CHAMONIX OFF-PISTE COURSE

You will meet with your group and Chamex mountain guide at the Chamonix Experience office in Chamonix Sud on Sunday evening to discuss the programme for the week. Your mountain guide will let you know what to expect from the weather and snow conditions and you will have the chance to ask any last minute questions.

Le Tour is a good place for your guide/instructor to assess everyone's ski level and run through the basics of mountain saftey and avalanche awaress. 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 skiing 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 skiing amongst trees and making tight controlled turns in ungroomed snow.

The south facing ski areas of Flégère and Brévent offer fun terrain with many secret bowls, which tend to be among snowboarders’ favourite spots in Chamonix. When Brévent is good, it is possibly the best off-piste in the valley. There is the famous Hotel Face and the ENSA couloirs, to mention only a few of the classic Chamonix off-piste itineraries. Flegere is where the locals head on a powder day while everyone else is out fighting for fresh tracks at Les Grands Montets! Your ski instructor will show you the best spots that only the locals know about.

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 skiing! 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 skiing 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 ski techniques that you have learned this week.

The course ends with debriefing in our office at the end of the final day, and maybe a few drinks with your new riding buddies to celebrate a fantastic week.

Finish your course with an epic descent of Europe's longest off-piste ski run - the legendary Vallee Blanche! Stepping out from the top of the Aiguille du Midi you will join the ranks of freeriders, alpinists and backcountry skiers who come from all over the world to tick this off their bucket lists. Although incredibly impressive, the classic route is not hugely technical so if conditions are favourable you should be ready to tackle it by the end of your course, safely lead by one of our UIAGM mountain guides. This is an optional extra that you can add on as a 6th day, either privately or with the other members of your group. The cost is 390€ for up to 6 people per guide.

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:

• Full name
• Mobile phone number
• Email address
• Your destination address
• 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. 

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 SERVICEYou 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 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 which is conveniently located directly next door from our office. Open 7/7 08:00-19:00

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. Details of the insurance cover are different for EU and non-EU residents; please contact us for more information.