These
weekends are operated in the early winter
season, for those who can only take
a couple of days away, rather than a
full week. The focus is on teaching
ski touring skills, to those planning
a hut-to-hut ski tour later in the season. The
itinerary is flexible to take account
of the previous skills and experience.
This
course is also ideal to be used as acclimatisation
/ preparation / warm up for one of the famous
week long ski tours such as the Haute
Route (Chamonix to Zermatt), and is operated on every weekend before these trips depart. The weekend
features two day tours, with the night
between spent in Chamonix, to allow
you time to change any equipment that
you wish to alter.
In
terms of ski ability you should have
good previous off piste experience,
being able to cope with either icy slopes
or deep powder. Any mountaineering skills
or knowledge of ropes are an advantage,
but not essential as all necessary techniques
are taught during the weekend. No ski
touring experience is required.
Skiing
ability should be fairly good as although
there is only a little steep skiing,
the slopes can be icy or rutted in
places, with breakable crusts. There
is also often more than a little powder
on the descents! You will encounter
most types of snow conditions.
If you want to extend this course, it's the first days of the Intro Ski Tour Week, and in the three days after this itinerary, you'd have a three day ski tour with two nights in mountain huts, so would really put your skills into practice, with your first hut to hut ski tour experience.
Dates: these
are listed in the column on the right,
and they show the live availability
from our secure online booking system.
When you book online, you receive immediate
confirmation, your Alpine Information
Booklet, course specific kit list and
invoice.
Avalanche
safety airbags
We have teamed up with Black Diamond, who
we also stock in our Windermere mountain store,
to rent their avalanche airbags. We selected
the Halo 28 JetForce airbag for our hire equipment,
as the pack size is well suited to our off
piste and intro ski tour courses. The key
features are the PIEPS automatic self diagnosis
performs full system check on every startup,
the travel-friendly fully rechargeable lithium-ion
battery which supports 4+ deployments per
charge, a Cordura airbag made from puncture-resistant
automotive material is easy to repack for
practice and multiple deployments, and the
unique Jet fan which inflates the 200 L airbag
in 4 seconds, and automatically deflates after
3 minutes to create a potential air pocket.
Click on image on the left, for hire details.
Brief
Course Itinerary
Fri
Travel
to Chamonix, and check in to the course accommodation.
If you require ski touring kit hire, ensure
that you arrive in town before 18:00, to allow
time for boot and ski fitting. We use an excellent
ski touring specialist shop, which offers
preferential rates for our clients. Key
personal safety kit (alpine harness and transceiver), can be supplied by the guide in the morning, if reserved upon booking.
If you have your own safety kit, you should take it, as it is always better for familiarity. Night in Chamonix.
Sat
At
08:30 you meet your Guide at the course accommodation,
and have an introductory safety briefing,
and they check your kit and supply any extra
safety items required (e.g. transceiver, shovel,
probe, harness). You are then driven the short
distance to start your ski tour. The destination
varies, as a suitable location is dependent
on weather and snow conditions. Some ski tours
can start from the valley floor such as to
Refuge de Loriaz, whereas others require an
uplift such as the Col du Tour Noir from Grands
Montets. During the day you are taught ski
touring techniques, and where time allows,
the use of the avalanche safety / crevasse
rescue kit. Today the focus is much more on
the ski touring techniques, to allow you time
to adapt to the kit, practice kick turns,
fitting and removing skins and ski crampons.
There is usually the chance to take in a col
or a summit during the day, before you ski
back down to the valley at the end of the
afternoon. Guiding ratio 1:6 (max). Night
in Chamonix.
Sun
The
guide will pick you up again from the accommodation,
and you will tackle another day ski tour
above Chamonix. Examples include the Crochues-Berard
from Index to Le Buet, Traverse of Vallee
Blanche to Helbronner and ski descent of
the Black Bowl variant of the Vallee Blanche,
Col du Tour Noir on the Argentiere Glacier,
or Aiguillette des Houches from Brevent
and the ski down to La Flatiere. The choice
is on putting the skills learnt yesterday
into practice, and giving you a challenging
but realistic objective for the day. There
is also the opportunity for some further
skills training, such as an avalanche beacon
search or some crevasse rescue practice.
By late afternoon you descend to Chamonix,
and are free to depart for home (flights
should be after 20:00, which equates to
an airport transfer leaving Chamonix around
17:00).
The
technical elements covered during the course
usually include the following:
Avalanche
beacon searches
Use of skins
and harscheisen
Kick
turns on steeper terrain
Crevasse rescue
and hoists
Basic glacier
travel ropework
Trip
planning and preparation
Transceiver
detection fields
Techniques on touring
skis
Equipment
choice & selection
ITINERARY
NOTES: Where possible we follow itineraries.
Mountain adventures are weather and conditions
dependant, so occasionally we are forced to
alter the plans. If this is the case, suitable
alternatives are offered. Please use this
outline itinerary as a guide to the types
of route / activity that you will attempt.
Course
Prices
Standard
course
2 full days IFMGA guiding, 1:6 max ratio
3 days holiday in total, Friday-Sunday
£845
Live
availability
Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
How to book
Secure
payments, bonded tour operator
Details of how to book, click
here
11) Pre-course online briefing in the month before your trip
Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Chamonix, 2) Cable Cars (not
always required), 3) Ski / boot hire, 4) Travel
costs outside Chamonix valley (not normally needed,
e.g. Courmayeur c. 30 euros per person), 5) Personal
laundry, telephone calls, lunches, evening meals,
& any purchases in mountain huts / hotels /
restaurants, 5) Activities insurance, & excess
baggage charges.
Group
sizes: 2 - 6 people per
IFMGA mountain guide. For group sizes of over 6
people, there are multiple guides, and the teams
travel independently of each other.
Current
course availability
Course Dates Cham Ski Tour weekend
[ 4 ] 31 Jan - 2 Feb 2025
[ 4 ] 28 Feb - 2 Mar 2025
[ 4 ] 14 - 16 Mar 2025
[ 4 ] 21 - 23 Mar 2025
[ 3 ] 28 - 30 Mar 2025
[ 4 ] 4 - 6 Apr 2025
[ 4 ] 11 - 13 Apr 2025
NOTE:
This trip has scheduled
dates, but if there are four
who
are booking together, it can
be
operated on any date you wish
Price: £845Book
online If
no accommodation is needed the
course price drops to £745. If you book a Haute Route that starts straight after this weekend you get a £100 discount applied to this course.
This
weekend trip was great training
for our Haute Route, and was key
to our success on the tour
Fay B ,
Intro Tour Weekend
Brilliant
to learn so much in just two days
guiding, and it really opened
my eyes to the possibilities of
ski touring. I've got the bug
now
Peter S
, Intro
Tour Weekend
Fantastic
weekend away, and I learned so
much. Gilles [the guide] was such
as great and patient teacher
Emelie A
, Intro
Tour Weekend
Testimonials
Press
& media
Films
& videos
Photo
gallery
Location
data for this trip
The
trips all start in Chamonix valley in the French
Alps, at the foot of Mont Blanc. It is easily accessed
via a 90 minute transfer from Geneva airport.
Time
Difference
GMT +1hr
Local
Currency
€ Euros
Travel
from UK
1hr flight
Skis
& equipment advice
Because
we know it is so important to you to have the most
suitable equipment and clothing for off piste skiing
and touring, we have devoted a page especially to
it, which you can access by clicking on the image,
or by clicking
here. This page outlines the key equipment
you should bring, and gives examples of skis that
are suitable for the course. If you have any queries,
please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
View
full course equipment list,
with examples of kit, click
here
Alternative
courses
This
course is a shortened version of our popular Intro
Touring & Backcountry week course (click
for itinerary). As with all things skiing,
there aren't any easy shortcuts when it comes to
learning. If you are unsure if you will learn enough
in a weekend, you should consider the longer course,
but for those with more off piste skiing experience,
who can only spare a couple of days away, this condensed
weekend course is ideal.
Pre course open evening
Guests on these trips are invited to an online course open evening a month before your trip. Hosted by one of our guide team, these sessions answer all your pre-trip queries; training, kit, what to expect during the trip, etc.
We want you to feel highly prepared for your trip with us, and have introduced these open evenings in the past years, following guest feedback. These sessions have proven to be a key feature why people travel with us.
Any further questions?
A key part
of choosing a company is being able to come and
talk about your plans with an experienced course
advisor face to face. In an increasingly virtual
world, we know our clients value speaking to real
people, getting open and honest advice. The vast
majority of our clients are British, and our office
and outdoor store is based in Windermere in the
English Lake District.
Get in
contact to arrange a meeting, and come in for a
coffee to discuss your course in person with a trip advisor.
Many people opt for this service, and it is an integral
part of what we offer, as we are keen to ensure
that you are prepared as possible, and that you
select a course that is suitable for you. It makes
it easier and more enjoyable for you and us, if
you are on the right trip.
