CHAMONIX SNOWBOARD FREERIDE INTRODUCTION COURSE

You will meet your snowboard instructor and the rest of your group in the Chamonix Experience office on the evening before the start your course. We will send you all the details about the meeting in an email a week before start of the course. The meeting is a great opportunity to ask any questions about the freeride course and to check with your snowboard instructor that you have all the equipment you need.

Le Tour is a good place for your instructor to assess everyone's snowboarding level and run through the basics of mountain safety and avalanche awareness. The off-piste is easily accessible and the gradient is not too steep. Le Tour also offers brilliant tree skiing and long runs to Switzerland over the Col de Balme. The back bowls of Le Tour are also perfect for studying how wind, terrain and temperatures affect the snow pack and avalanche risk, so here is where you will do your avalanche awareness training to get the week off to a safe start.

Today we will discover the fun off-piste terrain of Les Houches. This area offers lower altitude snowboarding with a handy network of lifts and pistes cutting amongst a fairly large off-piste area. It is the perfect place to practise your newly learned techniques before venturing deeper into backcountry terrain. You'll find plenty of variety here from wide snowfields to dense forests, where you can practise riding amongst trees and making tight controlled turns in ungroomed snow.

Your snowboard instructor will decide the itinerary in the morning, depending on weather and snow conditions. There are plenty of off-piste areas in Chamonix and we have the whole valley to choose from. Off-piste tuition will take place wherever the snow is best that day. You'll learn how to read and use the terrain to your advantage, and how to get the best fresh turns without getting “stuck” in deep snow or avalanched at the same time.

Today we visit the Courmayeur ski area, just on the other side of the Mont Blanc tunnel. Different country, different atmosphere, with delicious food and excellent snowboarding! There is plenty of very varied backcountry terrain to explore and your efforts will be rewarded by a nice Italian lunch followed by coffee or bombardino! 

Your last day will be spent riding the most challenging ski area in the Chamonix Valley. Les Grand Montets’ high elevation and north-facing aspect means that this area holds snow the best and until latest in the season. It offers excellent long steep pitches, big powder bowls, exciting mogul runs, and lovely forests where you can practice all the off-piste snowboard techniques that you have learned this week.

This programme will obviously be adjusted to the conditions and the instructor has the right to make his own decisions about the place you will be taken regarding the avalanche risk and weather conditions.

We can help you to organise your transport to/from Chamonix. We work with well established airport transfer companies using new and comfortable vehicles, which have the capacity and know-how to handle everything from delayed and cancelled flights, to unexpected traffic jams with professionalism and efficiency.

To book your transfer, we will need the following: 

• Your full name 
• Mobile phone number 
• Email address 
• Your destination address 
• Your flight details (date, time and flight number)

SHARED TRANSFERS: 
This is the most economic and ecologically friendly way of travel. The driver will meet and greet you at the airport, gather you and the rest of the passengers together and then head off to your chosen destination. The door-to-door service means that you will be dropped off and picked up right at your hotel /chalet / apartment. From 40€ per person for one way and 80€ per person for a return trip.

PRIVATE TRANSFERS: 
Private Transfers are the quickest way to get to and from the airport. Your driver will meet and greet you at the airport and guide you to your vehicle. There is no waiting for other passengers. Private transfers are available for one to eight person bookings and travelling together and you are guaranteed sole occupancy of the vehicle for your transfer. And, of course, it's a door to door service, so you won't be lugging any bags very far. 250€ per car for one way and 500€ per car for a return trip.

If you need help to find a place to stay in Chamonix, don't hesitate to let us know! We work with a network of excellent chalets, hotels, gites and B&Bs offering Chamonix accommodation to suit all tastes and all budgets.

CHAMONIX LIFT PASSES - FREE BOOKING & COLLECTION SERVICE

You can easily avoid the morning queue for the lift tickets - order your lift passes with us and then just pick them up the day before! We'll collect your lift passes and have them ready for you, free of charge.

If you have booked a course or a private trip with us, your guide will bring your lift passes along for you. There are two types of lift passes in Chamonix - Mont Blanc Unlimited and Chamonix Le Pass - please don't hesitate to contact us to find out which lift pass will be the best for you.

For this course you will need the 5 days Mont Blanc Unlimited lift pass, please contact us for further details.

We don’t include mountain rescue insurance in any of our courses but we strongly recommend that you have it. Mountain rescue may be very expensive, particularly if helicopters are involved. Check with your travel insurance provider if you are covered for the specific activity you are going to do with us.

However, we can organise the mountain rescue insurance for you. The cost is 8€ per person per day for EU residents and 12€ per person per day for non-EU residents. Details of the insurance cover are different for EU and non-EU residents; please contact us for more information.

We highly recommend that you book any equipment with us at least 2 weeks in advance as the hire shops can have limited availability in the busy season.

You can collect your equipment the evening before the start of the course and return it in the evening at the end of your course. We work with the following Chamonix ski hire and mountain shop:

• Concept Pro Shop that is conveniently located directly next door from our office. Open 7/7 08:00-19:00