Ski
The Alps. The term is almost synonymous with skiing and there is perhaps nowhere in the world with such a concentration of high quality ski terrain. Whether you’re making your first forays into off-piste, dreaming of a week of adventurous ski touring or looking for your next hut-to-hut hit, the Alps has it all.
Off-piste
Chamonix is justifiably regarded as a must-visit location for off-piste skiers. Indeed, it was the irresistible allure of quick lift-served access to wild big mountain terrain that first drove me to move to Chamonix. Over a decade later, I’m still here and still get just as excited each winter when the first snows start to fall. Some of the many exceptional off-piste ski days you can enjoy around Chamonix include:
Take the Aiguille du Midi cable car to 3800m then ski one of many possible lines down the Vallée Blanche to Chamonix nearly 3000m below
Ski classic couloirs and gullies around Le Brévent, home to some of the best lift-served off-piste terrain in the Chamonix valley
Head to Les Grands Montets and ski its innumerable off-piste bowls and gullies
Enjoy excellent tree skiing off the Plan d’Aiguille, a vast area of pure off-piste terrain that can offer untracked powder skiing many days after a storm
Hop across the border to Courmayeur in Italy and enjoy all the quality skiing that the south side of Mont Blanc has to offer, as well as substantially better coffee and pizza!
Of course, Chamonix isn’t the only venue to offer high quality off-piste in the Alps. Perhaps you’ve always dreamt of skiing the classic runs of Verbier? Or the wild and untamed La Grave? These are just a few of the many off-piste possibilities available in the Alps.
Ski touring
With touring skis, the range of skiing options that become available to you are almost limitless. Whilst you can enjoy excellent off-piste skiing using lifts in ski resorts, it is when you have a pair of touring skis that the possibilities truly open up to you. The range of ski touring options available is vast, but some of the adventures you can enjoy include:
Chamonix classics – enjoy classic Chamonix ski-touring itineraries such as the Col du Passon, Col du Beaugeant and Breche-Puisseux. Chamonix is famous for its wild and adventurous ski tours and these are just a few of the possibilities available. Whatever your level, there are excellent ski tours to be found in and around Chamonix
4000m summits – the high summits of the Alps, located at an altitude of 4000m and above are often thought of as being for summer mountaineers only. However, with touring skis there are many 4000m summits that you can skin to the summit of and then ski off. Ski touring doesn’t get much better than this
Norway – there’s nowhere quite like it; skin up a beautiful summit then ski straight down to the sea in a truly wild mountain environment. Areas like Lyngen, Lofoten and Senja are just a few of the amazing venues you can find in Norway that combine adventurous skiing with warm Norwegian hospitality
Hut-to-hut touring
For those with a bit of ski touring experience, the allure of hut-to-hut touring is hard to resist. With touring skis and the vast network of remote mountain huts in the Alps, one can travel through the high mountains of the Alps for days on end and enjoy skiing in truly wild mountain terrain. There are many excellent hut-to-hut tours out there, but some of the classic include:
The Haute Route – without doubt the classic hut-to-hut tour involving 6 days of skiing through high mountain terrain from Chamonix in France to Zermatt in Switzerland. Along the way, tackle technical mountain passes, summit high alpine peaks and enjoy some of the best views in the Alps. A must-do tour for any keen ski tourer
The Silvretta – perhaps you’re just starting out and not sure if hut-to-hut touring is for you. If so, then there are few better places to find out what it’s all about than the Silvretta in the Austrian Alps. With warm and welcoming huts, ski routes to suit all abilities and numerous summits, there are few people who leave the Silvretta not hungry for more
The Berner Oberland – often dubbed the Himalaya of the Alps, it’s easy to see why; with vast glaciers stretching into the distance and some of the highest peaks in the Alps rising precipitously above them, there is nowhere else in the Alps quite like it. The skiing is excellent too, with long descents from high alpine summits at the perfect angle for enjoyable skiing
Jotunheimen in Norway – perhaps you’ve done your fair share of hut-to-hut touring in the Alps and are looking for somewhere new and adventurous? Then why not head to the Jotunheimen mountain range in Norway. Home to Norway’s high summits, Jotunheimen offers fantastic hut-to-hut touring through wild glaciated valleys and high alpine summits. In addition, the warm hospitality and excellent service provided by the local mountain huts is unbeatable – fresh salmon for breakfast anyone?
