Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25256
OUTFITTERS LYSKAMM VIAGGI, ITALY This locally based guide service is run as a family business and all clients are treated as such. Office manager Ana Gualdi (her husband, Paolo Pagolino, is Lyskamm's head guide) is the key to all arrangements for any Alagna itinerary. She oversees eight full· time UIAGM licensed guides and is networked into all local accommodation and skier services. Guides for hire by the day; off-piste: $242 for groups of up to three, heli: $195 per person for one flight; maximum group size seven; season depends on snow conditions; 39-01-63-922-993, www.lyskammviaggLcom.lyskamm@alagna.it ALAGNA GUIDE CORP, ITALY Specializing in ski and snowboard touring and mountaineerin g, Alagna Guide Corp has a staff of UIAGM certified guides to lead trips for first time backcountry skiers to extreme experts. They also offer a heli option, and post weather conditions on their website. Guides for hire by the day; off-piste: $236 for first time backcountry groups up to seven, and $272 for expert groups up to three, heli: $173 per person for one flight; season depends on snow conditions; maximum group size seven; 39.0163.91.310, www.guidealagna.com.info@guidealagna.com Alagna's 7,500 vertical feet of lift-serviced routes and six miles of cross- country ski trails. For lodging, skiers typically stay in apartments either in the Casa Smitt - a beautiful 18th century Alpine-style house-or in the recently reno- vated and more "luxe" Walser Reale, whose exterior reflects the arch itec- tural style of Alagna's first medieval habitants who migrated from Switzerland. Even with a 20 percent appreciation of the euro this past year, prices are still obscenely low, ranging from about $28 to $55 per person per night (depending on timing). The sensory majesty of the Alagna ski experience is over- whelmin g. Sitting in a mountaintop chalet, gazing over a sea of Alps stretching from Mont Blanc to the Dolomites, and southward to the Mediterranean Sea, is an unrivaled treat for any passionate skier. It's also a reminder that skiing Alagna is skiing Italy and, despite its rugged terrain and less-than-polished appeal, la dolce vita certain ly prevails. -John Mutterp erl :-=--