Mixed Guiding (Skiiers and Boarders)

A snowHead

Does anyone know if it's possible to hire a guide who will take both boarders and skiiers together. My friend tried to do this in Schladming last year, but was told that they would have to hire a seperate skiing guide and boarding guide - given that there was only one skiier in their party it was quite an expensive guide for him!

We will be staying in Belle Plagne, but could obviously pop over to any of the other villages in La Plagne if there are suitable guides to be found.

I have found an old post about this issue but it only gives a brief example of this scenario:
http://www.snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=77345&highlight=mixed+guide#77345
and says that the office manager practically forced the reluctant guide to take a mixed group. I'd rather not put the guides in this position if I can help it.

Thanks
Ste

A snowHead

I have skied with a guide in a group with skiers and one boarder, at Zermatt. We got along fine - but we did have to tow the boarder on traverses. On the day we were a little laid back, so it was not a problem. But it would have been if we had been having to push on hard. Perhaps the traverse problem is why the guides prefer separate groups.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

skiskool,

I posted that and I can only report on what I have experienced. We booked a guide with the guide office to do the Valluga. I am pretty sure we asked about a mixed group and they said it was ok. It was only when we were about to set off that the guide noticed we had a boarder in the party. He went mad and went back to the office to sort this out. The manager and the guide had a big ding dong in german and the manager won. We set out for the lifts only to find the wind getting up and the trip from the top was cancelled due to high winds. We thought the guide was happy with this and aborted the trip. No money changed hands and the guide was perfectly reasonable about it all.
Another time we hired a guy in Zermatt for resort off-piste and we had a mixed party with the same boarder. As we weren't going anywhere too hairy or near the glacier the guide was ok with the boarder although the boarder always lost height on traverses and ended further down the hill than the rest of us. He also had to cope with long walkouts as the group was geared to skiers. He was exhausted and has never taken his board out in seriousness on our trips since. I think it is not realistic to have a split party because you get split up on the mountain too easliy and it is a safety compromise.

This is not an anti-boarder view just a point that the two genres get down the hill differently and therefore on routes that take 'commitment' you just don't need these issues. There is enough to go wrong without making it harder for yourself.

On more serious routes with UIAGM guys I don't think the option would even be considered. If you are a boarding party the guide may be a tourer but the rest of the group will not but that is a bit of a guess as I am not a boader.

If you must have a mixed party, stress that fact when you book but I would think that any guide worth his salt would then tailor the trip for this and it may in fact compromise where you can go. I wouldn't do it and would not blame the guide for refusing it. I don't think he will take you anywhere specialised.

Unless you are diving off the Bellecote you may have a chance of getting someone willing to mix it but nothing will convince me it is a good idea and we don't even contemplate it anymore.

Help!!

Mixed Guiding (Skiiers and Boarders)

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