Snowshoeing Huts Alpine week
Visit
Switzerland, France, Italy in a week
2024
Fitness
Level
Stamina
Level
Course
overview
Spend
a full week snowshoeing in the western Alps,
staying in huts each night, and snowshoe in
three countries; Switzerland, France and Italy.
There are five days guiding and four nights
on a half board basis in mountain huts, and
a night B&B at each end.
The
itinerary has been built to link three iconic
snowshoeing regions; with trek nights spent
in the Grand Saint Bernard monastery / Champex-Lac
in Switzerland, the Refuge du Loriaz above
Vallorcine in France, and the Rifugio Bonatti
in the Val Ferret of Italy.
Snowshoeing
is now officially the fastest growing winter
sport, and our team of guides cannot wait
to show you why. If you only have a week to
spare, then this visit to the Alps will blow
your mind, and you can take in several snowshoe
summits too.
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.
This
course really appeals to those who want to
explore different regions of the western Alps,
and to stay on a half board basis in the huts
after each day of snowshoeing. It enables
you to really immerse yourself in the area,
and to enjoy the best routes!
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.
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.
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. This region of the
Western Alps is blessed with hundreds of great snowshoeing
areas, 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.
Sunday
Travel
to Chamonix to arrive for the 17:00 check-in followed
by and course safety and itinerary briefings. There
is time for kit checks or rental of equipment (see
inclusions below for what you are provided as part
of the course price). Briefings are over by 18:00
and the Chamonix hosts accompany the group to pre-dinner
drinks. Some clients opt to travel out a day or
two early to get their hill legs back and to explore
the town. Night in Chamonix.
Monday
After meeting your guide in the morning, you are
driven into Switzerland via Martigny. The objective
is dependent on the snow and avalanche conditions,
and popular choices include the Grand Saint Bernard
monastery via Col Ouest du Barasson, or Mont de
l'Arpille from La Ravoire. Before you start your
snowshoe trek, you are trained on snowshoes and
the use of avalanche beacons.
The night spent half board in Grand Saint Bernard
Monastery / Champex-Lac.
Tuesday
You
are woken, and after breakfast, you head out to
tackle one of the classic snowshoe summits or high
passes nearby. Objectives from Saint Bernard include
Mont Fourchon, or the Three Cols route. From Champex-Lac
there is a great choice of trails above the Entremont
valley towards the Tour de Bavon. You return to
the monastery / gite for a second night, again on
a half board basis, as you are for the next two
nights too.
Wednesday
After
waking again in Switzerland, you set off to snowshoe
down to the valley floor, where you transfer back
into France and the Vallorcine valley. The snowshoes
are put back on, and you ascend through the forests
to reach the high alpage of Loriaz, surrounded by
a crown of mountain peaks. The refuge is an old
farm, and offers us cosy and traditional lodgings
for the night, as well as great local food.
Half board and night in Refuge du Loriaz.
Thursday
In
the morning you ascend to a summit such as Tete
du Chevrette or Le Charmoz, to watch the sun rising
over the glaciers of Le Tour, Argentiere and Geant.
You then plunge steeply down in deep snow, back
a different trail through the woods to the village.
From here you drive through the Mont Blanc road
tunnel into Italy, and snowshoe up the Val Ferret.
At the head of the valley you ascend to the luxurious
hut. Half
board and night in Rifugio
Walter Bonatti.
Friday
Today
is the final snowshoe trek, and you leave the hut
far below to reach the Pas Entre Deux Sauts for
an amazing view of Mont Blanc in the early morning.
You descend back to the hut, and then onwards down
to the valley floor. It's always recommended to
get a steaming Italian hot chocolate in the Cafe
Lavachey! You then return
to Chamonix after the snowshoeing for a celebratory
meal, with the final night spent in Chamonix.
Saturday
Breakfast,
then accommodation check out at 10:00, after which
you are free to depart for home.
If you feel you require any feedback, please ask
your guide or the resort team.
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.
Course
Prices
Standard
course
5
full days snowshoe guiding, 1:8 max ratio
7 days holiday in total, Sunday-Saturday
£1299
Live
availability
Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
Inclusions:
1) UIMLA / IFMGA guide for five days, 2) Alpine
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 mountain huts
in Switzerland / France / Italy, 6) Free 36 page
technical Course Instruction Booklet, 7) Road transport
to and from start and end of snowshoe treks, 8)
Logistics support and briefings, 9) Equipment hire
of snowshoes, avalanche transceiver, probe &
shovel.
Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Chamonix, 2) Personal laundry,
telephone calls, lunches, evening meals at each
end of the trek, & any purchases in mountain
huts / hotels / restaurants, 3) Cable cars and mountain
uplift, though not normally required, 4) Activities
insurance, & excess baggage charges.
Group
sizes: 2 - 8 people per
UIMLA mountain guide. For group sizes of over 8
people, there are multiple guides, and the teams
travel independently of each other.
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.
A
great choice of bases that we stayed
in that gave us access to brilliant
snowshoe treks and summits. Thank you
for all the organisation and the top
guiding.
Matt W , 3 Countries
Snowshoe
Please
pass on my thanks to Kingsley who guided
us, for looking after us so well, and
his incredible local knowledge. We will
be back next year for more!
Babs S , 3
Countries Snowshoe
Thank
you for organising this trip for us.
We enjoyed snowshoeing in three different
countries so much, and the accommodation
was amazingly varied in a very good
way
John M , 3
Countries Snowshoe
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
€ & CHF
Travel
from UK
1hr flight
Equipment
advice
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).
Trip
report & article
An
article written about the Swiss part of this adventure,
written by one of our snowshoe guides, which gives a real
insight into the diverse history of the region, and the
ascent of Mont Fourchon. You'll also learn a lot about
the background to the monastery, and how it came to be
built - Link
to article.
View
full course equipment list,
with examples of kit, click
here
So
why choose us?
We
are true specialists in snowshoeing. See our blog,
by clicking on the logo (on the right).
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.
Our
prices are fixed in £ pounds sterling, to
protect you from euro currency fluctuations, so
that you can budget accurately.
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.
Money
saving pricing
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 for the week! All the trek
nights are half board in mountain huts, with a B&B
night at each end, so you can keep a tight control on
costs. What you see is what you get. There are NO extra
hidden costs.
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.
