You will meet your group and your mountain guide in the Chamonix Experience office on the evening before your ice climbing course begins. You will receive all the details about your guide and the meeting in an email a week before start of the course. The meeting is a great opportunity to ask any questions about the course and to check with your guide that you have the right equipment. The detailed itinerary will depend on the weather, snow and ice conditions and these can vary very much from week to week. Therefore right now we can give you only a rough outline of what will happen on your course day to day.

We start bright and early, meeting in Chamonix at 6.30am and driving through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy, the drive is approximately an hour. We will go straight to Valsavarenche, an excellent ice climbing area where there are more than a dozen routes to suit all capabilities. Your guide will spend today teaching you the basic techniques of ice climbing and ensuring that you know how to use the equipment. At the end of the day we will check into our hotel and enjoy a well-earned dinner.

The rest of the course will be dedicated to improving techniques and skills you have learned on the first day while climbing some of the most stunning icefalls. The routes will be selected according to your level and progress. We will encourage you to push your limits while keeping you happy and safe. We will visit different valleys with good variety of ice climbing with amazing routes for climbers of all levels. Lillaz is a beautiful valley full of frozen waterfalls that offers many different ice climbing routes. Another great option is the selection of icefalls in Valnontey, just south of Cogne. Located in the Gran Paradiso National Park, the Valnontey valley has some fantastic ice climbing routes on 200m high rock faces. On the last day, at the end of the afternoon we will drive back to Chamonix, aiming to be back by around 6:30pm.

• Introduction to and improvement of your crampon and ice axe techniques (how to anchor your ice axes and crampons as accurately as possible)
• Improvement of your ice climbing technique (how to improve your balance and body position)
• Safety procedures, use of ice screws and different systems of protection (placing and retrieving ice screws, other means of climbing protection, building belays on ice)
• Abseiling & belay techniques on ice
• Lead climbing and correct placement of the protection
• How to understand and accurately analyse the ice
• Route selection skills
• Risk and hazard management
• Most importantly, lot of good climbing!!!

Experience

There are no prerequisites to attend this course. We highly advise to have some rock climbing experience.

Fitness

You have to have good level of physical fitness. Ice climbing is relatively athletic activity and spending entire days in cold environment is physically tiring.

Training

Rock climbing or indoor climbing is great preparation for this course. You should do some stamina training such as hiking, running or cycling. 

Do not hesitate to contact us if our existing course dates are not convenient for you. We will be happy to customise a set of dates according to your holiday plans. He best time of year is from late December until February (depending on conditions). 

You will need to organise your accommodation in Chamonix for the arrival day and for the last day of the course. The course package includes accommodation from day 1 until day 4 (inclusive). You will be staying in a basic but comfortable hotel in Cogne in shared rooms. The accommodation includes breakfast and dinner. Lunches are not included, you can easily organise your pack lunches at the hotel. We suggest you bring with you or buy in resort snack food that you can take out on the hill with you each day. Things like cereal bars, dried fruit and nuts, chocolate, sugary sweets or your favourite hill snacks. There snack selection can be limited in your hotel. If you have any food allergies or dietary requirements especially if you are a Coeliac (Gluten free) or have a dairy allergy we strongly recommend you bring some food to supplement your breakfast and dinner. 

We are always happy to organise private guiding, tailored to the needs of any sized group. We have lots of experience in organising corporate events, specialist courses and group trips for all kinds of people no matter what your age or experience. Please get in touch if you would like more information.

Chamonix is one of the easiest alpine resorts to get to, being just over an hour's drive from Geneva international airport. Lyon, Turin and Milan airports are also all within a few hours drive. The best way to get from Geneva airport to Chamonix is by transfer bus, either shared with other passengers or private. You will be met in the arrivals lounge by your driver and dropped at your accommodation in Chamonix; there is no extra charge for your luggage or equipment. We work only with the most reliable transfer companies in the valley and are happy to organise your journey for you, please contact us for prices and booking.

All Chamex mountain guides are fully qualified, highly experienced and passionate about what they do. Everyone who works as part of the Chamex team has been thoroughly vetting and is trusted by us to give our clients the best experience possible - you are in safe hands! If you would like to know more then you can meet the Chamex team here.

Please see the list of recommended equipment on the other tab. Most technical equipment can be rented here in Chamonix, please contact us if you would like prices and advice on whatever you need. Chamonix has dozens of outdoor shops selling everything from basic head torches to expedition standard sleeping bags, so whatever you don't already have you can find it here.

We highly recommend that you take out specific insurance for mountain activities. We can organise this at a cost of 8€ per day for EU citizens and 12€ per day for non-EU citizens. This will cover you for search and rescue services, evacuation by helicopter and emergency medical treatment. You should also make sure that you have adequate travel insurance that covers you for the usual things such as cancelled flights, lost luggage, hospital treatment, etc. Please contact us to organise mountain rescue insurance for your trip.

If you wish to book accommodation in Chamonix we would be happy to recommend some local hotels, gites, self-catered apartments, or chalets and advise on the best locations. Please contact us if you would like help finding accommodation in Chamonix

We can help you to organise your transport to/from Chamonix. We work with well-established airport transfer companies which use new and comfortable vehicles and 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 passenger group 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.