Dates for private courses: January – April
Ready to escape the crowds, explore true backcountry terrain, and earn your turns? If you enjoy a rewarding physical challenge, ski touring is for you.
The Chamonix Valley and the spectacular Mont Blanc Massif offer some of the finest ski touring terrain in the Alps. This vast landscape of dramatic, glaciated peaks provides endless opportunities for exploration far from the pistes.
With touring skis, the mountains open up in a completely different way. Your skis become your means of ascent, allowing you to travel freely through untouched wilderness and reach places few others go. Pristine snow, breathtaking panoramas, and the satisfaction of earning every descent — this is what makes ski touring so addictive.
Throughout the course, we focus on building the essential techniques, mountain awareness, and safety skills required to become a confident and responsible ski tourer. As your efficiency improves, you’ll move more smoothly uphill, transition faster, and ski with greater control and confidence on the descent.
Program Chamonix intro ski touring course
Arrival Chamonix
Time to make yourself at home at our basecamp for the trip: a cosy backcountry ski lodge. We’ll meet our guide for a briefing and tuck in to some traditional Alpine food ready for a day of adventure tomorrow.
- Night and dinner at Hotel, Chamonix valley
Day 1: Aiguilles rouges discovery – developing backcountry skills
We ski at Brévent or Flegere ski area out of Chamonix. This day trip involves a short skin up to improve your skinning technique and we will work on your back country skiing technique. This will give us an introduction to backcountry skiing and skinning, help us to familiarise ourselves with the gear and we’ll discuss avalanche risk, the importance of weather forecasting and practice using transceivers.
- Night at Hotel, Chamonix valley
Day 2: Perfecting skills
Develop your back country techniques on a ski tour and practice with your transceiver. Today you will get an answer to all your questions regarding snow safety and route planing.
- Night and dinner at Hotel, Chamonix valley
Day 3: Mountain hut Prés, ski touring (if Prés hut is not available we will go to an other hut in the Chamonix Valley)
We’ll transfer to Les Contamines and Val Montjoie, and ski tour up to a brand new ski refuge. It has a spectacular setting in the heart of the Contamines nature reserve, facing the Mont-Blanc range – spectacular views all round!
- Night and dinner at mountain hut
Day 4: Skitour and descend from hut
Depending on the conditions and weather we’ll enjoy a morning of ski touring before heading back down to Les Contamines and back to Chamonix by car.
Please note: this itinerary is given as an indication; weather conditions and safety requirements may mean changes are made to the programme.
What you will learn:
- Navigate safely in the backcountry
- Develop a smooth and safe skinning technique
- Plan your route
- Kick turns
- Transceiver training
- Recognising avalanche terrain
Level
Advanced piste skier, good off piste experience, new to ski touring. Ideal course as an introduction
Mountain Skills
This is all about being safe on the mountains. How to read snow conditions, assess avalanche risks, how to navigate, make sense of the weather forecasts and what they mean to skiers.
Costs: (1-6 skiers)
- 2 skiers: 2400.- € / skier
- 4 skiers: 1700.-€/skier
- 6 skiers: 1500.- € / skier
Included in the costs:
- 4 days with a fully certified ski instructor or mountain guide
- Accommodation – 3 nights at a wonderful 3* Hotel with spa facilities, breakfast, 2 dinners at the Hotel, 1 night at mountain hut in small dorms with half board
- Ski passes
- Transfers from Chamonix to Les Contamines and return to Chamonix for the hut day, transfers in Chamonix during the course
Not included in the costs:
- Transport to and from Chamonix
- Lunches, 1 dinner in Chamonix, drinks at dinners at Hotel and hut
- Personal insurance – you’ll need this to join
- Personal equipment – this is very personal so you can bring your own or we can help you hire
- Tips
Accommodation for Chamonix intro ski touring course
A charming, family-run 3-star hotel with a sauna and steam room in the Chamonix Valley with exceptional views of the Mont Blanc Massif.
Nestled in the peaceful setting of a beautiful tree-lined park in the small village of Les Bossons, just 3 km from the town centre of Chamonix and its ski lifts, the story of the 3-star Hôtel Aiguille du Midi began 116 years ago.
For five generations, the family of hoteliers has carried on the same passion for hospitality within this elegant historic residence, welcoming guests with warmth, authenticity, and genuine care. Here, you will appreciate the soul and character of this family home, where heartfelt service and a friendly atmosphere ensure a truly memorable stay.
If you have your own accommodation for the first 3 nights please let us know and we will discount the costs for it.
Material needed
Please see the PDF below for the equipment list.
