"It's half term, where the hell is everyone?" was my first reaction on arriving in Madesimo.
The scene was anything but what you'd expect from a peak February holiday week.
No queues, half empty slopes, is the ideal combination of circumstances on any ski holiday.
It hasn't always been like this though.
Not so long ago most of the big names such as Inghams and Tui were operating here thanks to weekly charter flights into nearby Bergamo airport.
But the airport fell out of favour as the tour operators' priorities shifted to the more economic ski hubs such as Innsbruck, which serves many Italian as well as Austrian resorts, and Turin.
Today, Madesimo relies heavily on its weekend trade - it is the nearest serious resort to Italy's largest metropolis and the Milanese come in their thousands.
Fon of this useful information about Madesimo: http://www.planetski.eu
