Italian
snowshoeing week 2024
Explore the best snowshoeing
of the Val d'Aosta mountains  |
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Course
overview
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If
you want to spend a full week snowshoeing
in the northern part of the Italian Val d'Aosta
area of the Alps, then this is the course
for you. The week is spent on snowshoe day
treks, with five days guiding and four nights
on a half board basis in comfortable lodges. |
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Snowshoeing
is now officially the fastest growing winter
sport, and our team of guides cannot wait
to show you why. Many clients get the bug
and come back year after year on this holiday,
but we ensure they don't repeat any routes
they have done before. |
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The
week shows you the classic snowshoe hikes
in the Val d'Aosta, and some of the hidden
gems. A key feature is that during the week
you spend four nights in lodges in Italy.
On this week there is the opportunity to take
in quite a few summits on snowshoes. |
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As
well as enjoying a great week of snowshoeing,
we aim to teach you the key safety skills
for route planning and winter Alpine journeys,
with a lot of weight put on avalanche prediction
and reaction, as well as the selection of
appropriate Alpine equipment. |
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This
course really appeals to those who want to
explore different regions of northern Italy,
and to stay on a half board basis in the regions
after each day of snowshoeing. It enables
you to really immerse yourself in the area,
and to get five days of the best snowshoeing
routes that Italy has to offer! |
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Don't
worry if you have never snowshoed before,
as you will pick up the skills quickly. All
you need is to be fit for hill walking, to
have a sense of humour if you fall into a
soft snowdrift, and to love the outdoors.
We can teach you the rest, and you are guaranteed
a great holiday that you won't forget for
a very long time. |
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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. |
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Technical
content of the course and safety training
Snowshoeing is a very easy sport to pick up, and even
if you have never used snowshoes before, after a few minutes
training and practice you will keep up with experts. That
aspect is easy, but what many clients keep thanking us
for is our sharing of local information, and the highly
complex science of avalanche awareness and route planning.
For sure this snowshoeing week is a holiday, but many
people find the insights into the technical aspects fascinating,
and your highly experienced IFMGA qualified snowshoeing
guide will increase your knowledge in all of the aspects
outlined below. These gems of local knowledge really add
to the experience you have in the Alps. |
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• Use of snowshoes and skills
for moving over different types of terrain
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• Use of avalanche transceivers,
search methods and management |
• Weather
& climatic influences, and Alpine weather prediction
& patterns |
| • Choice of route and the planning
and selection of appropriate terrain |
• Appreciation of the snowpack,
crystal metamorphasis and risk |
• Geomorphology / geography
/ ecology (flora, fauna and tracks) |
| • Slab formation and layering,
and isolation block stability tests |
• Winter cold injuries / first
aid, and avalanche victim recovery methods |
• Selection of appropriate equipment
and emergency snowshoe repairs |
| • Decision making processes
and travel techniques on snowpacks |
• Avalanche form / release patterns,
and islands of safety & route plans |
• Winter navigation skills,
and the use of different Alpine map types |
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Brief
Course Itinerary
One
of the delights of snowshoeing is that, unlike skiing
or climbing, you can go out in all levels of visibility
and snowfall, and have a great day. Chamonix is blessed
with hundreds of snowshoeing areas within a short drive,
and so the itinerary can be flexed on any day to take
account of better weather or snow conditions, to ensure
that you sample the best on offer. The itinerary below
is to provide you with a taster of what you could achieve,
and isn't fixed in stone. We get many clients who come
back year after year to repeat this course, but they need
never repeat a route they have done before. Your guide
will have a massive local knowledge and experience.
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Sunday
Travel to Chamonix to arrive any time after 16:00 for the accommodation check-in. Local shops are generally open until 19:00, so there's time for you to make any last minute purchases if you need. Some clients
opt to travel out a day or two early to get their
hill legs back and to explore the town. Extra nights
accommodation are possible, if booked well in advance.
The group may choose to go out for a meal in town (not included). Night in Chamonix. |
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Monday
After meeting your guide in the morning, you are
driven to one of the snowshoe regions, such as to
Planpincieux, just through the Mont Blanc tunnel
on the south side of Mont Blanc. A day would typically
be to snowshoe up the Italian Val Ferret to La Vachey,
and from there to ascend to the luxurious Bonatti
mountain hut. The day is spent snowshoeing through
pretty forests, before emerging above the treeline.
Half board and night in a mountain hut or lodge. |
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Tuesday
Today
the objective is either the Pas Entre Deux Sauts,
or the Col Malatra. These are accessed from the
Bonatti hut, and take several hours to reach, in
stunning scenery. Either of these high passes will
really improve your acclimatisation. You descend
the upper Malatra valley to return to the Bonatti
hut for the night. During the first couple of days,
you will have been trained in how to use avalanche
safety beacons. Half
board and night in a mountain hut or lodge. |
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Wednesday
Today
you snowshoe down through the powder snow into the
Val Ferret, and then onwards to Planpincieux. From
there you make the short transfer to the Val Grisanche
/ Rhemes / Cogne, before snowshoeing to either the
Bezzi / Benevolo / Sella mountain huts. These are
situated in beautiful valleys, and offer a wide
range of snowshoe routes on the hut approach, as
well as for the next day. Half
board and night in a Italian mountain hut or lodge. |
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Thursday
Above
the mountain huts there great options to snowshoe,
such as to the frozen green lake, or one of the
high cols. These areas are also popular with people
ski touring, but the delight is that there are no
cable cars around at all, so everyone has accessed
these remote regions on foot / ski. After the snowshoe
trek, you return to the hut for a second night,
and there's never a shortage of food in Italian
huts! Half
board and night in a mountain hut or lodge. |
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Friday
Today
is the final snowshoe trek, where most groups opt
to take in a summit such as the Punta della Crocce,
which offers unforgettable views across to the enormous
south face of Mont Blanc, and which has a ruined
fortress on its summit. If it's a sunny day, there's
no better place for lunch in the world. Once you
have completed your trek for the day, you then return
to Chamonix after the snowshoeing for a celebratory
meal, with the final night spent in Chamonix. |
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Saturday
Check out, then airport transfer to Geneva for those with flights back home.
If you wish to leave on the Friday night, inform us at the time of booking, as you will get a discount.
ITINERARY NOTES: Where possible we follow itineraries.
Mountain adventures are weather and conditions dependant,
so occasionaly 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. |
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| Course
Prices |
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Standard
course |
5
full days IFMGA guiding, 1:8 max ratio
7 days holiday in total, Sunday-Saturday |
£1399 |
Live
availability |
Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
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Secure
online booking system |
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| Inclusions:
1) IFMGA guide for five days, 2) Chamonix course
hosts for logistics & briefings, 3) Pre course
information booklet, 4) Equipment discount voucher
for UK shops, 5) Two nights self-catered accommodation
in Chamonix (inc. bedding & towels) and four
nights half board accommodation in Italy, 6) Free
36 page technical Course Instruction Booklet, 7)
Road transport in Chamonix valley, 8) Logistics
support and briefings, 9) Equipment hire of snowshoes,
avalanche transceiver, probe & shovel. |
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| Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Chamonix, 2) Personal laundry,
telephone calls, lunches, evening meals, & any
purchases in mountain huts / hotels / restaurants,
3) Cable cars and mountain uplift, though not normally
required, 4) Activities insurance, & excess
baggage charges. |
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| Group
sizes: 3 - 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. If there are just 2 people, or you would like a private course, the cost is £1599 per person. |
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Notes:
The loan of all technical equipment for each client
is included in the course price as required: snowshoes,
avalanche transceiver, avalanche probe and shovel. |
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Current
course availability
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| Testimonials |
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| Press
& media |
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| Films
& videos |
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| Photo
gallery |
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| Location
data for this trip |
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| 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. |
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Time
Difference
GMT +1hr |
Local
Currency
€ Euros |
Travel
from UK
1hr flight |
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| Free
resources |
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FREE
Podcast
Starting
snowshoeing
This podcast lifts the lid on the fastest
growing winter sport of snowshoeing,
what equipment is required, what to
wear, and what avalanche safety kit
to use... |
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| Money saving pricing |
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This
course includes all the key costs, so you
can budget accurately. Hire kit is included
as detailed above, which if not included would cost over £100 extra! |
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| We
offer full board upgrade, to give clients
a choice of eating with the group or doing
their own thing. What you see is what you
get. There are NO extra hidden costs. |
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| Equipment
advice |
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| Our
snowshoeing advice page (click
here) outlines the key equipment you should
bring. Snowshoes are loaned FREE of charge anyway, as
are avalanche safety beacons, so all you need to arrive
with are walking clothes, waterproofs, a small rucksack
and well worn in walking boots (not trekking shoes). |
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| Suggested
reading and kit |
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View
full course equipment list,
with examples of kit, click
here |
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| So
why choose us? |
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We
are true specialists in snowshoeing. See our blog,
by clicking on the logo (on the right). |
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Itinerary
flexibility to allow you to take full advantage
of the weather and conditions each day, so that
you maximise the amount of time spent skiiing each
day. |
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Our
prices are fixed in £ pounds sterling, to
protect you from euro currency fluctuations, so
that you can budget accurately. |
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We
have a team of over 30 IFMGA guides, and a resort
support team, who all want you to have the best
snowshoeing possible! For more details on the guiding
team and qualifications, please click
here. |
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| Any further questions? |
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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. |
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