Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!
Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

UCPA Tignes, Val Thorens or Argentiere for Introduction to Off piste
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

Hi all.
39 year old solid intermediate on piste, looking to learn to ski off piste.

I don't know what my skill level is, and have only skied in Norway, for comparison I carve decently down most reds and easier blacks as long as the snow is decent, and have no problems skiing skidded short turns down the Kvitfjell WC downhill track with good control in so-so snow, which is the steepest slope I have tried. But as soon as I try off piste with moguls or narrow skied out trees runs I feel like I turn into a beginner again despite "knowing" the fundamentals. I also have no solid grasp on how to ski in deep powder because I so seldom have the opportunity to ski it.

I am not looking for anything extreme, more concerned about staying in one piece than sending it big. I have seen some horror stories on here with very hard terrain in Chamonix on the introduction course and would like to avoid that.

Going alone first or second week of April this year. Don't care about apres or partying, quiet is perfectly fine for me. Looking for some insights on terrain and this years snow condition mostly.
Which resort would be best for my goals?

Thanks!
latest report
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

My intro to off piste was with UCPA Val T and the guide operated a policy of attrition whereby we lost more and more people as we progressed through the week. One of the best weeks ever! snowHead

Can't say I've ever been taken down anything sketchy with UCPA Argentiere but YMMV.

I think I would go for Val T if I was doing lift served into and not touring this year given snow depths.
snow report
snow report
 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?

@Krrang, welcome to SH's.

It's a while since I skied Argentiere but I had a great week there and I've done plenty of trips to 3V - and I don't see why either would be a problem. Interesting to hear you mention "horror stories" and @kat.ryb comment of a "policy of attrition" but maybe I am making too much of it. It wouldn't worry me personally (never done any off piste weeks training) but it just doesn't sound great. On the flip side I always got the impression UCPA was a good gig.

I learnt off piste with friends and family - most lift served odd piste without guide but have also done odd days with a guide and did a Intro to Ski Touring with a guide. A lot of it is just practice, knowledge building of how the snow is, where to go, trying to understand snow pack and avalanches, safety, aswell as translating good on piste technique to the off piste.

What is your long term plan in terms of do you have friends and family that you will be able to ski off piste with or will you be reliant on group bases holidays?
latest report
latest report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.

Quote:

but maybe I am making too much of it


Yes reading too much into it, my comment was more tong in cheek really. Two people were binned on the first day for not being close to the required standard. Someone else fell on a traverse and flailed around rather than listening to instructions, and as a result slipped down over some rocks and was bruised and had ripped pants and didn't come back out with us. Someone else was too tired for the last day. Nothing in there should have been scary. Whilst the large groups have their limitations, UCPA remains about the only easily accessible and affordable ways to dip into off piste.
snow conditions
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Layne wrote:
@Krrang Interesting to hear you mention "horror stories" and @kat.ryb comment of a "policy of attrition" but maybe I am making too much of it. It wouldn't worry me personally (never done any off piste weeks training) but it just doesn't sound great. On the flip side I always got the impression UCPA was a good gig.


There was a thread on Snowheads a year or two back (by @AndreSilva, I think) that gave some examples of the types of terrain he got taken on during his UCPA Intro to Off Piste course. It certainly scared me! I am generally a big fan of UCPA though, and have stayed in their centres many times.
snow report
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy