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Backcountry skiing and avalanche safety weekend in Val Cenis, French Alps

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Join a certified mountain guide for this exciting and informative weekend of backcountry skiing and avalanche safety at the gorgeous Val Cenis ski resort of the French Alps!

Group

Alps

3 Days

Jan

Occasional

Intermediate


Description

Welcome to Val Cenis in the French Alps, if one is looking for top quality backcountry skiing then look no further. Beautiful alpine slopes with deep powder snow await, plus a comprenhensive avalanche saftey training!

Located in the Maurienne region with its good transport links, Val Cenis is most easily accessed from Turin, lying about 60km west of Turin-Caselle airport. One can also approach from Geneva, with its international airport situated 120km or 2.5 hours drive to the north.

Val Cenis ski resort is of the highest quality and presents the skier with stunning alpine terrain to explore, along with all the modern comforts.

Still relatively unheard of outside France and Italy, these wild and wonderful off-piste landscapes are more likely to be quiet than at other well-known resorts.

Due to this anonymity, the lifts rarely reach long queues. The highest lift takes the skier to an altitude of 2800m, then it’s all down hill carving from here!

You can visit the peak of Lac du Mont Cenis, where you will discover a picturesque frozen lake. Here you can take photos from the ‘Canopée des Cîmes’, a suspended platform shaped like a boat.

The main ski areas of Val Cenis are Termignon, Lanslebourg and Lanslevillard. In order to find the best backcountry skiing terrain, we will head past the slopes of Lanslevillard.

The backcountry skiing options here comprise of wide gullies, large forested areas and plenty of deep powder snow to get lost in!

We will meet on the friday night and finalise all the details for the first skiing on saturday, as well as check the weather forecast.

I do not lead a classic avalanche safety course, we will only spend a small amount of time indoors. The vast majority of the teaching will be conducted practically, whilst on the mountain skiing.

You need to be at least an intermediate skier to join this trip and have some backcountry skiing experience under your belt.

If you would like to enjoy some high level backcountry skiing and also learn some practical avalanche safety skills, then sign up now and I will be delighted to share this wonderful experience with you!

If you would enjoy a longer trip then consider this 7-days off-piste and ski touring around Maurienne in the French Alps!

Price includes

- Guiding fee

- Accommodation included

- Breakfast

- Dinner

Price details

Price per person to join a group.


Details

More info

Depending on which lifts you will use, we have discount tickets for sale, from 25€ to 30€ / day


About the guide

Founded by two IFMGA-certified mountain guides, Fred Buttard and Victor Charron, Up Ski and Mountain Guides is made up of a passionate group of guides and ski instructors.

Originally from Maurienne, in France, the team also spends several months a year skiing the mountains of Norway and Sweden, and travelling to off-the-beaten-path destinations, including Morocco, Albania and Japan.

Eric Tollund, Fabien Berrod, Jean Baptiste Buttard, Fabien Suiffet, Pauline Bermon, Oscar Wahlund, Clément Bléteau, Sylvain Rechu, Fred Buttard and Victor Charron are the members of our amazing team :) Get in touch with us and let's explore the mountains together.

Languages

Norwegian | Swedish | French | English

Certificates

IVBV | UIAGM | IFMGA

Residence

Saint Jean de Maurienne, France


What people are saying about Up Ski and Mountain Guides

Aki Weckström

5.00

February, 2022

Best guide Oskar.Cosy hotell. Good and frendly service from explore-Share.We are really satisfied.

Serge Dumont

5.00

May, 2019

Bonjour Pauline et Fred, Je suis très heureux de prendre un moment aujourd’hui pour vous écrire. Le séjour au Finnmark été exceptionnel. Clément est un excellent guide. Très dévoué, soucieux de rendre l’expérience agréable, Clément est vraiment très talentueux et dévoué. Sa personnalité est agréable, il est à l’écoute de nos besoins et démontre, malgré son jeune âge, un haut niveau de compétences et de savoir-faire. Son enseignement sur recherche de victimes suite à une avalanche est de loin, la meilleure formation que j’ai reçue à ce jour. Les paysages du Finnmark sont exceptionnels, nous avons été particulièrement chanceux pour les conditions météorologiques. Nous avons vraiment eu le loisir d’admirer ces magnifiques paysages de montagnes entre ciel et mer. L’expérience de groupe a aussi été excellente, la chimie entre les participants-es a été fort agréable. Nous avons vraiment passé de bons moments ensemble.  Je vais très certainement voyager avec vous dans le futur, l’expérience a été extrêmement positive. Au plaisir de nouvelles aventures !!! Serge

Serge Dumont

5.00

April, 2019

La beauté des paysages est exceptionnelle. Up Ski & Mountain Guides offre un service et un encadrement remarquables. Les compétences et la qualité de travail du guide contribuent à rendre cette expérience inoubliable. Bravo à l'équipe !!!

Valentine Mercier

5.00

April, 2019

Whow! Amazing trip in Finnmark, our guide Sylvain made the trip perfect, looking every day for the best snow conditions and beautiful itineraries! Arriving on ski after a crazy descent in powder to the water in lonesome fjords and getting home by boat as well as kayaking to the start of itinerary on a perfect sunny day are unbeatable! Sauna after a powder day, dog sledging and watching northern lights in the night make the trip even more unforgettable!

Colin

5.00

December, 2018

Thursday was a fantastic day, we were lucky with the conditions and I was lucky with the company! A big thanks to you and the team for such a great week, but particularly to Clement who made each day so different and showed me so much of Maurienne - I'm sure I'll be back!

Seb and Charlotte

5.00

April, 2018

Ski touring in Finnmark was a wonderful experience with Explore and Share. On arriving, the Northern Lights set the stage for a week rich in adventures and explorations. Stunning decor of never ending fjords and beautiful snow conditions allowed us to ski up the mountains, reach summits, and slalom downhill in the most remote and peaceful places in Norway. The guides made sure we had a chance to be exposed to a variety of skiing domains, with changing landscapes and views. This meant we kayaked across a fjord in order to reach the start of the ski tour, and returned to have a brief swim in cold but pure water. Meeting at the restaurant-caffe place in the evening for dinner was a treat. The food was great and the warmth of the wooden built house typical of a skiing adventure trip. Seb& Charlotte

Arthur dM

5.00

April, 2018

Super disponibilité et flexibilité des guides sur place pour satisfaire les envies du groupe et tirer un maximum du cadre exceptionnel! Guides très relax et très sympa. Logement simple et exceptionnel à la foi: une maison typique norvégienne au bord du fjord. Nous avions donné une liste d envies par mail avant le voyage. Elles ont toutes pu être réalisées. Les guides et nous mêmes avons pu planifier les extras (sauna, kayak, chien de traîneau, pêche...) parfois avec les locaux la veille en fonction des envies et des conditions. On sent donc qu’on est pas dans un grand tour opérateur avec des activités en chaînes  réglées selon un planning stricte mais bien dans quelque chose de très humain et très personnalisé. Si possible, la seule info qui pourrait être communiquée plus tôt et plus clairement est le budget à prévoir pour ces « extras ». (Rating 4,5/5)

Charles P.

5.00

April, 2018

We made a wonderful one-week ski touring trip in the fabulous area of Finnmark. In all the places where we skied, we were the only skiers, discovering every day different environment and landscape leaving us speechless.  We were guided by Sylvain and Mathieu. They were quite skilful, friendly and flexible. Skilful because they have very good knowledge about the different places/spots to go skiing (depending on the conditions). Friendly because we had fun with them and they mixed very naturally into our group of 7 friends. Flexible because they adapted the programme, on a daily basis, to the weather conditions as well as (especially) to our requests and expectations. This trip was beyond my expectations and I strongly recommend to make it.  It is important to be very clear to the guides about your expectations and your intentions so that they tailor-make the programme of the week as much as possible.

Alban V.

4.00

April, 2018

Un labyrinthe de fjords enneigés, des pistes immaculées donnant directement sur la mer... Le Finnmark est réellement un fantastique terrain de jeu pour le ski de rando, un paradis suspendu entre mer et ciel. Il y a très peu de skieurs et la nature est à couper le souffle. L'organisation pourrait être déplorable qu'il serait difficile de gâcher le voyage... Mais l'organisation n'est pas déplorable, au contraire: Fred et sa petite équipe mettent tout en oeuvre pour en faire non seulement une semaine de bon ski, mais aussi un temps convivial, spontané. Ils ont de bonnes relations sur place et sont flexibles, ce qui ajoute beaucoup à l'expérience. Je recommande chaudement!

Per Munch

5.00

March, 2018

Thank you so much – it was great

Danielle

5.00

May, 2017

I was lucky enough to spend 8 days skiing with Fred in Finnmark in May of 2017. The conditions were unusually epic that year— it snowed almost every minute I was there, or so it felt. Even so, you still need quite a bit of expertise to find the right conditions (there's no reliable freeze thaw cycle when it's constantly snowing!) and Fred did not disappoint. It was almost like he was a magician, finding us the perfect snow every single day, even on days when the conditions were tricky. Most guides are good at finding snow, but what made Fred such an outstanding guide was his passion. You could tell that not only did he love to ski, but even moreso, he loved helping other people deepen their passion for skiing. He was so incredibly encouraging, and I definitely improved my technique and confidence tremendously over the course of the week. Add that to the beauty and wonder of Finnmark, the truly magical aspect of kayaking with skis, and it really was the perfect skiing holiday. Also, the food: delicious! I hope I can be lucky enough to ski with Fred again someday.

Alexandre

5.00

June, 2016

Mon plus beau trip à ski, de loin. Tout y est! Le voyage est fantastique comme notre cabane les pieds dans l'eau, l'apéro dans l'attente d'un soleil qui ne se couche jamais, les barbec des cabillauds pêchés par notre canne quelques minutes plus tôt dans le fjord, l'aventure en chiens de traîneaux, et surtout le ski de rando. On était les premiers à skier sur une île presque déserte, on a traversé le fjord en kayak pour aller descendre un couloir qui nous donnait l'impression de skier jusque dans la mer, on a profité de paysages extraordinaires. On n'a croisé personne. On s'est régalé dans la montée comme dans la descente. C'était fabuleux. Quelle aventure! Et le tout parfaitement organisé par Gauthier (d'Explore-share.com) et par Fred (notre guide). A faire et à refaire!

Maxime

5.00

May, 2016

De loin le meilleur guide que je n'ai jamais eu: il est super sympa et paisible, tout en restant hyper attentif et disponible. Il est super professionnel, on voit qu'il a une connaissance technique de pointe car il évolue dans des environnements inconnus. La semaine dans le Finnmark a été un voyage au bout du monde: l'impression de se retrouver au milieu de nulle part, entre jour et nuit, à gravir des montagnes jamais fréquentées dans une nature sublime et des paysages soufflant, et de sentir poussière dans une étendue de neige et fjord interminable; c'est un sentiment unique de vivre l'aventure comme jamais. La diversité des activités: entre kayak, chien de traineaux, ski de rando sur des sommets splendides, passages en ski dans des forêts; tout est neuf, et rien n'est "touristique". Les chiens de traineaux étant un bon exemple: il s'agissait de chiens de compétition.

Jesper

5.00

April, 2016

I spent an astonishing week around Kebnekaise. Conditions were varied but thanks to Fred’s everlasting enthusiasm and knowledge of the area, we managed to lock in some memorable runs. The area has an incredible amount of possibilities; we could have stayed muuuch longer!

Barbara

5.00

April, 2016

I had the best time skiing with Fred and a really great group of French ski tracking afficionados in Norway this week. It was my first time climbing up an average 800-1000m of mountain every day - VOW!!! Not always easy for a newcomer but thanks to the exceptional care of Fred and the encouragement of Oscar, who ended up as my personal trainer/guide, I did it - even with one ski slipping off at the peak one day!!! The landscape in Northern Norway is exceptional, out of our 7 days 6 were totally sunny, there was still plenty of snow, the contrast of the white mountains, the deep blue-turquoise fjords, kajaking along them and feeling like diving into them when coming down the peaks - all totally unique. A DEFINITE MUST GO for anybody who hasnt!!!

Tatyana

5.00

May, 2015

I had an outstanding week of ski touring in Finnmark area of Norway with Fred. It was probably one of the best I have ever done and I have traveled to ski quite a bit. The scenery was unfailingly stunning, our guides always knew where the best runs with the best conditions were. And we had the whole place for ourself. No other skiers in sight. Just a lot of fun, great nature and company. Thanks a lot!

Einar

5.00

April, 2015

Fred is one of those who manage the fine balance between being the guide you trust and the guy you really enjoy to spend time with. By his down-to-earth and friendly way to treat his guests he creates a good platform for mountain adventures. At the same time he always knows where to find the best skiing, both in case of snow conditions and level of difficulty. We requested a glacier course for winter conditions, and ended up having fantastic days both skiing some amazing runs near Kebnekaise/Tarfala and learning a lot about rescue on glaciers. The area he picked was really an interesting area with possibilities both for skiing and glacier travel. Fred was a fantastic guide, knowing when to use the opportunity to get the best skiing and also managing to teach us what we needed. Thanks a lot Fred!


 

 

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