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Guiding/ESF/UCPA in the Espace Killy
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

I will be studying in France next spring and I will have a two weekd spring break in late April. To keep transportation costs down and maximize skiing, I will want to stay in just one ski area. For late season snow quality, terrain, and a potential for reasonably-priced lodging, the Espace Killy (and in particular Tignes) seems the best choice. I am an expert skier who prefers to be off piste at all times. I'm not going to ski a 50 degree couloir on the Aiguille du Midi, but I'm probably up for pretty much the steepest terrain you can find in the Espace Killy.

Since I will be alone and I obviously don't have anywhere near the local knowledge of a guide, I recognize that I will need full time off piste guiding to get the most out of my trip. Of course, this is not cheap, and I have a typical student budget.

One option I have looked into is the UCPA. Val d'Isere has a Off Piste Freeride week that has 23 hours of 6:1 guiding from a UIAGM guide. Due to the presence of glaciers throughout the Espace Killy, having a UIAGM guide seems very desirable.

The UCPA in Tignes offers a 23 hour Off Piste week, but it has group sizes of 8-10:1 and is not led by a UIAGM guide. It is the cheapest off piste option, however.

Finally, the ESF in Tignes (Le Lac and Val Claret) has a 6 full day off piste 'Grand Ski' package. It's pricier than the UCPA, but not ridiculous. It is 6:1 and a major advantage is that it seems to provide 48 hours of guding (8 per day). However, it is unclear if ESF off piste instructors are full UIAGM guides. Can anyone clarify this for me?


If anyone has personal experience with any of these formulas (or took a separate route), I would love to hear how your trip worked out. Additionally, does anyone with UCPA off piste week experience know if you really only get 23 hours of off piste with a guide? If that is truly the case and ESF provides their advertised 48 hours, ESF certainly looks better.

I know this is a long way off, but this is likely the only time in the somewhat near future that I will get to ski in Europe, and I want to make the most of my time there.
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snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

There is a tremendous amount of non-glacial off piste skiing in Tignes and Val d'Isere and much of it, all except the lowest slopes, is probably skiable in April. Certainly for the last several years there has been lots of off piste late in the season. Have a look at this thread ( http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=55130 ) to get reports from throughout last winter. There are similar threads for the previous few winter seasons.

By late April a lot of slopes can get very soft and slushy so I wonder whether it is worth you paying for full days. You may get better value by doing mornings only.
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latest 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?

I certainly expect it to be slushy on most aspects, but a guide can probably find the best north-facing terrain, and I actually like slush (powder skis make all the difference). Still, morning only lessons seem to be a decent idea, except that for ESF, there's barely a difference between morning and full day when you get to a 6 day package Puzzled I think full time guiding is really what I want, because I don't have much interest in staying on piste all afternoon, and skiing alone off-piste during prime wet-slide season hardly sounds smart.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.

Have been to the UCPA in Val d'Isere. I didn't get any guiding, but from the people who did the instructors seemed to be pushing them. They took them to St. Foy as conditions were apparently better at the time.

I have high praise for the UCPA centre in Val d'Isere its in a good location, great food and a great laugh. There tends to be large groups of Scandanavians in the centre who go for the off piste package.

From my experience the UCPA guides tend to be younger and have a different attitude to skiing. They encourage you to enjoy it more than ESF's style of constant drills and following. This is from my experience of their instructors at intermediate level in Les Arcs.
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latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

why don't you book with Alpine Experience? They know what they are doing and are not expensive.
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