Off-Piste Course Itinerary
The itinerary presented here is purely an example of what might happen in a week. It will most likely be changed around during the week to get the most out of the weather and the snow conditions. The aim is to make sure that you get to ski the best powder Chamonix with surrounding can offer at the moment.
For the Off-Piste Intro course there will be a similar programme but we will start on the piste and work on technique to make the transition to off-piste. Depending on how the group progress your guide will choose ski areas and slopes to provide enough of a challenge to develop you in to a competent off-piste skier.
Day 1. Arrival Day
The group will rendez-vous at the Chalet in Argentière, just a few kilometres from Chamonix. Here, we will have an informal chat about the upcoming week. There will also be a chance for the guideto check out your clothing and gear and to decide if you need to pick up any further items of equipment before setting out in the morning.
Day 2. Le Tour Col de Balme / Snow & Avalanche
This first day we will head up to Le Tour, the ski area at the end of the valley right on the Swiss border. Your ski instructor/guide will take the opportunity and test everybody’s level and start working on techniques. This area offers a gentle start to the week but also has some fantastic off-piste runs to offer, down to Vallorcineon the French side and down to Trient in Switzerland which may be a perfect finish to the day.
Le Tour is also, on a less positive but from a teaching perspective, interesting note, notoriously known for avalanches. The back bowls of Le Tour are perfect for studying how wind, terrain and temperatures affect the avalanche risk. We will spend some time here learning how to read the terrain, practise use of transceivers and how to search for victims.
Day 3. Flégère and Brévent
Today we are going to head up to the joint ski areas of Brévent and Flégère. These are the south facing slopes of the Chamonix Valley from where you have a magnificent view of the whole Mont Blanc range spread out in front of you. Flégère offers fun terrain with many secrets bowls and tends to be amongst the snowboarders’ favorite spots. When Brévent is good it is maybe the best off-piste in the valley. There is the famous “Hotel face” and ENSA couloirs to mention only a few.
Day 4. Les Grands Montets & Glacier Travel
Ok, time to head up to the famous off-piste domain of the Grands Montets. This area might have seen more world class freeriders than any other ski area in the world ……and it is nearly on the doorstep of the Yeti Lodge, an easy 5 min walk. Thanks to its north facing aspect it is the area holding the snow the best and the latest in the season. Here we will familiarise ourselves with glacier skiing.
As you step out of the top cable car at 3,275m you find yourself on the Rognons Glacier. It is a huge and very impressive area to ski down but not without danger. Your guide will equip ever skier in the team with a harness and one or two people may also be asked to carry a rope. We will spend some time learning about crevasse rescue and how you should read a glacier to decide how and where to ski.
Providing the conditions are good we may also do a run down the “Pas de Chèvre”. This well known off-piste itinerary take us down right below Le Dru to the Montenvers station at the end of the Vallee Blanche.
Day 5. Vallée Blanche
And the week is getting even more exciting! You cannot do a week off-piste skiing in Chamonix without a descent from the Aiguille du Midi. This is where the famous Vallee Blanche starts and this is off-piste in a high mountain environment at its best. As per the sign you should not head out here unguided unless you know what you are doing. There is no piste, no markings and no ski patrol.
There are many different ways down with various difficulty and steepness. Whichever way you go you ski through the most amazing landscape of ice towers and deep crevasses, not to mention the surrounding peaks.
We can stop and grab some lunch on the way down at the Requin refuge or bring a picnic. Depending on how our legs are feeling we can take it easy or we push on for some more skiing in the afternoon or even a second lap.
Day 6. Courmayeur - Italie
Just a quick car ride through the Mont Blanc tunnel you find yourself in Italy and the Courmayeur ski area also included in the Chamonix lift pass. With the local knowledge of your Chamonix Experience guide this area has some great off-piste to offer and it is well worth exploring. In order to access the higher lifts of Youla and Arp, you have to sign a log book and be accompanied by a professional. From there you can descend the steep couloirs towards Val Veny or ski the large loop via Col d’Arp all the way back down to the valley floor.
Courmayeur makes up for Chamonix’s lack of nice restaurants on the hill so today is the day if you want to spoil yourself to a nice long lunch.
Day 7. La Palud – Italie
This amazing glaciated off-piste area is a bit of a hidden secret and a favourite playground for the local Italian freeriders. Again we will drive through the tunnel to Italy and La Palud where the Helbronner lift will take us in three stages up to Point Helbronner. From here we have various options to descend “Glacier de Toule”. Good local knowledge is a must as there are no marked itineraries.
If the weather and leg muscles allow, we can return to Chamonix on skis via the “Vallée Noire”, the less frequented but nonetheless impressive Italian side of the Vallée Blanche.
Day 8.Departure
Services end after breakfast.
