Off-piste Skiing Further Information

Our High-Calibre Instructors

Simon Christy BASI Coach
Simon is a British Association of Snowsport Instructors (BASI) coach and trainer and has many seasons under his belt. He is based in Courchevel throughout the season and is a gifted teacher and instructor on all of our off-piste skiing courses in the three valleys, Tignes and Verbier. Simon will help improve your skiing technique - guaranteed!

Philippe Terrettaz BASI Coach
Local expert, Philippe Terrettaz, a fluent English speaking off-piste ski guide and instructor will accompany Simon Christy on our Off-piste Perfection course.

Off-piste Skiing grading

We offer three levels of off-piste coaching courses:

Beginners Off-piste (Introductory)
For piste-skiers, who can ski red runs confidently with linked short turns. The course will mainly make use of lifts to access the skiing, though we may do small amounts of walking to get to the best snow. You should be prepared to ski full days (with a lunch break) at a reasonable pace.

Off-piste Improvers Intermediate
For those who have some off-piste experience (at least 1 week) or have completed a Beginners' Off-piste course. As with the Beginners Off-piste course, the skiing will be mainly lift-accessed, though we may do some walking. A good level of fitness will allow you to enjoy full days of skiing and enable the best progress of your skiing.

Off-piste Perfection Advanced
For intermediate to advanced off-piste skiers who are able to ski efficiently and in control on all snow types. We use skins on several days and will offer all the tips for easy uphill travel if this is new to you. As this week may involve sections of uphill skinning/walking a good level of fitness will allow you to enjoy the descents and improve your skiing further.

The Venues

The 3 Valleys
Resort altitude 1,800m (Meribel)
Lifts to 3,200m (Pass for 6 days costs approximately 215 euros)

From our hotel in Brides-le-Bain, we can access the largest ski area in the world, with 200 lifts and 330 runs with an accumulated length of 600Km. The 3 Valleys includes the Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens ski areas, which we will make good use of throughout the week. It is an excellent area for introducing students to the delights of off-piste, due to the scope of 25-35°, slopes and quiet areas, overlooked by the hardcore off-piste skier. The 3 Valleys is easily reached via Geneva or Grenoble and the transport hub of Moutiers.

Tignes
Resort altitude 2,100m
Lifts to 3,450m (Pass for 6 days costs approximately 197.50 euros)

Tignes is a purpose built resort, created in the 1960's when concrete was a fashionable building material. You do not come here for the aesthetic architecture! However, due to its high altitude, it has become increasingly popular with more reliable snow conditions than many other resorts. Tignes boasts an efficient lift system and over 300Km of pistes, which gives us quick access to the renowned off-piste skiing of the Espace Killy. If conditions allow, we may be able to attempt the Tarentaise Tour, an Off-piste circuit linking the resorts of Tignes, La Plagne and Les Arcs in one long and memorable day.

Verbier
Resort altitude 1,500m
Lifts to 3,330m (Mount Fort)

410Km of runs and nearly 100 modern ski lifts, Verbier is located in the French-speaking Valais and is easily reached by train from Geneva. The Verbier ski area is well-known for its off-piste descents, but of equal interest are the smaller resorts in the surrounding region (Bruson, Ovronnaz, Super-St-Bernard), all of which are easily accessed from our base in Orsieres and hold some excellent skiing and touring far from the crowds of the bigger resorts.

Travel and Accommodation

All course members are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the course venue. Detailed travel advice will be provided along with the confirmation of your booking.

Accommodation
Verbier and The 3 Valleys: Valley accommodation is in good standard hotels equating to 2 star quality in. The hotel accommodation is provided on a twin-share basis and is included in the price. A single room supplement is payable should you want to have a room to yourself.
Tignes : We offer shared apartment accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis.

Food
All meals throughout the course are included in the cost except for lunch. Course members will need to provide their own lunch and drink each day. In Tignes, only breakfast is provided. We are based in Tignes Le Lac, which has a good variety of restaurants for evening meals.

Equipment

We provide an avalanche transceiver for each course member and probes/shovels to be shared amongst the group. You will need to provide your own skis and boots and personal clothing. Skis and boots are available to hire from each course venue. Please indicate your requirements on the Equipment Loan form, which you will receive with your booking confirmation.

Buy or hire?
How many weeks a year do you ski? If the answer is less than 2 or 3, then hiring skis may be the best bet. You don't have to travel with cumbersome ski bags, and you will normally be able to hire current models of ski. Boots are another matter, as by buying you can spend time getting the boot fitted perfectly to your feet, which guarantees pain-free ski trips.

Which skis and bindings?
For Beginners' Off-piste and Off-piste Improvers courses standard alpine ski gear is fine (ski-touring bindings are not necessary). An 'All-Mountain' ski (for example, Rossignol B3 or Scott Aztec/Aztec Pro) is ideal, giving good performance across the full range of snow-types. 'Fat' skis, although great in soft snow, are not necessarily so nice to ski on hard-packed snow.

For our Off-piste Perfection courses, ski touring bindings and skins will be required as we may use these to access some descents.

Which boots?
Most important with boots is a good fit. The boots should also be of appropriate stiffness (not too firm, not too soft) to provide support for the ankle while still allowing it to flex under load. For the Off-piste Perfection course, touring boots present the advantage of more comfortable "walk-mode" but are not strictly necessary.

Clothing/backpack
Normal ski gear is fine, but should be versatile enough to cater for warm or cold conditions. A small day-pack is ideal (20-30 litre), this should be able to hold a shovel & probe, spare layer of clothing, and a water bottle.

Course Inclusions and Exclusions

The following paragraphs summarise what is included and excluded from the course cost.

Inclusions

Valley accommodation in either a 2 star hotel or in a self-catering apartment, twin sharing, as given in the course description.
For ski-mountaineering courses when touring and using mountain huts, a shared dormitory bunk.
For all courses except those in Tignes, breakfast and dinner throughout including when in mountain huts. Tignes is provided self-catering throughout.
Instructional fees based on the published student to instructor ratio for the activity being undertaken. Ratios are in keeping with the recommendations laid down by BASI (British Association of Snowsport Instructors) the IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) and the BMG (British Mountain Guides Association) for Alpine Ski-Guiding.
All group ski-mountaineering equipment such as ropes and other technical equipment.
Ice axes, crampons and harnesses as required and when booked in advance.

Exclusions

Ski Passes.
Cable car and mechanical uplift costs of any sort.
Ski, boot and equipment hire.
Transport between the UK and the course venue.
The return journey from Zermatt to Chamonix following the completion of the Haute Route and any other taxi journeys or public transport used during the course.
Skiing, Mountaineering and travel insurance.
Lunch.
Personal skiing, climbing equipment and clothing.

*Please bring enough money with you to cover additional costs, especially cable cars and lunches. Credit cards are widely accepted and can be used for most cable cars. Insurance should be organised and paid for before you travel to the Alps.

Insurance

Insurance for helicopter rescue, medical and repatriation costs is mandatory. Insurance cover for your course and for cancellation charges, should you be forced to cancel due to injury or other insurable reasons, is available through us. The premiums are as follows

Up to 5 days - £40
Up to 10 days - £48
Up to 17 days - £59
Up to 24 days - £65

On-line booking

You can book any of our courses securely on-line by selecting your preferred dates and paying a deposit by credit/debit card of £150 per course. We will send you a confirmation of booking and comprehensive Joining Instructions, which includes travel information and a detailed equipment list...

Off-piste Skiing Courses