Discovering free ride ski

Enjoy 5 days of free riding! 

Our goal? Stay far away from crowded paths, ski safely and share extreme sensations. To do so, we offer you 4 days of freeride on 4 different ski areas whilst discovering the best spots on the Mont Blanc massif. We’ll cross large canvas slopes, misty forests and long runs that become travels in the mountain. We carefully choose unique routes for you to enjoy your experience with us. To end our trip properly, we will descend the mythical Vallée Blanche.

Itinerary

  • Day 1 Arrival day in Chamonix

    Arrival day in Chamonix We settle in a nice and cozy hotel in Chamonix for the night and meet with the guide in the evening for a quick brief on the upcoming adventure. We can organize a transfer from Geneva airport to Chamonix around 2pm.
    This is your first opportunity to try out some of the best alpine specialties accompanied by some famous Savoie wine (diner at your own charge).

  • Day 2 Off-piste on the Flégère area

    Off-piste on the Flégère area For our first day, we will meet at the Stages Expéditions agency (we’ll tell you how to get there). The guide will check your equipment and we will eventually rent some material if needed. Then, we will head up to the Flégère to ski on our first ski runs and learn how to use an avalanche transceiver. Once we’ve warmed up, we’ll move on to serious stuff! Our guide will take us to hidden parts of the area (e.g. La combe Lachenal and La combe des Crochues), and we’ll slalom between fir trees in powder snow! Once the sun is set, we’ll have the pleasure to do some activities (included in the trip’s price): alpine coasters (slide runs), museum, ice skating park, sauna, hammam…

    Max Altitude : 2595m

  • Day 3 Off-piste around the Brévent

    Off-piste around the Brévent Our playground today is the Brévent. We’ll have fun on slopes near our hotel just to warm up a little. On each slope, every year, is organized the Freeride World Cup, but don’t worry, no competition between us today, the goal is to fully enjoy our day out of crowded ski runs.
    According to weather conditions, we may be able to cross other off-piste ski corridors: ENSA, Bellin, Allais, the Bozon; and depending on the amount of snow, we will head down in the valley from the Brévent corridor or from other variants. Heaps of fun!

    Max Altitude : 2525m

  • Day 4 Off-piste in the Plan de l’Aiguille

    Off-piste in the Plan de l’Aiguille After a good night sleep and a nice breakfast, we put our skis back on and start our day skiing on the Mont Blanc side, absolutely fantastic! The Pré du Rocher is a descent that Chamonix inhabitants absolutely love, and you’ll understand why once you’ll be there.
    Taking the Aiguille du midi cable car, we’ll go up to the Intermédiaire in only 8 minutes and enjoy a 1300m descent. We’ll ski down several runs (Pré du Rocher, Blaitière, the Pélerins glacier...). The range of possibilities is very large. We get back to our hotel in the evening for a well-deserved rest.

    Max Altitude : 2317m

  • Day 5 THE ski freeride spot

    THE ski freeride spot Today, we will go up to THE ski freeride spot that we cannot miss: the Grands Montets. Located in the Mont Blanc massif, this is the favorite spot of free riders. Indeed, valleys are huge, both large and long, and the snow is glistening and thick, just what we need for a great ski day! Between the Grand Montets peak and the Argentière village, 2000m of ascents and descents are waiting for you. Your guide will take you to the secret places of the area: The Pendant valley that will get us to the Lavancher hamlet - the hidden valleys of La Rachasse and Cordier - or the variants in the middle of crevasses on the Rognons and Argentière glaciers. Such a fun day!

    Max Altitude : 3275m

  • Day 6 Icing on the cake : the Vallée Blanche

    Icing on the cake : the Vallée Blanche Before taking the cable car to go up to 3777m, we put our harnesses on to descend the ridge, roped up. We will pay attention not to get away from the guide’s marks, because we move on a majestic but quite unpredictable glacier. During the excursion, we will find ourselves in the mountain’s heart: the Dent du Géant, the Aiguille Verte or the Grandes Jorasses will be our neighbors, and we’ll be breath taken by the incredible views.
    Our ski freeride experience will get us to play with the Vallée Blanche variants. You’ll get to decide if we’ll go right or left, get back up and back down, tour around the Aiguilles and have some fun on bump runs. We’ll end this beautiful day with the Montenvers train ride or by skiing one last run through the Mottets refuge. We will separate in Chamonix in the end of the afternoon.

    Max Altitude : 3777m

  • Day 7 End of the trip

    After a good breakfast, we’ll say goodbye and take you to Geneva airport around 9am if you need a lift.

ITINERARY CHANGE

The program can be modified by your guide due to weather conditions or participants physical conditions. For safety reasons and to ensure a uniform level corresponding to the one announced, the supervision and organisation boards have the right to interrupt your participation if your technical or physical level are lower than those required. The interruption will not give you any right of refund or payment of compensation.

Dates & prices

Departures for English-speaking groups:

No departure for now

Trip code: SHPCH

Included

A deposit of 30% of the trip’s price will be needed during the booking, the whole price must be paid at least 30 days before departure.

  • Technical organisation of the trip
  • Cable car tickets
  • Hight mountain guide
  • Safety material rental : avalanche transceiver
  • Collective material (carried by your guide)
  • Lunch picnics
  • Harness
  • Free pass for : bus, Richar Bozon centre (swimming pool, sauna, hammam), Chamonix, Argentières and Les Houches ice skating park (free skate rental), museums, one descent in the Planards alpine coaster (entrance of Chamonix), and cinema’s discounts.

Not included

  • Personal equipment : ski, shoes, sticks, helmet
  • Drinks and expenses
  • Insurance / assistance
  • Tuition fees
  • Application fees (18€ per person)
  • Battery for avalanche transceiver (LRO3 AAA, 4 batteries)
  • Everything that is not mentioned in « the price includes »

International flights

If you wish, we can take care of booking your international flights to the closest airport of your destination. 

Terms and conditions

Subscription


Subscribe to one of our activities or travels means accepting general sales conditions. Each client must fill a subscription form, which will be accepted only after the payment of a deposit accounting for 30% of the travel’s price and according to the availability. If you subscribe less than 30 days before the trip, you must pay the whole price during the subscription. You can pay by bank transfer (SWIFT/IBAN) or with your credit card directly through our website (available soon). A booking confirmation will be sent to you be e-mail very soon.

Invoice procedure


Once your booking is registered, we will send you an email containing the invoice. Full payment is required at least 30 days before your arrival. If the customer does not settle the payment of the travel price within the period agreed upon, Altaï Alpes has the right to cancel the booking free of charge. 

Cancellation policy


If for any reason, you decide to withdraw from a journey, the amount already paid will be refunded subject to the following exceptions:
  • More than 30 days before departure, you will be charged for the amount of 50€
  • From 30 to 21 days before departure, you will be charged for the amount of the deposit (30% of the trip’s price)
  • From 20 to 14 days before departure,  you will be charged for 50% of the trip’s price
  • From 13 to 7 days before departure,  you will be charged for 75% of the trip’s price
  • Less than 7 days before departure,  you will be charged for the whole trip’s price 

Particular case :

Whatever the date of the cancellation or contract change, the following fees will be added to the charges above :
  • Airline fixed costs : plane tickets are bought in advance to avoid too high airline prices, however they are non refundable in case of cancellation or plane changes. In that case, the charges above apply to the price of your trip without the plane ticket’s price
  • Ground fixed costs : you will be charged for the fees that were paid early
  • Insurance fees : Insurance fees will not be refunded if you subscribed to a multi-risk or cancellation insurance. The specific conditions will be written on your subscription confirmation

If you have no choice but to cancel your trip before departure, you must inform Altaï Alpes and your insurance provider with a written statement as soon as possible, you will get a receipt.

The receipt date will be taken as the cancellation date to charge cancellation fees.  

If Altaï Alpes has no choice but to cancel a group travel due to an insufficient number of participants, the decision will be taken and the clients informed at least 31 days before departure. Altaï Alpes can also cancel a departure due to exceptional events threatening participants safety (social events, strikes, weather conditions). In that case, the trip’s price will be fully refunded but the participants will not get any compensation.

Changes to travel contract


If any change in travel contract is made at the customer’s request, any fee that might arise from this change shall be paid by the customer. In any case, every request for changes shall be notified in writing. In case of external events that could not be foreseen, Altaï Alpes might change some aspects of the travel contract. We will endeavour to advise you of any changes as quickly as possible.

Pricing


All group travel prices on our website have been calculated for the indicated number of participants for each trip. The price list is confirmed after the booking. If the number of participants is lower than expected, an additional payment charge might be applied. For each travel and program, we mention the price per person – valid for the minimum number of participants – and we provide you with detailed explanations about the services included or not. Any change in the exchange rates or in the price of travel services in particular regarding the cost of the fuel, might entail price revision.

Contract transfer


In case of transfer of the contract by the customer to an assignee, modification and cancellation conditions apply.

Insurance

We recommend you to get your personal insurance before your departure to cover the activities undertaken by Altaï Alpes. If you have not purchased any of our insurances, we ask you to email us your insurance contract information (company, contract name, contract number, phone number) and bring those information with you on your trip. 

Practical info

Staff

Your trip will be supervised by a high-mountain guide who will teach you the technical elements needed for the good progress of your stay. He may need to modify the program in order to ensure safety regarding weather conditions and participants physical conditions.

Food

Meals

  • Lunch picnics and diners in refuges.
  • Bring some snacks according to your own tastes.

Drinks

  • Personal drinks are not included in the trip’s price : water, tea, coffee, beer, coke...
  • Water isn't free in refuges, and it can be quite expensive.. (5 to 8€ a bottle)

Accommodation

You will spend your nights in 2-stars hotels with shared rooms of 2 to 3 persons. It is possible to get a single room according to availability (you will need to add 60 euros).

Budget & exchange

France is in the Eurozone. Therefore, the unit of the currency is the Euro.

Credit cards and debit cards are very useful for cash advances (but don’t forget to bring your PIN number!).
ATMs are available in most of the towns you will cross during your stay, but there are no guarantees that your credit card will actually work in France. Also, refuges often don’t have EPT (Electronic Payment Terminal): it is best to bring cash.
Be aware of the fees usually applied when purchasing products or services on a credit card. 

Always take more rather than less, as you don’t want to spend your trip constantly feeling short on funds. 

As currency exchange rates can often fluctuate, we recommend to check the following website for daily exchange rates: https://www.xe.com/

Tips

Clients usually pay for the guides’ drinks : you might find it practical to make a group kitty at the beginning of your stay (no obligation). 

Supplied equipment

  • Collective material and safety material (ropes, avalanche transceiver) if needed.
  • Sleepers and blankets in refuges : bring your own sleeping bag.

Material

Technical material


Skis

  • 1 pair of skis
  • 1 pair of shoes
  • Sticks
  • Ski helmet
  • Lanyard with carabiner
  • Ice anchor 

Other

  • Safety equipment : avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe
  • Life blanket
  • Clasp knife
  • Thermos or bottle
Everything must be in good conditions before departure. 

Personal equipment


Head

  • Windproof bonnet
  • Hat or cap
  • Scarf
  • Solar cream (high protection index), face + lips
  • Glacier sunglasses (category 4 index) + ski goggles

Upper body

  • 2 technic breathable underclothing with long sleeves (Carline type, no cotton, it is drying too slowly)
  • 1 breathable technic undershirt
  • 1 thick polar coat
  • 1 windproof and waterproof coat (Goretex type)
  • 1 pair of windproof mittens (polar or wool)
  • 1 pair of windproof gloves (polar or wool)
  • 1 pair of undergloves 

Lower body

  • 2 pair of socks (one thick, one thin)
  • 1 pair of windproof and waterproof ski pants (Goretex type) 

Other

  • Toilet paper (biodegradable if possible)
  • Biafine (sunburn cream)
  • 1 sleeping bag
  • 1 toilet bag (bring only necessary products)
  • 1 quick-drying towel
  • 1 plastic bag (100L) + 1 upper bag to protect your belongings and backpack from the rain
  • 1 waterproof sleeve to put your ID, phone, money, insurance/ assistance contract with all your emergency numbers
  • Some hand and feet warmers

Luggage

  • You will be carrying your one-day belongings and equipment in a 40L- bag.
  • Your personal belongings and replacement clothes  will stay in the lodge in another bag (travel bag).

Medicine

You guide will be carrying a first-aid kit. However, plan to bring your own medicine :
  • Personal medicine         
  • Anti-pain medications (paracetamol)
  • Double-skin
  • Elastic adhesive tapes
  • Bandages
  • Local  disinfectant
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Antispasmodic
  • Anti-diarrheal pills
  • Eyewash
  • Light tranquilizers and sleeping pills
  • Earplugs 
Non exhaustive list.

Passport

Please make sure your passport and travel documents are valid.

Visa

  • Up to 90 days visit in France : citizens from most countries do not need a visa to visit France.
  • Over 90 days visit in France : non-EU or non-EFTA citizens must have a visa to visit France over 90 days.

For further information, please check the following website : https://france-visas.gouv.fr/

Identity card

For EU citizens, you can use your identity card to travel to France. 

Mandatory vaccines

No required vaccination. 

Health information & recommendations

It is important to consult your doctor for medical travel information well before departure. We recommend that you carry a First Aid kit as well as any personal medical requirements.
Please keep in mind that we are often in remote areas, away from medical facilities. Please carefully read the brochure and itinerary when selecting your trip, to make sure our style of travel suits you. 

Please note you will travel to high altitude. Most people can travel to 2 500m with minimal effects. However, everyone reacts differently to altitude and altitude sickness can occur.
For details on how to best prepare your trip please consult your physician.

Weather

The weather in the French Alps varies up and down the mountain chain. It is a mountainous region between 800 and 4000 meters, so altitude plays a big part in the local weather.
As you climb higher into the mountains it gets 1 degree cooler every 100 meters. It is the case all year around but other factors such as temperature inversions and winds influence the climate.  The sun plays a very important role too. In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky, some lower or north facing valleys are blocked from the sun by mountains for a large part of the day and are colder.  

Spring can be a bit unpredictable : rain, sometimes even some snow interspersed with hot sunny days. 
It can be quite hot in summer: around 20 to 30 degrees, but the fresh mountain air cools you down during your hike. 
In autumn, temperatures start to cool down, but it is still perfect conditions for a walking holiday.  
During winter time, the higher you get, the more snow you will see. Snow usually starts to fall in November and stays until April. 

Keep in mind that weather conditions are unpredictable. Therefore, the trip organization can me modified for your safety.

Electricity

There will be electricity in most places you will stay. If you are scared to run low on battery, we advise to bring an external battery charger.  

Power plugs in France have the particularity of being male and female at the same time : they have 2 prongs and a receptacle. If you need an adapter, please purchase if before departure.

In France the power plugs and sockets are of type E. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

Local time

France is in the Central European Time Zone. Central European Standard Time (CET) is 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1).

Like most states in Europe, Summer Time (Daylight-Saving) is observed in France, where the time is shifted forward by 1 hour; 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+2).
After the summer months, the time in France is shifted back by 1 hour to Central European Time (CET or GMT+1).

Sustainable tourism

We do our best to offer trips subscribed to the principles of responsible and sustainable tourism. Our aim is to allow visitors to discover the many facets of France by taking you off the beaten path and getting you in touch with its nature and residents, while ensuring that your visits do not have a negative effect on its natural environment and people.

  • Most of our accommodations are run by locals, thus ensuring that the largest part of the revenue generated through your trip will stay within the region.
  • France is known for its exquisite cuisine. The art of cooking and the joy of eating are part of everyday life. Each region has its particular foods and flavors which we would like you to explore and appreciate.
  • Water is a precious and rare good. Our team and those travelling with us are thus advised to use it with consideration and avoid excessive water use where possible.
  • Please try to recycle your waste whenever possible, even though recycling may not be a well-known concept in all areas.
  • Be cautious and respectful when hiking. Make sure to wear suitable footwear and avoid picking flowers, moving stones or lighting fires.  
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Sandra

My local agent
Sandra

  • Technical advisor
  • Mountain and ski touring lover. She will advise you on Mont Blanc tours, trekking, hiking and multi-activities.
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Region
France
Activity
Freeride in the Alps Ski Winter
Duration
7 days
Group
4 to 6 people
Code
SHPCH
Price
From €985
Level
3/5
Comfort
3/5
Language(s)
English

Strengths

  • Five days of freeride ski in the best spots of the Mont Blanc massif
  • The Vallée Blanche descent
  • High mountain guide
  • Exceptional panorama on the Mont Blanc mountain range
  • Training course for the using of avalanche transceiver
  • Small groups : 6 persons maximum

Guide's advice

This is THE tour to try freeride ski. The areas you will cross offer a limitless number of slopes variants, and cable cars give an easy and large access to powdered slopes. And above all, the view up there is breathtaking. We are waiting for you !

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