italian ice

It was beautiful. It was exhilarating. It was illegal. But we can say that we snowmobiled in the Italian Alps.

Fact is, we don't actually know if our snowmobiling was legal or illegal. By the time the appropriate authorities figured it out, we would have been back in the U.S.A.

Legally, only those who operate a ski area or service facility like a restaurant or guest house can snowmobile in this section of northern Italy. And perhaps it's better that we don't say exactly where we were.

Tavern and ski owners can own snowmobiles and they can transport goods and themselves as long as it relates to work. We, on the other hand, were out for a day of on the snow recreation, test riding Ski-Doo snowmobiles, getting a feel for how the Rotax engines performed before heading to Austria for a tour of the engine plant.

It seems that our host had obtained the proper permits, but some official got his nose out of joint because he hadn't been properly informed. Unfortunately he had a connection in Rome, some relative, a cousin or godfather or something. Our host had connections, too. Bottom line, they postured. We rode.

This alpine snowmobiling is truly unique. By late January when we arrived, the days had started getting longer and the slopes were more packed down. There were no wide open play areas. What few we saw were definitely off limits, but there wasn't any deep North American powder anyway. It was like taking short, very short, jaunts to different restaurants. Many of the guest houses cater specifically to skiers. Apparently you can catch a ride to the top of the snow fields and downhill ski to each little "gastehaus." The trails between facilities are excellent. It seemed that you could choose any variety of ways to get back down the slopes. While most skied, many hiked the snow trails. Others used the local luge-like sleds. Some in our group tried it, but one found that a wooden bridge railing was no match for a human groin. Vienna Boys Choir here he comes!

We stuck with the snowmobiles. It's ideally suited for going up the trails. We rarely encountered anyone doing anything but going down. The ability to go up and down is much better.

Another thing, if you go downhill you have to be in control at all times. That's especially true if you are skiing. No schussing allowed. But try telling that to the skiers who panicked when they heard us coming. We were driving very slowly - like about quarter throttle going uphill. One skier bailed out into a ravine - face first. His two companions were laughing so hard that they feel off their skis. We heard a lot of intense Italian foul words. Oh, well. As our hosts noted, the skiers were at fault.

As for us, we figured out that our day-long expedition took about four hours by tourist bus to get to and from the Alps and only about an hour of actual saddle time - including sitting on the sleds in the parking lot soaking up some sun. Snowmobiling isn't legal in the Italian Alps, and maybe that's a good thing. You can't go that far, gas is expensive, and the sledding is better in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But it was a unique experience and we appreciated it.