Item: Livigno (Italy) Freeride Project
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Title: Livigno (Italy) Freeride Project
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2014 Proceedings, Banff, Canada
Authors:
- Fabiano Monti [ ALPsolut S.r.l., Livigno, Italy ]
- Walter Steinkogler [ WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland ] [ ALPsolut S.r.l., Livigno, Italy ]
- Christoph Mitterer [ ALPsolut S.r.l., Livigno, Italy ]
Date: 2014-09-29
Abstract: In Italy, the ambiguities in national laws regarding personal liability make managing backcountry activities difficult. Livigno is a village in the middle of the Italian alpine range where, until the winter season 2013-2014, off-piste skiing was prohibited by local laws if the regional avalanche danger was at Considerable or higher. With the start of the winter season 2013-2014, the municipality decided to open the backcountry for all activities by providing a daily local avalanche bulletin for the area of Livigno (200 km2) with the same quality standards as of the national one. Due to the terrain characteristics it would have not been possible to manage the complete area by artificial avalanche release. At weekly public meetings interested recreationists were informed about the current conditions and activities. Especially intended for beginners, marked trails for freeriding, skitouring and snowshoeing were created and maintained throughout the season. Additionally, heli-skiing was offered as a new service in the Livigno area. The permanent availability of the helicopter also facilitated the artificial avalanche release without conventional explosives (e.g. daisy bell). Already after one operational season the feedback was very positive and the number of freeriders evidently grew. In a next step the communication of the relevant information will be improved. Additionally, a freeride map with a terrain difficulty classification in combination with the avalanche bulletin will be published. The same map will be the first step for a structured plan for an environment protection plan (e.g. wildlife protected areas).
Object ID: ISSW14_paper_P3.48.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: Avalanche education; Risk management; Backcountry skiing, Out-of-bounds skiing
Page Number(s): 2010-2014
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