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| Alps Ski Touring Programs |  |
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See also: |
Within each of these trips are innumerable variations, side trips, and much great skiing. In addition, there are wonderful day trips to enjoy, from the well known Vallée Blanche, a 9000 foot descent in the heart of the Mont Blanc Massif to tours around Zermatt and other alpine centers. Check out our Recent Trips Gallery page for links to photos of our previous trips to these areas. Please read our "Choosing the right tour" section lower on this page. A large amount of information is available in the pages on our site. But we still invite you to contact us with your questions. We have found that the more we dive into the depths of a subject the more there is to learn about it. Give us a call, or send an email. Please note that we only offer trips on a private basis. Because of COVID-19, as well as other issues, we have no "open" trips. We invite you to gather your best ski buddies, or to come by yourself for a private program. |
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Suggested ski
tours
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| With a base of your hotel in Chamonix, you can enjoy an amazing variety of off-piste skiing at nearly any level of difficulty. Many route are possible on downhill "alpine" ski gear, while others need randonnée skis with skins. | early January
to
mid-March |
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| This is France's answer to Colorado. Early season light snow, lots of sun (usually), and a quiet, rural feel. But the skiing can be fantastic! |
early February to late March |
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| This is a great introduction to hut-to-hut touring in the Alps. The Silvretta Group offers great huts, big terrain, and a very wide range of objectives from which to choose. | late February to mid-April |
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This 6-day program is based at the Lofoten Ski Lodge, in Kabelvåg. Each day we make a short drive to a new day tour. Spectacular scenery, comfortable digs and great skiing. |
early March to mid-April |
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| This is a new tour for us. It traverse,s west to east, the range of peaks found just south of the upper Rhein, near Andermatt. Superb Swiss touring with Italian flavor. | early March to mid-April |
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| This is a 6-day tour through the heart of the Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso. We conclude with an ascent of the Gran Paradiso, the highest peak wholly within Italy. |
early
March to late April |
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| A fantastic trip in Italy's Tyrol. This hut-to hut tour takes in several fine ski summits in a less visited part of the Alps. Wonderful huts, and big descents on some of the best ski peaks in the Alps. | early
March to late April |
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This is a difficult tour, best done late in the season. Slightly harder than the Ortler or Verbier version Haute Route, this tour has lots of vertical. |
mid-March to early May |
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| A 5-day traverse of the Parc National de la Vanoise. The highlights of this Haute Route are the great north-facing descents. |
early
March to mid-April |
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| The famous Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route. This version is the most commonly done, starting in Argentière in the Chamonix Valley, going through Verbier, and on to Zermatt. |
mid-March to end of April |
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| 7 days of touring in a less crowded corner of the French Alps. Like the Silvretta area in Austria, this is a great introduction to ski tour in the Alps. |
early
February to late March |
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| Day tours from a wonderful hotel. Think powder skiing, 7 course meals and great wine. |
early
February to late March |
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| Seven days of great touring near Saint Moritz. This range is known for its good powder snow. The terrain (read north-facing descents) and quality of snow are what make this tour special. |
mid-March |
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| The Berner Oberland is known for its giant valley glaciers winding among a multitude of very high summits. The peaks and passes between these glaciers, and the numerous huts offer incredible options for ski touring and peak ascents (and descents!). On this page we describe a 6-day program featuring some of the area's best. | mid-March to early May |
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Choosing
the best tour
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Few skiers have not heard of the Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route. But the many other great tours in the Vanoise, Val Maira, Queyras, Albula, Ortler, Silvretta, Berner Oberland and countless other gems in the Alps, are relatively unknown among "non-European" skiers. They deserve more attention! While all of the ski trips we present here are fantastic, there are important differences of which you should be aware when you choose among them. They vary in several ways:
Here, we have created a table to help you compare various attributes of the programs we offer. This is all rather subjective. Such things as "quality of the downhill" relates as much to the snow-of-the-moment than to the hill. But, hopefully it will help you compare one tour to the other. Don't assume that higher numbers are better. Some like it hard, others like showers at the end of the day.... |
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tour
attributes
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our ski tours |
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Key to the table Quality of the downhill - Some tours seem to consistently offer better downhill skiing. While all of the tours mentioned here can have long, fantastic runs, some have more potential or options than others. In our opinion the Vanoise, Queyras, Albula, Ortler and the Berner have the best downhill skiing possibilities. Score 3 for "outrageous downhill", and 1 for only "very good downhill" options. Strenuousness - Some tours have longer days than others, with more uphill climbing. 3 is hard, 1 is less hard. Skiing difficulty - This is a tricky one as difficult snow conditions can make skiing hard at almost any angle. Breakable crust, mashed potatoes and all sorts of other nasties inherent to off-piste skiing are possible on any tour. However, some tours have more steep skiing or more technical sections through crevassed glacier terrain, for example. On all but the Silvretta and Val Maira, there are unavoidable pitches where, should the snow be firm, a fall could result in an unstoppable slide and likely injury or worse. A score of 3 means if you fall on some of the steeper terrain, you will get hurt. Score of 2, you probably will get hurt. Score 1, you might get hurt. Hut comfort and amenities- While we love all the huts and peaks of the Western Alps, it is the huts of Italy and Austria that have the corner on comfort. In the Silvretta and Ortler for example, expect most huts to have hot showers, a full bar, espresso machine and sometimes individual bunks. Val Maira, has, by far, the most comfortable lodgings, being based in a hotel. Here you'll enjoy 7-course meals every night! Of course, we can't entirely blame the "less-comfortable" huts for their more Spartan nature. Showers are only possible when there is a good and reliable supply of running water nearby. With the exception of the Queyras huts, the refuges in the higher Western Alps and Berner Oberland simply don't have this luxury. Score 3 for showers and espresso machines, and 1 for a more limited, but still adequate wine selection and beer on tap (or in an absolute worst-case-scenario, in cans. Special mention should be made for the hotel in Valle Maira, Italy, and the lodge in Lofoten, Norway. They are beyond the entire "hut" league. Ascents/Descents verses the "Journey" - The Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route is the quintessential journey. This undeniable appeal comes at a price. If weather or avalanche conditions preclude following the intended route to the next hut, then one may have to duck out and descend to the valley to find an alternate route. Also, being a prescribed route, there is little option as to which slopes you ski. In contrast, with tours that emphasize the downhill, we have more options to choose our objective according to aspect, angle or other attributes. We can often choose north facing slopes if the snow is better there or south for corn. And in poor weather we may be able to adjust our objective to match the conditions. Score 3 for tours with more emphasis on the quality of the downhill skiing, and 1 for the "journey". |
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What's
the best season?
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Generally the best time of year for ski touring in the Alps is late winter and spring. Adequate snow cover (especially important on crevassed glaciers!) longer days, and milder temperatures all bring better touring conditions in the latter part of the season. Of course, different trips all have different considerations, and some are better earlier than others. Here is a rough guide to the trips we regularly do. Chamonix off-piste skiing Early February to the end of April. The big glaciated tours are better from March onward, while some of the lift-accessed off-piste is better in February and March
Valle Maira Like the Queyras below, the Valle Maira is best in February and early March, when there is adequate snow cover powder.
Queyras The Queyras is known for its powder, and to take good advantage of this, an earlier trip is better. However, too early in the season may lack snow. Mid-February to mid-March is ideal.
Mont Thabor area The Clarée valley has low footings, so early in the season is usually best. Mid-February to mid-March is best.
Lofoten, Norway Lofoten has a relatively long season, but we feel that early-March to mid-April offers the best combination of good sunlight, cold snow and reasonably weather.
Silvretta The Silvretta is a good choice for late February to March. It is not as high as the tours listed below, and the glaciers, though serious, are not as crevassed. All this adds up to suggest that March is the ideal month. April is also good in the Silvretta.
Albula - Saint Moritz to Davos The Albula traverse is best in the month of March. Some of the huts are not open until the start of the month. But to take full advantage of the great powdery north-facing descents, it is best not to push it too far into April. The lift out of Bergün (helpful but not required) usually closes after the 3rd weekend of March.
Tour du Soleil The Tour du Soleil has a moderately long season. Though there are some low altitude south-facing slopes that might require walking (for example, on the way up to the Binntal and Piansecco huts), but this part of Switzerland tends to get lots and lots of snow. The not-too-scary smaller glaciers of the area allow for reasonable touring early in the season, when the snowpack is thinner.
Ortler The Ortler has a fairly extended season. The peaks are high (which is amenable to later scheduling) but it is also nice to take advantage of some of the lighter snow than tends to fall earlier, rather than later. On the other hand, the seriousness of the glaciers make very early trips dicey. In balance, early to mid-March, to mid-April are best.
Vanoise Haute Route Early March to mid-April is the best for the Vanoise, though it is practicable both before and after these dates. This area, due to high elevation, has a fairly extended season.
Gran Paradiso Late March to the end of April. The huts generally open about the 3rd weekend of March. Later in the season can also be good, but you'll end up walking a bit of trail at the end of the tour.
Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route April is the Haute Route month. Certainly, starting in late March is also good, and many trips run into early May. But, in general, April is your best bet.
Zermatt to Saas-Fee and Tour du Ciel April into May is best for these high mountain tours. The peaks here are very high and the glaciers quite crevassed. Mid-April to mid-May.
Berner Oberland The Berner has more in common with Alaska than the rest of the Alps. Of all the tours we have done in the Alps, the Berner has the longest, and latest season. Touring here is good from the middle of March through to about mid-May.
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| Skiing on the Argentière Glacier on the beginning of the Haute Route. | |
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Kathy Cosley & Mark
Houston AMGA Certified • SNGM members |
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