Snowshoeing day in Le Boreon, Mercantour National Park

Snowshoeing in the Mercantour National Park

Fabrice, an UIMLA-certified Mountain Leader, takes you on a guided snowshoeing day hike in Le Boreon, in the beautiful Mercantour National Park, with options for all levels.

Private

Alps

1 Day

Jan, Feb, Dec

Intermediate

Highlights

* Discover the stunning landscapes of the Mercantour National Park in winter

* Enjoy the view of beautiful larch and fir tree forests covered in snow

* You have the option of visiting the Alpha Wolf Park after the hike

Description

The Mercantour National Park is a very popular park in the southern French Alps, just an 1.30-hour drive from Nice International Airport and the French Riviera. With an extension of 685 square kilometres, it has a wide variety of wildlife and vegetation to admire.

From the Boreon to the Cougourde Refuge, I invite you to enjoy a guided snowshoeing day tour through some of the most amazing landscapes in France’s wilderness. This is where the wolf was seen for the first time when it came back to the French Alps in 1992.

The Cougourde Refuge, which is inside of the park, is situated near the Cougourde Peak (2,921 m). It is near Saint-Martin Vésubie, a village in the Alpes-Maritimes department that is also the main entrance to the Mercantour National Park.

We will walk through the snow-covered Boreon stream. After that, in the heart of the Mercantour park, we will discover a nice larch forest surrounded by the area’s highest peaks. At this point, you will get the chance to see many beautiful and elegant chamois. Then, we will reach the Cougourde Refuge where we can have lunch.

This trip is open to everyone. It may be customized to your physical conditions, from easy to sportier level, with a 3 to 5 hours duration and from 300 m to 600 altitude gain (900 to 1800 ft.). Many other hikes are possible in this area.

As an option you can visit the wolf park after the hike. There you will discover some wolves as well as stories about the shepherds life and the problems that they have with the wolves and how they can cohabit. It’s very interesting, as the wolf made its come back right around here in the French Alps. The entrance fee for this option is 12 € per person. It is a great for families!

If you want to discover breathtaking winter landscapes while enjoying a snowshoeing hike, just send me a request. Book your place and come discover the magical beauty of the Mercantour National Park in winter.

If you are near Chamonix, you could also check out my snowshoeing tour around the Chamonix Valley.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

Price details

If you don't have your own snowshoes I can provide them (with sticks) for 10 €/pers. Pic Nic may be provided with 10 € extra. Or you can buy all you need in Saint Martin Vésubie where we will meet.

Details

More info

Price per person: -Group of 9/10 people: 30 EUR -Group of 11/12: 25 EUR -You need good real hiking shoes for this tour. Warm clothes may be useful (polar fleece), sunscreen and sunglasses. Equipment required: -Footwear: Insulated, waterproof boots are best. Leather hiking boots work well if they are waterproof. -Clothing: Wool or synthetic socks with wicking liners. Gaiters keep snow out of your boots. For deep powder, consider a knee-high style with waterproof/breathable lowers. Wear long underwear that wicks away moisture, insulates well and dries quickly. Avoid cotton! Insulating layer: Polyester fleece makes a good insulating mid-layer Outer layer: A waterproof, breathable shell jacket and pants keep you dry and fend off wind. A wool or synthetic hat, Waterproof ski gloves or mittens. Sunglasses and sunscreen will protect you from burning UV rays which are especially intense when reflected off snow.

Meeting point

Saint Martin Vésuvie

About the guide

Fabrice

4.90

(39)

Mountain Leader

I am a hiking guide (International Mountain Leader) who has been working all over France (including Provence and the Alps), Italy and Portugal since 2001. I speak fluent English due to my frequent trips to Taos Ski Valley (in New Mexico, USA where my family runs a great hotel and ski school), and my hiking trips in the American Southwest.

I live mainly in Nice (French Riviera), but I also move all over the Alps working in different alpine valleys. I often visit Martinique (French Caribbean island), where I enjoy rainforest and tropical hikes.

When I´m not guiding, I also work as a photographer, and like to climb, ski, play tennis, or kitesurf in my spare time. Additionally, I really enjoy botany and history.

I can guide you for a half day or for as many days as you like. I´ll take you to discover my favourite French Riviera alpine region, and the wild and large Mercantour National Park (counting 8 different valleys) near Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes.

In my region we can enjoy the Mediterranean landscape at sea level. As we move into higher altitudes, we will discover alpine lakes, larch or pine forests, orchids and alpine flowers, open meadows, spectacular medieval perched villages and old baroque chapels and churches, with great historic value.

We can also discover the hiking hotspots in Provence such as Calanques National Park, Verdon gorges, Sainte Victoire and the Var region, with Saint Tropez a particular highlight.

I also love to hike in Italy in the very famous world heritage Cinque Terre (the amazing national park of the "Five Lands"), or in Liguria near San Remo.

And finally, I always enjoy taking my guests to the northern Alps: to Chamonix and Mont Blanc´s amazingly large panoramas or to the great Vanoise National Park, the largest in the heart of French Alps.

Languages

French | English

Certificates

UIMLA

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What people are saying about Fabrice

Mark

5.00

Highly recommend hiring Fabrice as your guide for exploring southern France. As someone unfamiliar with the region, I wasn't up to the task of planning a hike on my own. Particularly a hike in the winter. Fabrice made it all easy. He is incredibly knowledgeable of the region's geography and weather and so was able to tailor a hike just based on the next day's weather forecast. A critical skill for hiking in December. I learned about the natural landscape, vegetation and even how to hike with less stress on my knees. He also taught me about Nordic hiking which is something I definitely want to try again. For sure, I'll be hiring Fabrice again on my next trip to France.

Sue

5.00

Fabrice is a first-class guide! Taking into account last-minute weather changes and after assessing our fitness, he quickly customised an exciting itinerary that led us from the Préalpes to the beautiful hilltop villages of Gourdon, Tourettes-sur-Loup and Saint-Paul-de-Vence. He pointed out great photo opportunities, so we managed to take plenty of nicely-framed photos on our smartphones. Fabrice also introduced us to the game of pétanque and thanks to him, we were able to understand and appreciate the games as they were being played by the locals during our trip.

Daniel

5.00

Fabrice was a wonderful guide with a wide knowledge of not only the history of the area but the flora and fauna of the French Mediterranean coast. The hike provided beautiful views of the cities along the coast as well as the mountains behind them. Highly recommend both the hike and the guide.

matthew

4.00

Fabrice is an adept guide. He took us on some amazing hikes. We were happy to have him guide us to get the most out of our 3 days in Chamonix.

Elias

5.00

Had a wonderful hike with Fabrice as our hiking guide. Highly recommend! If you are from the East Coast of the U.S., recommend going one skill level down from what you think is the right fit for you, since the elevation/altitude of the Alps makes the hike harder than you are likely used to (less oxygen in the air). I did the "moderate plus" thinking it would be easy for me--it was a serious workout! :)