South Africa
Wilderness Kayak Expedition
Table Mountain to the Eastern Cape- Safari Sea and Zulu Land
- South Africa Tailor Made
South of France
Middle East
- Adventure exploration of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon
- Paragliding and cycling through Jordan
- Trekking through Lebanon and Syria
Corsica
Sardinia
The Alps
- Guided skiing around Mont Blanc
- Guided Off Piste Skiing Mont Blanc
- Guided Off Piste Skiing Zermatt
- Ski Touring in La Vanoise
- Ski Touring in Zermatt
- Ski Touring Mont Blanc Region
- Chamonix to Zermatt, "La Haute Route"
- Introduction to Via Ferrata and Climbing
- Climbing in Chamonix
- Trekking from Chamonix to Zermatt
- Climb a 4000m from Scratch!
Guided skiing around Mont Blanc
Adventure Summary
Mont-Blanc, the Valley of Chamonix, the sea of Ice, and all the wonders of the most wonderful place are above and beyond one's wildest expectation. I cannot imagine anything in nature more stupendous or sublime.
Charles Dickens, 1846
- 5 or 7 days skiing, touring the varied ski resorts of the Mont Blanc massif in the company of your ExplorAider ski instructor guide
- Introduction to easy off-piste skiing
- Possibility to ski the famous Valley Blanche
- Stay in Chalet ExplorAider or satellite accommodation
- Discovery / Improver Program
Program Suitability
Suitable for Families
Suitable for Explorers
Available Activities
Skiing
Dates
This experience is available every Thursday to Wednesday for 7 day adventures and Thursday to Monday for 5 day adventures from mid December until the end of March, or early May if conditions allow.
Prior Experience
Skiing experience on blue runs and easy red runs
Setting
CHAMONIX / MONT BLANC - SKI AREA
See the Mont Blanc from a different perspective by sampling each of the different ski resorts that surround this mighty mountain.
- Sample the ambiance of Megève
- Hop across to Italy to Courmeyer to ski and dine in style
- Discover the world famous ski resorts of Chamonix.
- Your guide will make sure that you make the most of your trip, by avoiding the crowds, locating the best snow and taking you to the best restaurants.
Program
The focus of this trip is to show you the best of the ski-resorts around the Mont Blanc Massif, whilst working on your skiing technique to open up as many possibilities as possible for the group. If the conditions are right, there is the possibility to progress onto a little safe off-piste skiing and maybe even a descent of the famous Valley Blanche
Typical 5 day program:
Arrival
Arrive either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, transfer to Chalet ExplorAider
Day 1 - Megeve, France
Firstly we organise ski hire where required, then transfer to Megeve for a skiing workshop, where your guide will evaluate each member of the group and work on weaknesses. You will then be given a tour of the best slopes around the Megeve and St Gervais ski resort. This family friendly resort provides plenty of fun opportunities, including skiing forays into the forests that border the pistes.
Day 2 - Courmeyeur, Italy
We take you through the tunnel under the mighty Mont Blanc into Italy discover the delightful ski resort of Courmeyeur. This ski-resort is a perfect progression from Megeve and provides a variety of fun skiing. The day will focus on building skiing competence on a variety of different skiing terrains, including mastering steeper slopes.
Day 3 - Les Houches, France
A charming little ski-resort which provides the perfect opportunity for experimenting with some off-piste runs through the open forests in between the pistes. Lunch in a charming local restaurant tucked away on the edge of the forest.
Day 4 - Brevent / Flegere, France
These two linked resorts are south facing and bask in the sun all day. You will explore both resorts, which abound with a variety of scenic and long descents. There is an opportunity to dine in one of the best steak restaurants in the Alps at Brevent. If the group is game you will have the chance to try out one of the famous black runs from the top of Brevent, where the 360 degree panoramic view of Mont Blanc is stunning.
Day 5 - La Tour / Vallorcine or Valley Blanche
Either exploring the ski-resort of La-Tour and trying some of the legendary off-piste around the forests of Vallorcine or if conditions allow a descent of the mythical Valley Blanche. We finish early afternoon for a transfer back to the airport / train station via Chalet ExplorAider
The above program is only illustrative. Your exact program will depend on the weather conditions and which ski-lifts are functioning. Each day your guide will chauffer you to and from your chalet to the best areas for skiing based on the recent snow fall and forecast weather patterns.
Your guide will be at your disposal 100% of the time and is dedicated to ensuring that you maximise whatever you want to achieve in Chamonix, whether that is seeing as much of the Mont Blanc massif as possible or perfecting your skiing techniques, or a mixture of the two with the chance to discover authentic restaurants.
Your guide can take photos of your trip and prepare a souvenir CD.
Activities Available
| Activity | Activity Level |
| Skiing | Piste Skiing - Red Runs |
Chalet ExplorAider
Based in the charming village of Servoz, our training chalet is ideally located for access to all of our mountain based activities, skiing, winter and summer alpinism and rock climbing.
The chalet is hosted by Yves Salino a mountaineer, skier and climber of over 20 years experience with some big summits, including Everest, under his belt.
In the evening there will be the opportunity to participate in presentations relevant to your activities or of general interest.
The centre has 4 private double / twin rooms and a dormitory room. In addition satellite accommodation is provided by gites and hotels within 500m of the centre.
ExplorAider's guides have the experience to quickly spot flaws in your skiing techniques and will be able to fast-track your improvement to enable you to become a confident piste-skier on all the terrains and conditions that you are likely to meet.
Once you are comfortable with red runs on piste, your guide will offer you the possibility to progress onto off piste skiing, which is a logical progression and opens up exciting new possibilities. Under the attentive guidance of your ExplorAider guide you can then escape the restricted and monitored confines of piste skiing and enter a new world of boundless skiing possibilities, boulder-strewn slopes, glaciers, forests and powder fields.
The main differences with off-piste skiing are the different types of snow you will encounter and a greater variety of skiing terrains. On-piste you learn to ski with your weight predominantly on your downhill ski where as for off-piste skiing you will need to master quickly changing the positioning of your body weight, backwards and forwards and laterally.
Disclaimer
Please be aware that these are only suggested methods of travel and ExplorAider cannot be responsible for any changes to timetables or prices.
Rail Travel
Travelling by train to the mountains is really not as difficult as you think. Avoid the airport queus, check in formalities and unfriendly waiting rooms. How does this sound?
- Walk out of work and step on to the Eurostar at London Waterloo at around 5 pm on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday evening.
- Arrive in Paris and take a taxi to a pre booked (by ExplorAider) top Parisian resteraunt for a quick gourmet meal.
- At 10:30 board the 'Corail Lune`a' (the snow train) to the mountians. The beds are comfortable and clean and you can have a night cap in the bar.
- At 08:30 the next morning our ExplorAider guide will meet you at St Gervais Les Baines and whizz you up the mountains!
Alternatively leave London Waterloo at 17:40 arrive Paris Nord at 21:17, grab a cab to Paris Austerlitz and take the 22:44 sleeper train to Annecy. Where you shall be met by ExplorAider for 06:24 croissants and coffee
On your return journey the sleeper train leaves St Gervais at 21:00 and arrives in Paris Austerlitz at 06:30 in time for an early morning breakfast watching Paris awake. Catch the Eurostar at 07:16 or 08:07 from Paris Nord to London.
We advise ringing Raileurope with your credit card number as the most efficient way of organising rail travel.
- www.raileurope.co.uk 08708371371
- www.eurostar.com 08705186186
Note London to Paris is a 2 and 3/4 hr journey and starts at £129 for two adults return, trains go approximately every 40 minutes.
- Austerlitz to St Gervais return starts at £178 during the ski season.
- Schedules remain more or less fixed through out the year.
- There is a yearly timetable change in mid December -Prior booking is essential.
Flights
Easy Jet to Geneva
Example of timings be aware that timetables are more extensive.
LUTON
Luton to Geneva Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0630 Arr: 0915
- Dep: 1830 Arr: 2115
Geneva to Luton Sunday
- Dep: 0945 Arr: 1030
- Dep: 1955 Arr: 2040
GATWICK
Gatwick to Geneva Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0815 Arr: 1040
- Dep: 2010 Arr: 2245
Geneva to Gatwick Sunday to Wednesday
- Dep: 0705 Arr: 0740
- Dep: 1905 Arr: 1940
British Airways to Geneva
Example of timings be aware that timetables are more extensive.
HEATHROW
Heathrow to Geneva Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0650 Arr: 0930
- Dep: 1925 Arr: 2205
Geneva to Heathrow Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0745 Arr: 0835
- Dep: 1835 Arr: 1930
GATWICK
Gatwick to Geneva Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0805 Arr: 1045
- Dep: 1920 Arr: 2150
Geneva to Gatwick Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0710 Arr: 0750
- Dep: 1800 Arr: 1840
Swiss Air to Geneva
Example of timings be aware that timetables are more extensive.
London City Airport
LCA to Geneva Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0650 Arr: 0930
- Dep: 2015 Arr: 2255
Geneva to LCA Mon to Fri
- Dep: 0715 Arr: 0755
- Dep: 1905 Arr: 1945
5 Day Adventure
Prices shown below start at £102 per person per day for 5 days based on 6 guests.
7 Day Adventure
Prices start at £100 per person per day for 7 days based on 6 guests.
Pricing Policy
We price the experiences based on what they cost us to provide plus a fixed mark up. We do not try to profit from putting more people onto your experiences, these are exclusive trips where you manage who you go with.
One Price for the Group
Our prices are the price for the whole Group, based on the different possible group sizes up to the maximum group size, which is set by reference to an acceptable guide to client ratio and to ensure exclusivity and safety.
As the cost of the guiding does not vary with the group size the larger the group the cheaper per person. This means that you get the benefit of bringing more people and not us. For your reference only we will show a cost per person, but we do not accept individual bookings
Price Includes
- Rental of the Chalet for the whole 5 or 7 days
- Breakfast and Evening Meals
- Transfer from Geneva airport/St Gervais station to Chamonix
- A high-mountain guide (Uiagm) for 5 or 7 days consecutively
- All safety material
- All transport except flights/trains to Geneva/St-Gervais
Pricing Excludes
- Flights to Geneva, rail travel to St-Gervais
- Ski hire (if required)
- Ski pass
- Restaurant meals and drinks
- Personal expenditure
PRIVACY POLICY