Livigno, Italy: Ski, Sauna, Repeat

On top of Carosello 3000

I took my sister (Rachel) up on an invite to come skiing with her and her husband (Felix) for a week in Livigno, Italy. The mountain town is just a four hour drive from their home in Munich, though we had to cross both Austria and Switzerland to get there-- which actually proved to be our greatest challenge of the week. On our route, there was one way get from Switzerland to Italy and that was through a narrow, one-way, 3.5 km tunnel. You can imagine the issue. Cars could only enter from either direction at certain times, dictated by a stoplight at the mouth of the tunnel, causing traffic to back up for miles along the mountain road. Once through the tunnel, the adventure was not over, as we then had to sit in traffic to pay the mandatory toll at the single-lane, manned toll booth. Any-who, it was an amusing (not at the time) way to our trip!

Our breakfast & dinner spot at Park Chalet Village

Traffic woes were quickly forgotten when we arrived at our lodging in Park Chalet Village. The chalet had three floors, complete with a mini kitchen and a sauna room, which we took full advantage of. There, we met the last two members of our group: Felix's cousin Yannic, and his friend Philipp. The five of us headed to dinner immediately, which was held in a dinning room accessible via underground tunnels connecting to our Chalet. The restaurant offered a semi-fixed menu of five courses every night, all included with the price of our Chalet, and our table was located in a corner of windows with beautiful views of the mountains surrounding us.

I suppose I should explain how a bunch of 20-somethings could afford such a booking. Yannic's girlfriend worked as a ski instructor for Jafi Sport, a prominent ski company based in Poland, and her connections got us crazy discounts on both the Chalet and our ski rentals-- we really owe her for such an incredible week.

Me looking like a pro skier!

Day one, we picked up our ski equipment and headed to Mottolino, the first of two ski resorts in Livigno. The town was located in a valley between two mountains, each of which had their own collection of runs, lifts and huts, and our ski passes gave us access to both, so we bounced between them throughout the week. On Mottolino, I relied heavily on muscle memory to carry me down my first couple of runs, having not skied on actual mountains since I was four years old (the majority of my experience has been in Wisconsin and Illinois-- not exactly known for their mountainous landscape). However, it all came flooding back quickly, and I was cruising by lunch time. Perhaps I gained too much confidence too quickly, though, because I certainly had my fair share of falls.

A red run on Mottolino

It was immediately obvious how lucky we were to have Yannic guiding us down each run and directing us to each lift, otherwise I was certain I would've gotten lost somewhere on that huge resort. Gotten lost, or accidentally turned down a black run and broken a leg. Alas, that was never a concern with our experienced and knowledgable guide at our side, pausing at each fork to make sure we didn't disappear down the wrong run. He was a godsend.

The delicious Bombardino!

We took a break at a hut on the mountain, enjoying hot drinks and fun music. It was there that I had my first taste of a Bombardino: a warm eggnog and brandy drink typical of Italian ski resorts-- delicious.

After a few more hours of skiing, we headed down the mountain around 4:00 (at lift-close) and joined my first après-ski. Après-ski refers to events or parties that typically follow a day of skiing in the Alps, and goodness, did we partake. Most people don't even change out of their ski boots before joining the party, where pitchers of drinks are served with sparklers and international dance music is spun by a DJ all evening. We danced and drank and sung for several hours before heading back to our chalet for a round in our personal sauna before a late dinner.

And so our week went.

Each day was similar to our first, with slight variations.

After another day on Mottolino and a fantastic dinner on day two, we went to Mickey's Club in town, where Jafi Sport was hosting a party. We ended up staying out until 5:00am that night, and took it slow the next morning, only skiing for a half day on Carosello 3000 (the resort on the other side of the valley). However, it was on that day that I tried my first black run, which I got down without even falling! Though, I might have suffered a couple minor heart attacks.

The view from a lunch spot on Carosello

We went back to Carosello on day four, where we really enjoyed the long, winding runs on this mountain. From the top, it took us about 20 minutes to ski and snowboard our way all the way down, and the views took my breath away every time. We ended our day with a little après-ski, and then joined a sledding event hosted by Jafi Sport under the lights of the closed ski hill. We each got mini sleds and took them up a short ski lift, from the top of which we then raced back down, taking several bumps and several crashes along the way. The snow and ice spraying into our face proved extra challenging, but we recovered with some mulled wine at the bottom of the hill after some exhilarating races.

Speedy Felix competing in the slalom competition

Day five was also spent of Carosello, where Jafi Sport hosted a slalom competition. Having never participated in something like this before, I found it a little daunting, but made it down without problem (though my time was not impressive). Yannic, on the other hand, took second place among the

male snowboarders, and was honored at a ceremony at the end of the day. Afterwards, we propped our skis on a rack and headed in to the bar for après-ski, which kept us dancing for hours. Skipping dinner at Park Chalet, we went to a night shop in town where they were serving amazing handmade pizzas well into the evening, and enjoyed those back at our Chalet.

A trapeze performance during apres-ski because why not?

On our sixth and final day of skiing, we went back to Mottolino, where we took in the incredible sights for a final time. By now, my legs were definitely feeling the last five days of activity, but we powered through our final day, making the most of the absolutely beautiful weather we had been blessed with all week. We did allow ourselves some breaks, enjoying drinks at a hut with an incredible panorama of the Alps, and having a delicious lunch of handmade pasta elsewhere on the mountain. We finished our day with one last ski all the way down the mountain, just as the sun was sinking.

Toasting our drinks at a hut on Mottolino

We all enjoyed a final couple rounds of sauna at the end of the day, our muscles in desperate need of some tender love and care. After one last dinner, we capped off our night with drinks in the chalet and said Caio to our fantastic week in Livigno.

It was a ridiculously amazing, once-in-a-lifetime trip for me, and I am officially addicted to skiing in a way I was not before.

Livingo, you have certainly won me over!