Freeride and off piste skiing holiday in the Alps

Holiday Summary:

This is a high altitude, freeride, off piste ski or snowboard trip where you will skiing and snowboarding the best powder in the southern French Alps! The main ski domain will be accessed using the famous La Grave cable car for getting uphill with some skinning (max 400m) for access to particular descents. You will join a group of other skiers or snowboarders at your level and our guides will tailor make a continually evolving programme of spectacular freeride descents making the most of the local conditions and the level of your group. 

About La Grave / La Meije:

This ski area is served by one historic cable car and lift extension that takes you up to the glaciers of La Meije massif at 3600m. There are no pisted or way marked routes to follow down, just pure off piste skiing. There are a two classic descents, the Vallons de la Meije and the Vallons de Chancel but in addition to that there are over 15 couloirs of varying difficulties to discover and plenty of other off piste ski routes and itineraries to explore. It really is an experienced skiers paradise.

The cable car has an iconic history in the region built originally in 1976, it has resisted being bought out by large global lift companies and has maintained its charm and authenticity without compromising safety.

Safety:

You will be skiing over glaciers and in a high mountain, un-managed terrain, which is a potentially dangerous environment with risk of avalanche and rock fall as well as the ski-related risk of injuring yourself by falling during a descent. 

Safety is our utmost priority and you will be equipped with an avalanche safety pack with all our trips. Our guides are all fully qualified UIAGM high mountain guides, which is the highest qualification possible in the mountains and we have a maximum of 5 people per guide in our groups at all times and often less. Our guides monitor the weather and conditions on a daily basis and choose their routes with great care and attention both to the conditions but also to your level and with safety as their priority. If conditions are poor in La Grave they also have the possibility of going to other ski areas like Serre Chevalier or Montgenevre where there are lots of amazing off piste and free-ride descents to be had.

Holiday Highlights: 

• Small groups of maximum 5 per guide 
• Fully qualified and experienced high mountain guides and ski instructors specialising in free ride skiing, off piste skiing and ski touring with unbeatable local knowledge of the domain  
• Safety our top priority 
• Ski in the legendary La Grave and la Meije free rider ski domain  
• Flexibility to adapt to different abilities and conditions to maximise your experience and find the best snow
• High altitude (3550m) = high chance of powder puff!
• Ethical skiing - supporting a small mountain community dependent on this one historic cable car

Who Will Love This Trip?

You need to be a competent skier to enjoy this trip with some experience of skiing or snowboarding off piste in different snow conditions. You should find black pistes in resorts comfortable and have played around in the powder and off piste snow in and around the pistes. You don't need to be an expert snowboarder, skier or free rider but need a good technical base to progress from. There are different groups with different levels going out each day so we will try and match you with a group of your level. You will also need a good level of fitness as this is a physically demanding trip.

Itinerary

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BY TRAIN OR BUS:

The village of Villar D'Arene is just next to the ski resort of La Grave and accessible by several regular bus transfer routes from the main TGV train stations. 

From Grenoble TGV station it is a 1 and 1/2 hour transfer on the Line 35 bus route from Grenoble to Briancon. Your stop is Villar D'Arene. Have a look at the timetables. Price is between 15 - 20€

From Lyon TGV station there is a snow shuttle every Saturday during the ski season bringing you to Villar D'Arene in just two and a half hours from Lyon. Have a look at the timetables.

From the UK you can get the new fast Eurostar train to Lyon TGV (takes 4 - 5 hours) to link in with the above snowshuttle.

BY PLANE:

The nearest airports are Lyon, Grenoble or Turin. 

From Grenoble you can get the airport shuttle to the TGV and take the regular Line 35 but route (see by train or bus above). This is the cheapest option and it runs every day. Alternatively there are transfers running on a regular basis every Saturday from the airport to La Grave with Ben's Bus. 

From Lyon you can get the snow shuttle every Saturday during the ski season bringing you directly to Villar D'Arene. Have a look at the timetable

From Turin airport there is a snow shuttle to La Grave from the airport that runs every Saturday and Sunday. Have a look at the timetables