An independent ski school in Val d'Isère, at home in these mountains since 2001

Who takes you out

You can count our team on one hand, and that's deliberate: you know who skis with you, who answers you, and who knows the mountain you're going to ski.

In France, state-qualified ski instructors are trained at the ENSM, the École nationale des sports de montagne, the national school for mountain sports.

Boris Malesset, founder and director

An off-piste ski instructor in Val d'Isère since 2001, and former director of the TopSki school. More than twenty winters reading these faces, from a curious beginner's first turn in powder to the committing couloir. He set the tone of the school: small groups, bespoke days, and safety above all.

Jordi Noguere, off-piste ski instructor and mountain guide, on request

From the Pyrenees, Jordi holds two qualifications: ski instructor specialised in off-piste, and mountain guide. He joins us occasionally, on request, for the routes that require a guide, and it's good to know he's there when a plan calls for one.

Mathilde Caro, head of sales

More than fifteen years knowing Val d'Isère and the Tarentaise inside out. It's often Mathilde who answers you first, who grasps what you're after and sets up your outing with the right instructor, the right date, the right sector. To reach her, contact our off-piste ski school in Val d'Isère and we'll reply within 24 hours.

See how we ski off-piste · See our prices

What you can ski with us

School and agency in one. PowderWeGo is an independent ski school based in Val d'Isère, on Avenue Olympique. We take you off-piste and freeriding, ski touring, heliskiing, off-piste snowboarding and piste skiing, in a small private group and to measure. And because a good winter reaches well beyond one valley, we also run day trips to the neighbouring resorts, and longer ski trips further afield in the Alps and around the world.

Choose your way in, each with its own page:

• Off-piste skiing and freeride, the heart of the trade
• Ski touring, the mountain on skins
• Heliski and drops, reverse heliski in France, drops on the Italian side
• Off-piste snowboarding
• Private piste ski lessons
• Day trips, Sainte-Foy, Bonneval, La Rosière…
• Our prices, the list, in plain terms

How we work. A PowderWeGo outing always begins the same way: we listen to what you want, we take an accurate measure of your level, and we build the day around the snow as it really is that morning. In the morning, each of you is handed your safety kit, we check that everything works, we read the avalanche bulletin, and we choose a sector to suit the conditions of the day. The programme follows the snow and the weather, which is how you come to ski in the right place, at the right moment.

Four commitments we keep to you

You'll see all four from your very first day.

Safety as a daily culture. The safety kit (avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe) is provided and checked before every departure. We follow the Météo-France avalanche bulletin every morning, we cross-check it against what we saw on the ground the day before, and we choose the sector accordingly. These are routine habits, done every day, because repetition is what protects you.

The day's conditions, every morning. Before you step into your skis, we tell you what the mountain offers that day and where the snow is at its best.

Knowing when to turn back. Good judgement shows as much in the outings called off as in the ones carried through. If the avalanche danger is high, we change terrain, cut the day short or postpone, with a clear conscience.

One price per day for the whole group. The same for one skier as for four, with guiding and the full safety kit included.

> Safety, our first rule. Off-piste skiing, freeride, ski touring and heliski take place on unmarked terrain, beyond the reach of the piste service. Kit and guiding reduce and manage the avalanche risk; the mountain always keeps its share. An outing can be cut short, moved or cancelled at any moment to suit the snow, the weather and the visibility. That is how the mountains work, and we follow it to the letter.

Understand our approach to off-piste

A word from the founder

Since 2001 we have been taking skiers off the pistes of Val d'Isère, and off-piste has been our whole job from the very first winter. Before founding PowderWeGo, I ran the TopSki school here. More than twenty winters on these faces teach what only years can: how to read a bowl you have skied a hundred times, how to sense the way today differs from yesterday, and when to turn back. We built PowderWeGo as an independent ski school in Val d'Isère: private outings for one to six people, set to your pace and to what you're after, each day built to measure around the snow that morning and your real level. Above all, with us safety is a culture you see every morning. We check the transceivers before we set off, we read the Météo-France avalanche bulletin, we look at the snowpack, and we turn back when the mountain asks us to. That is the house rule, and it brings you home in the evening with good pictures and a day worth telling. Before you step into your skis, we tell you where the snow is finest that day. The powder takes care of the rest.

Boris Malesset, founder and director of PowderWeGo

FAQ

Is PowderWeGo an independent ski school?

Yes. PowderWeGo is an independent off-piste ski school based in Val d'Isère, on Avenue Olympique, founded and run by Boris Malesset. We run the school ourselves, with our own team of instructors, in small private groups and always to measure.

Who is Boris Malesset?

Boris Malesset is the founder and director of PowderWeGo. An off-piste ski professional since 2001, he ran the TopSki school in Val d'Isère before creating PowderWeGo. He has spent more than twenty winters guiding off-piste on the faces of Val d'Isère and the Tarentaise.

Who guides the outings at PowderWeGo?

Every outing is led by an off-piste ski instructor or mountain guide, and the school is built on its instructors, starting with its founder, Boris Malesset. For the occasional route that requires a mountain guide, one joins us on request; Jordi Noguere, off-piste ski instructor and mountain guide, works with us in that capacity.

Where is PowderWeGo in Val d'Isère?

Our meeting point and offices are on Avenue Olympique, in Val d'Isère (73150), by the tourist office. We guide across the whole Espace Killy and the Tarentaise, and run day trips to the neighbouring resorts.

Does PowderWeGo also run trips beyond Val d'Isère?

Yes. Beyond the lessons and outings at Val d'Isère, we run day trips in the Tarentaise and ski trips in the Alps and around the world. The detail of those trips is set out on our travel site, PowderWeGo.

Shall we meet on the snow?

Tell us what you're after, and a team that skis here every day will reply within 24 hours.