 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm looking to do a two-week off-piste skiing clinic to enhance my improving but still-less-than confident off-piste skiing.
Can anyone recommend a good company / instructor / location where this is possible - as intensive and inexpensive as possible!
Any input gratefully received.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Warren Smith last year really improved my technique for off-piste, but the CHF is pretty exy against the moment...
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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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Try http://www.alpineexperience.com in Val d'Isere. Not strictly a performance clinic, but they will put you in a group with compatible skiers and take you to all sorts of great off piste all around the Espace Killy. Four hour sessions for 52 Euros per day (for 5 or more consecutive mornings). They also do 2.5 hour afternoon sessions.
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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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Snovillain, Piste to Powder in St Anton offer all day off-piste courses, with different levels of expertise. My experience of their guiding has been excellent. It is intensive, and they offer good value for money. Checkout their website www.Pistetopowder.com (I think.)
The French UCPAs (probably) offer the best value for money for an all in package, that includes guiding/instruction . I have searched for years to find something that compares to them (in terms of value for money) and I cannot. I would recommend you phone Action Outdoors (Their UK broker) and speak to them about your requirements. I would be amazed if you could find anywhere cheaper for your requirements.
I have also found that Evolution 2 (Tignes) and Oxygene in (La Plagne) can also offer some very good guiding.
Snovillain, I hope this is of some use to 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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Snovillain, UCPA are fantastic value but some of the centres are a bit basic so it depends how cheap you want to go. Argentiere for example offers several off-piste and freeride groups for all different levels but the accommodation is youth-hostel-like. Flaine's UCPA is much better quality - rooms of the standard of of 2/3* hotels/chalets but usually only has one or two off-piste groups. If you do go with the UCPA/ActionOutdoors you can use my referral code of STSL2010 and we'll both get a tenner off our holidays with them 
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Snovillain,
ESF Tignes le Lac will do you 5 full days for €266 or 5 mornings for €163 including loan of safety gear. Max 8 per group. We normally have more than one group so you can choose your level. Great value
Also try www.snoworks.com
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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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Snovillain, I forgot to say that all of the companies I mentioned offer group guiding/lessons. Individual guiding/instruction is loads more money. The UCPAs are scattered across the French alps.
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Cheers guys; very helpful.
Muchas grazias.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| JayDub wrote: |
| Snovillain, Piste to Powder in St Anton offer all day off-piste courses, with different levels of expertise. My experience of their guiding has been excellent. It is intensive, and they offer good value for money. Checkout their website www.Pistetopowder.com (I think.) |
Another vote for Piste to Powder from me. They are an excellent little outfit, all the guides are also fully qualified instructors as well as guides, so you get instruction in technique/style etc along with some excellent off piste skiing. Just be honest with your skill level when you sign up with them, their advanced group "level 4" really does mean advanced. They do cater for off piste beginers (hence the name) and they do it rather well - I saw some fairly novice off piste skiers start the week with virtually no off piste experience and they skied the run down to Langen in fresh powder 2 or 3 days later. OK, it's not a steep run, but it's not something I'd have expected to do in my first few days of off piste. The real proof of the quality of the guiding and tuition was to hear the group in the bar afterwards - they were absolutely wired . When I went out with them I skied terrain I had never found before in St Anton, and I thought I knew the area well.
(and yes, that is the right URL)
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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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The wife and I went on a Snoworks Off-piste (Called the Backcountry course). 50% instruction (British instructors). 50% guided (local guide - to allow pacticing of new found techniques!). They ran 4 or 5 different groups (slightly differing skiing standards) so cover a variety of ski standards from relatively beginner off-piste to relatively experienced.
We've booked up with them again this year because:
1) Instruction fully in English - so you get more out of it than perhaps being taught by a non-native English speaker
2) The mixture of instruction and guiding was perfect - best of both worlds.
3) Snoworks were responsive to our feedback during the course regarding changing groups.
4) The clientele were magic.
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JWP1969,
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relatively beginner off-piste
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Phew, can't tell you how relieved I am to read that. I had been worrying that I might, after all, be too incompetent for the course I'm about to do! You're not, by any chance, about to descend on St Anton, are you?
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You know it makes sense.
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Couldn't make it this year with work commitments.......wanted to. We're off to La Tania towards the End of Feb. We did the St Anton Backcountry trip last year. It was very enjoyable. Only downside was that I only skied with my wife on the first morning (I skied with her group to make sure she was okay) and the last day, when a few of us from the course hired a guide. Funnily enough, the guide (instructor) on the last day was the guy who taught me to ski off-piste 15 years before.
I doubt you'll be too incompetent. I would say that the bottom group last year were virtual beginners in the off-piste world, so therefore, competent red run skiers. If you're at or above that standard, they you're in for a treat. If you're below that standard, it just means the Apres Ski that St Anton is famous for, will start earlier than expected!
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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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JWP1969, hooray, your words are music to my ears! Sorry not to be meeting you, though. Enjoy La Tania.
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