Piani di Artavaggio
A Lombard prealpine plateau with 20 km of piste and seven drag lifts, shut in 2000 when the snow stopped coming; the cable car was rescued in 2006 but the ski area itself never came back.
- Region
- Lombardy
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1960s
- Year closed
- 2000
- Reason for closure
- Declining snowfall through the 1990s put the operators into serious financial difficulty, and in 2000 they were forced to close both the cable car and the drag lifts.
History
The Piani di Artavaggio lie between 1,600 m and 2,000 m in the territory of Moggio in the province of Lecco, on the edge of the Val Taleggio in the Lombard Prealps. The ski area followed the cable car: once the Moggio-Artavaggio line was built in 1961, lifts went up across the plateau through the 1960s until the area offered around 20 km of piste served by seven drag lifts. Snowfall fell away through the 1990s, the operators ran into serious financial trouble, and in 2000 both the cable car and the lifts were shut. The cable car alone was saved - completely overhauled by the firm MEB and back in service on 15 July 2006 - while every one of the drag lifts was dismantled. Three magic carpets now serve short, easy slopes, and a short chairlift has been proposed to replace them on better-oriented ground, though as of 2024 the Italian mountain press was still asking what had become of it. What has actually happened is that Artavaggio has revived spontaneously as a place for walking and ski touring rather than lift-served skiing, and is now one of the best-loved unmechanised spots in the Lombard Prealps. Piste names are not compiled in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moggio - Artavaggio | Gondola | The cable car up from Moggio, built in 1961, whose construction prompted the ski area. Closed in 2000, completely overhauled by the firm MEB and put back into service on 15 July 2006 | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | One of seven drag lifts serving around 20 km of piste. All are now dismantled; individual names, lengths and dates are not recorded | |
| Unnamed lift | Surface lift | Three magic carpets now serve short beginner slopes on the plateau, the only mechanised skiing that remains |
Sources and further reading
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piani_di_Artavaggio
- https://www.funivie.org/web/moggio-funivia-piani-di-artavaggio/
- https://www.ildolomiti.it/altra-montagna/attualita/2024/che-fine-ha-fatto-la-nuova-seggiovia-dei-piani-di-artavaggio-un-piccolo-ma-emblematico-giallo-che-coinvolge-una-delle-localita-piu-apprezzate-delle-prealpi-lombarde
- https://www.dovesciare.it/news/2020-09-24/lo-sci-che-fu-lelenco-di-tutte-le-311-stazioni-sciistiche-fantasma
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Location
45.9334, 9.5328