 Poster: A snowHead
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I have booked accommodation for 8 days with Small Wonders in Chalet White Eden next season in Ste Foy. Some of my party (my sons in their 20`s so I want them to be safe!) are really keen to do the whole 'off piste' thing and I am hoping that Ste Foy will accommodate this along with providing slopes for our beginner.
For the first time in 3 decades we are not restricted by any term times for school or uni. I long recognised the premium you pay for such restrictions which is why we took our caravan for so many years and latterly booked apartments self catered. But wow what a huge, huge, difference it makes to the catered holiday market!
Any tips on which/what off piste guides to use or any useful local knowledge would be much appreciated. Thank you 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It will!! But maybe not their demands for apres. There are also some excellent beginners and intermediate pistes - but you will do them regularly. I am on a poor wifi link at the moment so I can't get his surname but if you go to the St Foy official website there is a British guide called Brian who would be an ideal local to introduce the team to off piste. If you can't find him say so and I will research it when I rejoin the 21st Century. In the meantime Tigski maybe along with the answer!
Snoworks also run course at St F - so have a shufty at their site you may be lucky.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Much appreciated @chocksaway, My lot are not too bothered about the nightlife, they are happy to chill out with beer/wine and relax in the spa after a hard day on the slopes, so I am not too concerned about that.
We will have one beginner with us and I understand there is a free magic carpet which I guess will be great for the first day or so. We will all be taking it in turns to help our beginner along!
I am happy to trundle up and down the same piste all week if need be. I do not like variety or hidden surprises in a run. I find one run changes enough from day to day to challenge me lol But I will look up information you mention for our adventurous skiers, thank you!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@CaravanSkier, There are a couple of free magic carpets now in St Foy.
The off piste is really good in St Foy, and your right about getting a guide to show you the best routes, I would also recommend asking whichever guide you get about the off piste that can be accessed from from the normal runs, most is pretty safe, but there are some very attractive looking areas only a few meters from the piste which can be really dangerous, a good rule of thumb in Foy is if the locals have not skied it, there is a very good reason 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@livetoski, Thank you. One of my sons has the full off piste kit but the other 2 do not. How does it usually work, do you hire a guide separately to hiring whatever else you need, or does the guide provide kit?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@CaravanSkier, the way guides often work for off piste is that you book the number of places in with the guide and they supply the transceiver, shovel and probe. Make sure you check with them as you need an appropriate rucksack for shovel and probe. Obvs you can tell them in advance that your son has kit already.
Hope you have fun, I have some great memories of an off piste day at St Foy!!
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@andy1234, Thank you, its looks like it is a fabulous place!
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Don't forget there are three "in-bounds" patrolled off-piste areas (and much more 'side-piste') which make great places to start if there's been a recent dump. They are great fun and Ste Foy seem pretty on-the-case about avalanche control. There is a network of wires above likely in-bounds danger spots which they use to haul explosive charges into place to collapse any instabilities in the snowpack. Just warn your lads about the wooded areas - many conceal cliffs...
One (among many) great thing about Ste Foy is that it's excellent for all levels of ability from complete beginners to steely-eyed free skiers.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thank you for the warning about cliffs concealed behind trees @Sweeney Todd, lack of local knowledge can be treacherous! I was very happy to see the unpisted areas within the resort bounds on the ski map, how long does it take to ski those areas?
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They're not very big - you could do them all several times in a day.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@chocksaway, you might be thinking of Bryan Hogg , an instructor/ guide based in St Foy
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@nickH, That's the chap!!
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You know it makes sense.
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@nickH, @chocksaway, Thank you!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@CaravanSkier, he also works some of the time as an instructor, particularly for off piste, for ski schools in the region ( eg snoworks ) and though I've not been taught by him myself I've met some that have and he's been highly recommended.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Patrick Bidwell at SnoCool is fantastic. We've been using him for our guests for years and they always have a great time, from complete beginners to gnarly backcountry stuff!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@BrilliantWhite, interesting to hear about Patrick. We met up with a guy called Olivier Baron a few years ago with SnoCool I think, and had a few great days with him in St Foy and Espace Killy. Is he still around do you know?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Go onto the Offical tourist site , on there there is a list of all the Fully qualified guides or ski schools who offer off piste lessons/ trips out .
If you want a fully qualified high mountain guides use either the Guides office or Tarentaise tours .
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Rob Mackley, What qualifications should I be looking for?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@CaravanSkier,
http://www.ivbv.info/en/ifmga/about-us.html , if your looking to go beyond the ski area limits I would always use a guide with these qualifications , not sure you can claim to be a guide without them .
If you are looking to do off piste within the ski area the ski schools are fine .
Last season for example was very unstable and the guides experience was invaluable , the one I use for instance until April wouldn't ski anything above 35% , just simply wasn't worth the risk .
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thank you@Rob Mackley, My boys are all fine with the off piste technique, although I`m sure there`s always room for improvement  so I would not worry about them unduly within the resort bounds, its the need for local knowledge, some extra kit, and expertise which I think will be crucial
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@andy1234 Not sure about Olivier, maybe give Misha at SnoCool an email - I'm sure she'll be able to help.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks @BrilliantWhite,
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Thank you all!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@CaravanSkier, We have used Yves Astier as a private off-piste guide in both Ste Foy and in Val D'Isere, and I can strongly recommend him. Over a few days, he's likely to take you each day to the local resort that has the best snow conditions.
If you book him directly (Google will find him for you or pm me if you're having trouble), Yves won't stick to ski-school hours. We've always started with the first lift and finished only when the lifts finally close, with lunch being as long or short as you choose. He's even given us free rock climbing lessons in the evenings a few times.
Yves grew up in Val, so he knows the valley exceptionally well and will find you interesting places to ski whatever the conditions. He's likely to push a bunch of 20-something blokes pretty hard, but I guess they'd want that. He's a pretty good instructor, too, so he'll quickly sort out any gaps in your knowledge as you approach new terrain.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Jonny Jones, Thank you!
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@CaravanSkier, I should have said that Ste Foy has some pretty good off-piste that is skied less frequently than nearby resorts with larger visitor numbers. Some of the longer runs can require a bus or taxi ride to return to base but that's not an enormous hardship provided your guide knows the timetable properly. As you'd expect, you need to hike for some of the better runs, too. It's also very easy to get to Leave Arc, Tignes or Val D'Isere for a day if the conditions in Ste Foy aren't perfect or if you fancy a change.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@CaravanSkier, Hopefully not La Thuile!!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I take it that would be a long drive?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Its a bit of a running joke round these parts. In summer there is a smashing mountain pass from La Thuile in Italy to La Rosiere in France. In the winter it is one of the link pistes between the 2 resorts (San Bernadino Area). Unfortunately the shortest distance from Geneva to St F, Las Ros and Espace Killy by satnav is via this pass which closes around late October early Nov. If you get as far as the barrier across the piste at La Thuile it is about another 4 hours to retrace your steps and arrive in the right place. So if your gang have a day out at La Ros - make sure they are at the right side of the mountain or tell 'em to book into a hotel 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I had a long weekend in Ste Foy this winter gone and it was excellent. 5 days after the last dump and still untracked snow in abundance. We didn't hire a guide, just did the classics of Col de l'Aiguille - Vallon du Clou, Pointe de la Foglietta - Vallon de Mercuel, Ridge above La Marquise chair - Vallon de Mercuel and of course the Cross back into resort. We also had a day in Les Arcs, drove over to Villaroger. It's only 15/20 minutes and it was a great ski from the Grand Col back to Villaroger.
One thing I did notice at Ste Foy was how helpful the pisteurs were. At the Securite des Pistes hut at the top of the Col de l'Aiguille, I went over for a quick chat to check that my thoughts on the snowpack (gleaned from watching the weather/avalanche reports etc so not exactly ideal) were correct and we ended up having a great chat, discussing pretty much everything I wanted to ski over the weekend as well as hinting as to where we might find the best snow.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@galpinos, Again useful information thank you
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@galpinos, I'm sure you knew what you were doing. The reason that the rest of us hire a guide is that, if we're honest with ourselves, we really have no way of making sure that we don't end up like these unfortunate skiers in Ste Foy last year. I discussed the incident in depth with Yves and he explained many of the mistakes the group made; if I'd been skiing off piste without him, I suspect I would have made many of the same errors.
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@Jonny Jones, I wasn’t trying to play the big I am, just trying to point out there is plenty of accessible but very good off-piste that feels like a big day out so would be suitable, with a guide for the OP’s son and friends. I only mentioned we didn’t have a guide as it means I can’t recommend anyone!
I don’t see neither myself nor my ski buddies as infallible but part of the reason I ski off-piste is for the self-sufficiency, making my own decisions and being in control. I do ski with guides sometimes and it is a very different, though sill enjoyable, experience.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Unless you know the area very well, you are wise to hire a guide. Too easy to put yourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. This can be unsafe, but you're very likely to miss out on the good snow, or the special run that you would never find left to your own devices. Skied in Ste Foy and other areas around there with Franck Grand a few years back. Highly recommend. Check here: http://www.guide-montagne-tarentaise.com/guide-haute-montagne-savoie-hiver.php?edit=33.
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FAQ
Thank you 