed on numberless monitors at the lifts stations, on monitors situated all along the town, also send through newsletter service to all the hotels, apartments and shops of Livigno, and through a new dedicated app on the smartphones. A weekly meeting by the Alpine Guides was also activated, in order to train the skiers about the using of rescue equipment: avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe.

And for non-skiers, the Freeride Project has created two paths specially reserved for snowshoe tours and mountaineering skiing with groomed tracks accessible to all. January ends with the promotion "Family Week Kids Go Free" dedicated to families with children from the 23rd to the 30th January 2016 that will be repeated in Spring, from the 19th to 26th March 2016. This is an offer that allows you to have tangible economic benefits, designed for families with children under the age of 12 years. It provides a free holiday for children under 12 accompanied by two paying adults, and a discount of 50% for each additional child under 12 years of age, and the discount will be apply on the overnight in partner hotels and apartments (in this case, the discount is 15%), on equipment hire, ski passes and ski school. Let's take a practical example: in a family of two adults and two children under the age of 12, the overnight, the ski pass, the ski school and the rental will be free for the youngest son, discounted by 50% for the second child (15% if you stay in the apartment) and full price for two adults.

 

CARNIVAL

The main event that typically occurs during February is Carnival which in Livigno is celebrated with allegorical floats, parades and traditional games and entertainment on snow and ice. For the occasion, the locals challenge to defend the flags of the town districts: Rane, Spazzon, Truzz and Trepall. To win the Carnival Trophy they must be the most talented in skill games, the most creative during the parade and in preparing the floats. Carnival in Livigno is very popular among the local community that offers the tourists a special atmosphere of music, colors and good mood. To enjoy your stay in Livigno by Carnival nights there are many themed parties in the pubs and clubs of Livigno.

 

SKI HOLIDAYS

The best time to ski in in March when the days get longer and you can stay under the sun a few more hours, maybe on the terrace of a mountain refuge tasting local specialties. This is a difficult economic period for many families and that’s the reason because Livigno offers the special promotion "Family Week Kids Go Free" even from 19 to 26 March. For the little guests are available more than 150 ski instructor, ski camps and many facilities such as the kindergarten (where here is also the chance to have lunch) and many playgrounds on the snow.

 

SKIPASS FREE, SKIEDA, SUZUKI NINE KNIGHTS

The Spring in Livigno is white colored, you have the opportunity to ski till early  May and in this period you can also take advantage of the promotion " Skipass Free " from 9 April to 1 May 2016. Spring is  also the season in which Livigno from 2 to 9 April hosts La Skieda, an event that gathers telemarkers from all over the world. During La Skieda some important events are the Sun Rising at Eira pass (muscular awakening at dawn), the traditional Trepallina, the typical barbecue party, and the transhumance, a cultural and gastronomic excursion by visiting the Tee (typical old wooden huts) in Federia Valley. The show goes on with the Suzuki Nine Knights on the legendary snow castle at the Mottolino Fun Mountain which is built with 120,000 cubic meters of snow with jumps up to 50 meters long. The best freeskiers and snowboarders will compete on the castle showing their breathtaking tricks. This contest, which already has become an icon, includes a week full of competitions, photo and video sessions, meetings with the riders, parties and a lot of fun in Livigno that is one the few ski resorts in the Alps where you can ski till early May.

 

AQUAGRANDA ACTIVE YOU

To let you stay in shape and improve your training and swimming skills Livigno offers you the Aquagranda Active You which is perfect both for getting back into shape and for altitude training of many professional athletes, who enjoyed the benefits of the 1816 meters of Livigno. Vittorio Brumotti, Ivan Basso, the cyclists of the Team Tinkoff Saxo, the Italian National Swimming Team, Peter Nortugh, Roberto Nani  and many others are the athletes who improve their performance skills in the 25-meter pool and the fitness room of Aquagranda Active You. There are also news for families: this winter we will open the new “Fun Area”, with water slides for kids and adults, and spray park and playground in pool for babies.

 

SHOPPING, LIVIGNO BY NIGHT, APRES-SKI

Prepare yourself to indulge in shopping thanks to the duty-free area of Livigno, in which there is every kind shops along the town’s street. The most popular shops are perfumeries, duty free shops, hi-tech, jewelers, fashion boutiques and of course sports shops. After shopping, Livigno offers you a nightlife which is famous in the Alps. It starts with the traditional après-ski, strictly with boots on, and ends in one of the many pubs where also live music is often played. Thanks to this party atmosphere Livigno has become one of the most appreciated resort by young people and by those looking for entertainment during the winter holiday.

 

SLOPES AND SKI LIFTS

The ski area of Livigno offers 115 km of perfectly tended slopes (from 1800 to 2900 meters above sea level) suited to all difficulty levels 12 black runs, 37 red and 29 blue slopes which are served by 6 gondolas (Carosello 3000 I and II; Mottolino, Livigno Centro Tagliede I and II; Cassana), 14 chair lifts and 11 ski lifts. 80% of the skiing area, which is divided between Carosello 3000, Mottolino Fun Mountain and other small lifts, is covered by snowmaking system, guaranteed by 110 snow cannons. Furthermore in Livigno there are two Snowparks (one at the Mottolino Fun Mountain and the one at Carosello 3000) which were many time awarded in Italy and abroad for their facilities and the events that are hosted. For the little ones are available several playgrounds and a kindergarten on the snow. For all guests are at disposal 150 ski, snowboarding, cross-country and telemark instructors. The big news of the season 2015/16 is the new 6-seater chairlift "Vallaccia" in the ski area Mottolino Fun Mountain, which will expand by 30% the skiing surface of the slope. The new chairlift will place its bottom station at 2079m asl to reach 2717m asl, for a total length of 1848 m and a vertical rise of 638m with  a capacity of 2800 people per hour. The cross-country tracks are 30 km long starting from the town center up to the area Forcola Alpe Vago. The technical track "Marianna Longa" is covered using an artificial snow making system for about 10 km.

 

LIVGNO CARD WINTER

Livigno Card Winter gathers all the local activities such as leisure, sport,  cultural, gastronomic activities offered from week to week.  The Livigno Card Winter is thus  precious for your holiday both in winter and in summer (Summer version) and is available directly  at the participating hotels and apartments or at the tourist board of Livigno. For the winter season 2015/16 in Livigno Card Winter are going to be included activities such as paragliding flights, snowmobiling and quad on snow, driving courses on ice, Snow fun parks for children, ski races and lessons, food and wine tours, snowshoeing, Nordic walking, fat bike tours and much more….

 

EVENTS

5 December 2015 La Sgambeda Prologo Ski Classics Pro Team Tempo

5 December 2015 La Minisgambeda

5 December 2015 La Sgambeda Classic

9-14 January 2016 World Rookie Fest

14-17 January 2016 European Freeride Festival

4-9 February 2016 Carnival

2-9 April 2016 La Skieda

April Suzuki Nine Knights

 

More info about Livigno under www.livigno.eu

Livigno Mountain Bike LIVIGNO AT COSMO BIKE WITH THE BRUMOTTI TEAM
Mountain Bike / 9.09.2015
LIVIGNO AT COSMO BIKE WITH THE BRUMOTTI TEAM
Saturday, September 12 great show in Verona with the tricks of the Team 100% Brumotti Mountain Bike Freestyle. Vittorio Brumotti, who is still recovering , is attending the event as official speaker.
READ


SEARCH ACCOMMODATION

LATEST NEWS