Ski touring in Val d'Isère: learn to skin at your own pace

In brief

Your level

linking turns down a red run is enough for a first go; competent for the big days out

Duration

full days, a first taster day, a day on a route, a 2–3 day course, up to a whole week

Group size

private guiding for 1 to 6

Kit provided

avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, skins and ski crampons

Meeting point

8 a.m. at the Val d'Isère tourist office on Avenue Olympique

Price

€600 a day upwards, for a group of 1 to 4

Season

December to May, snow depending

Choose your format: from the first time to the big day out

Four ways in, chosen with us on the phone according to what you're after.

A first taste, over a full day. On the marked Solaise route, with the whole day to take it at your own pace, you learn the essentials: setting your bindings, laying a skin track, making a clean kick turn, working the ski crampons when the snow firms up. We ski back down through the ski area. The ideal way in if you're a curious piste skier, a teenager, or keen to try before buying the kit. Splitboarders welcome, the same first steps translate straight across.

Your progression course, two to three days. We string the climbs together, you gain independence on the transceiver, on reading a slope, and on pacing yourself over a long day. Each day steps up a notch: Solaise the first morning, a first quiet valley the next, a real outing on the third. This is the format that takes you from beginner to a tourer able to keep up with a group.

A full day on a route. If you already have the basics: a fine outing chosen that very morning from the bulletin, from the secret Picheru valley to the historic cols that made the sector's name. You climb, you cross over, and you ski down a slope well beyond the reach of any lift. When the best snow lies in another valley, our off-piste day trips in the Tarentaise take you there.

Prepare for your big days out. Eyeing the Aiguille de la Grande Sassière, a glacier objective, a week of hut-to-hut touring? We build a preparation cycle, crampon technique, pacing at altitude, glacier safety, so you arrive ready on the day.

One simple price list covers every guided activity, per group and per day.

• Outside school holidays · 1 to 4 people: €600 per day
• Outside school holidays · 5 to 6 people: €700 per day
• School holidays · 1 to 4 people: €650 per day
• School holidays · 5 to 6 people: €750 per day

Included: a qualified off-piste instructor to guide you, plus the avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe. Extras: lift passes, ski and touring equipment hire, transfers, meals and insurance.

See all our prices and terms

From your first kick turns at Solaise to a big glacier day out, tell us what tempts you, and we'll settle the format and pick the right day.

The level you need for a first go, and who it suits

Ski touring is more accessible than people think, and modern kit has a lot to do with it. For a first go, all you need is to ski down a red run linking your turns with ease: the climb is learned on the spot, a matter of technique rather than exceptional fitness. We're glad to take teenagers from thirteen or fourteen, with family or independently.

Once you have a first day behind you, the art lies in choosing well. A full day on a route needs you to be comfortable skiing off the groomed pistes, and a day of off-piste skiing with us is a good place to start; a big glacier day out calls for stamina and real mountain experience. Your instructor pitches the day's objective at what the group can ski with pleasure.

Ski from Solaise to the Grande Sassière

Each sector below has its own character; the day's route is confirmed with your instructor on the morning itself, according to conditions.

Solaise, the marked route, your learning ground

The starting point for almost all our beginner courses. Val d'Isère's tourist office marks a touring route up Solaise, starting by the Savonnette drag lift. You learn in relative safety, the ski area within reach. Level: beginner to intermediate depending on the snow. Even though it's marked, the route is still subject to opening hours, weather and shared use with the ski area, we check it all locally before setting off.

Pointe de Picheru, the secret Sassière valley

A few minutes from the resort, on the Grande Sassière nature reserve side: a quiet valley facing the Sassière–Tsanteleina–Bailletta cirque, well away from the lifts. Two options, per the Skitour topo: the route from Le Franchet (1,850–1,930 m), about 900 m of climb, ski grade 2.3, no special kit; or the loop from Le Villaret du Nial, about 1,100 m of climb, ski grade 3.1, a 35° slope over 500 m. Parking at the start is very tight. Sensitive wildlife zone: we respect the reserve's zoning.

La Grande Combe, your way to the Aiguille de la Grande Sassière (3,747 m)

The sector's great day out: 1,900 m of climb from Le Villaret du Nial towards a summit that looks down on Val d'Isère and Tignes, by way of the Grande Combe then the Sassière glacier. Glacier terrain, slopes of 40 to 45° over 200 m, crampons required, ski grade 4.2 per Skitour. For competent skiers only, and guiding suited to glaciated high mountains. The Grande Combe loses its snow fast: it's a deep-winter outing far more than a late-season one.

Ski our historic classics

For more than twenty years we have taken our guests on the five routes that made Val d'Isère's name for ski touring: Le Pays Désert / Col des Fours, the Col des Barmes de l'Ours, Terres Rouges, the Col de la Sana and the Pointe de la Sana. These are full-day outings for confident tourers, between wide high bowls and cols with big views. Grades, vertical and the exact route are settled with your instructor on the day, by the snow and the bulletin.

Your safety, and who skis beside you

Ski touring is done on unpatrolled terrain, where wind, fresh snow, wind slab, thaw, refreeze, visibility or fatigue can turn an easy outing into a committing one within hours. Every outing is therefore led by a qualified off-piste ski instructor or mountain guide, who reads the avalanche bulletin each morning, knows the sector's snowpack and judges the moment to turn back, the first skill of the craft.

You go out equipped with the avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, checked before every departure; you practise using them from the very first taster. Several of our routes border protected land, the Grande Sassière nature reserve, the Vanoise National Park, and we respect their zoning and the quiet periods for wildlife. Our avalanche safety page shows you how to read the daily bulletin and its 1 to 5 scale.

What to wear and pack for the climb

Provided by us: avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, skins and ski crampons. You come with your own touring skis, boots and poles; failing that, touring kit hire is arranged beforehand. Splitboarding is welcome too; tell us at booking and we'll set the outing up around it.

On clothing, think in layers: you warm up on the way up and cool down fast at every stop and at the top. Reckon on three breathable layers, a packable down jacket for the summit stop, spare gloves, sunglasses and goggles, sun cream, and food and water. Your instructor runs through your pack with you before the start.

Practical details for your day

• Meeting point: 8 a.m. at the tourist office in Val d'Isère, Avenue Olympique.
• Typical shape of the day: briefing and kit check, climb on skins, break at the high point, descent, back in the late afternoon, depending on conditions.
• Transfers: some outings start from another hamlet in the sector; the arrangements are settled the day before.
• Booking: by phone or through the form below, where we fix the date and format together.
• Languages: we guide in English, French and German.

Ski touring begins where the lifts end

You stick the skins on at the foot of the chairlift, step thirty metres aside, and the noise drops all at once. Now there is only the steady hiss of skins sliding and your breathing finding its rhythm. It's that switch that will hook you, even more than the descent. Ski touring moves at your own pace: you climb one step after another, up to a high bowl where you have the snow to yourself.

In Val d'Isère you have the rare luck of a learning ground within reach of a gondola. The marked Solaise route lets you make your first kick turns on unexposed ground, the ski area right alongside if you tire or the weather turns. From there you can build a real progression: from your first turn on skins to the great Tarentaise cols, it's only a handful of well-run outings away. We build each course or outing around your level, the day's snow and the mood of the group.

A word from the founder

You learn ski touring on the way up, long before the way down. On your first day, what we watch above all is how you place your steps and how you breathe; the rest comes after. On every outing you ski with a qualified off-piste ski instructor; for the occasional route that requires one, such as a glacier day out on the Grande Sassière, a mountain guide joins you on request, so you always know who is skiing beside you.

Boris Malesset, founder of PowderWeGo, off-piste ski professional since 2001

Ski touring and off-piste skiing happen on unpatrolled terrain, where wind, fresh snow, wind slab, thaw, visibility, refreeze, crowds and fatigue can make an accessible outing committing. We recommend that you go out with a professional, with Météo-France's bulletin (BRA) read that morning, an avalanche airbag pack, a transceiver, a shovel and a probe that you carry and know how to use, and a genuine willingness to turn back.

FAQ

Do I already need to ski well to start ski touring?

No touring level is required for a first go. If you ski down a red run linking your turns with ease, you have enough: the climb on skins and the kick turns are learned on the spot, right from your first day on the marked Solaise route.

Do I need my own touring kit?

No. We provide the avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe, along with the skins and ski crampons. Ideally, you come with your own touring skis, boots and poles; failing that, we arrange touring kit hire beforehand. Call us to settle the details. Splitboarders welcome.

How long does a ski touring course last?

We work in full days: a single taster day, a two- or three-day course, or a whole week. The first day introduces the discipline; the multi-day course makes you independent on the skin track, the transceiver and reading the snow, stepping up a notch each day towards real outings.

Is ski touring dangerous?

It takes place on unpatrolled terrain, so it deserves to be taken seriously. That's exactly what the guiding is for: reading the avalanche bulletin daily, knowing the snowpack, safety kit that's checked and that you know how to use, and a genuine willingness to turn back when conditions call for it.

Can you go ski touring as a family, with teenagers?

Yes. We take teenagers from thirteen or fourteen, often as a family. The marked Solaise route is an excellent place for a first outing all together, with the ski area within reach.

When is the best time for a ski touring trip to Val d'Isère?

December to May, snow depending. Deep winter gives the best powder for sheltered first outings; spring and its corn snow suit the big days out perfectly, when the overnight freeze has firmed up the slopes.