267: Livigno in Italy & the Best Gloves & Ski Socks for 2026

In this episode, we find out more about Livigno, the host resort for the freestyle events for the 2026 Winter Olympics, plus we make our recommendations for the best ski gloves and ski socks for this winter.

We also have snow reports from across the Alps plus the early results from our 2025 Listener Survey.

Iain was joined in the studio by Betony Garner and Al Morgan.
---------
Tirol in Austria sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means this winter we’re are finding out more about some of the great destinations in Tirol, and how you can connect with the Austrian way of life: ‘Lebensgefühl’ – that you’ll find there.
---------
SHOW NOTES
Betony was last on the show in Episode 256 discussing ski touring in Tromso (1:00)
Listen to our episodes on the Best Skis, Ski Boots, Helmets and Goggles for this winter (2:00)
Dave Burrows from Snowpros Ski School reported from Pila, Italy (5:15)
Alex Armand from Tip Top Snow Coaching is in Les 2 Alpes, France (6:20)
James and Sinead Hanson from Sauzeonline are in the Via Lattea / Milky Way ski region in Italy (6:50)
Complete our 2025 Listener Survey and you could win £400 of prizes (8:00)
‘The Secret Ski Seasonaire’ is a good stocking filler for anyone who worked in Chamonix, Tignes or Alpe d’Huez in the 2000s (9:00)
Mia Brookes took first place in the Snowboard Big Air in China (9:15)
Txema Mazet-Brown was 7th in the men’s Snowboard Big Air - a career best (9:30)
Betony will be working for Team GB in Livigno during the Winter Olympics (10:15)
Find out more about which events are taking place in which resort (11:45)
Find out about Livigno (14:00)
Aquagrande leisure centre in Livigno (14:45)
Team GB best chance of medals (16:15)
Listen to Iain’s interview with Vicky Gosling (18:00)
What to look for when buying ski gloves (19:00)
For more technical info, listen to our 2024 episode on gloves (22:15)
Glove v. mitten v. lobster claw (22:30)

THE BEST SKI GLOVES | WINTER 2026

Kombi Tactical Gore-Tex Leather Glove, £180 (23:45)

Level Iris Glove, £110 (26:00)

Dare2b Indicator Index Waterproof Gloves (3-Finger), £70 (but currently on sale at £35) (27:30)

THE BEST SKI SOCKS | WINTER 2026

Sidas Ski Protect V2, £40 (29:30)

Darn Tough Edge Over-the-Calf Midweight, £37 (31:30)

Stance Jimmy Chin Ultralight Ski Socks, £27 (33:15)

Find out more about heated gloves and socks in last year’s ‘Best Ski Socks’ episode (35:00)

Feedback (36:45)
If you’ve enjoyed this episode – or even if you didn’t like it – I would love to know. You can leave a comment on Spotify, Instagram or Facebook – our handle is @theskipodcast – or drop me an email to theskipodcast@gmail.com

You can also follow us on WhatsApp for exclusive material released ahead of the podcast.

Henry Smith: “Thank you for your dedication to bringing us the pod every week, it’s much appreciated. As a resident in the Canary Islands, we normally ski in Andorra or the Northern Spanish resorts.”

Judy Mathews: “Thank you for this wonderful podcast! Absolutely love it and hope to get to meet you one day on or off the slopes.”

Rachel Maffeis: "I loved the interview with Krishan in Episode 266. I enjoyed his approach is to creating ski experiences in Gulmarg, rooted in a sense of place. That mixture of extreme altitude...but not yet hugely developed makes it sound intriguing."

Colin Tierney: “I enjoyed Episode 264. It was great to hear Al again.”

There are now 285 episodes of The Ski Podcast to catch up with. If you’d like to get some insight on a particular destination or the latest kit, just go to theskipodcast.com, have a search around the tags and categories and you’re bound to find something you’ll find interesting to listen to.

If you’d like to help the podcast, there are three things you can do:

- you can follow us, or subscribe, so you never miss an episode
- you can give us a review on Apple Podcasts or leave a comment on Spotify
- And, if you’re booking ski hire this winter, don’t forget that you can get an additional discount if you use the code ‘SKIPODCAST’ when you book at intersportrent.com or simply take this link for your discount to be automatically applied