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The Powder Trip - Elite Freeride Skiing

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The Powder Trip - Elite Freeride Skiing Enquire
Price p/p From price based on 5 nights twin-share lodging in a minimum group of 5 people during low season.
Base/invoice currency is in EURO inc taxes.
Snowboarders, get your own group of riders together for your best dates
*Displayed price may vary due to currency fluctuations.
USD 1,568

GUIDED OFF-PISTE FREERIDE POWDER TRIP
6 Days | 5 Nights | 6 Ski Days

Location: Europe | Tour Focus: Guided | Terrain Focus: Off-Piste, Backcountry, Sidecountry
Ability: Advanced to Expert
Price p/p From price based on 5 nights twin-share lodging in a minimum group of 5 people during low season.
Base/invoice currency is in EURO inc taxes.
Snowboarders, get your own group of riders together for your best dates
*Displayed price may vary due to currency fluctuations.
USD 1,568
Join a trip to find the best off-piste powder skiing 'of the moment' in the Alps. Over 6 awesome days, be guided to where the snow is deep & fresh, including La Grave, Sestriere, Zermatt, Chamonix, Monterosa, Verbier, 3 Vallees & many more. Join a fixed date tour or create a custom tour to suit your best dates .....
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Fixed Date(s)
Days
Price
Availability
Fixed Date(s): Mar 26 - Mar 31, 2023
Days: 6
Price: USD 1,568
Availability: Enquire
Future rates & dates are currently not yet available for this operator. Click here to enquire.
Custom Booking Period
Min Days
Price
Availability
Custom Booking Period: Dec 10 - Apr 02, 2023
Min Days: From 6
Price: Enquire
Availability: Available
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The Powder Trip - Elite Freeride Skiing Tour

Overview

If you have a week off, want to chase powder in the Alps, but are not sure where to go, look no further. The Powder Trip travels to where the snow is the freshest & best, leaving its destination(s) to the last minute to ensure optimal conditions. The best freeride off-piste powder in the western Alps will be the focus of this fast paced & flexible ski tour. Destinations will be to the best snow 'of the moment', anywhere from Zermatt & Verbier in Switzerland all the way south to Sestriere in Italy or La Grave France; and everything in between! The 'everything in between' could include Chamonix, 3 Vallees, Monterosa or a host of smaller 'unknown' resorts where powder lays unsullied for days ........

The tour is led by an experienced local guide that knows the western Alps like their own backyard. Following a pick-up from the meeting point in Oulx (Italy) or Briancon (France), the group will head to where the snow is deepest, freshest & safest for the funnest (sic) six days of your powder-drenched life. The group will travel by private minibus, then using the local ski lifts & some skinning, seek out the best freeride powder in whichever region the snow draws you too. Every night, once comfortable in a local hotel, the guide will discuss with the group the options for the next day’s adventure over a few après ski drinks.

Fixed date tours leave on Sundays and return on Fridays during January, February & March. Make a Booking Enquiry ->

Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend

Ski Resorts Visited

Starting from the southern Alps near the meeting point, legendary La Grave will definitely be on the agenda if fresh snow has fallen, but within easy driving distance, the region holds a list of true freeride powder gems that will also be looked at. In Italy, the Via Lattea’s Sestriere is consistently awesome. Between Sestriere & La Grave, Montgenèvre, the Queyras, & Serre Chevalier has some of Europe’s best tree skiing, never mind the impressive alpine zones & backcountry descents! Nearby are the huge Les 2 Alpes & Alpe d'Huez. Other ski locations can be as far afield as La Clusaz, any of the 3 Vallees resorts or the Chamonix ski areas. In Switzerland, the options include Verbier & Zermatt, or the Aosta valleys freeride capital of Monterosa & perhaps Courmayeur. The options are endless, but fun & awesome lines are the order of the day. See the Itinerary Tab for more.

Meeting Point & Transport

The meeting point for the tour is either of two train stations - Briançon (France) or Oulx (in Italy), early on a Sunday morning. Oulx is on the Paris-Lyon-Turin-Milan fast train line so is a handy way to get to the area. Once picked up, your tour will have its own minibus to transport you to up to wherever the snow is best in France, Italy, south-west Switzerland or a combination of all of them! See the Itinerary Tab for more.

Accommodation & Meals

Enjoy the hospitality, food & drink of a classic Alps village hotel for 5 nights. The choice of hotel will be left to the last minute to ensure the group is well positioned to get the best of the current snow conditions. See the Accommodation Tab for more.

Guides & Group Size

All guides are fully certified mountain guides with extensive local ski & mountaineering experience, plus their understanding of clients’ needs/wishes, and their teaching/organisational skills. The maximum number of guests per guide/group will be 8, but may be as low as 5, depending on conditions.

Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend

Technical & Personal Requirements*

Ski Ability

Participants must be experienced skiers (split-boarders will only be accepted on a splitboard only tour - so please do inquire if you have a group of snowboarders looking for an amazing week). You should be at ease with skiing on all types of snow at a sustained pace all day long. Slopes may include short steep & exposed sections (40o to 45o) plus couloirs. Skinning uphill will be involved but will be no more than 45 min to 1 hour per day. No previous skinning/ski touring experience is required. All ski gear can be rented & avalanche safety gear is included in the tour price.

Fitness

Good physical condition is required, skinning or short ascents on foot will not exceed 45 min - 1hr/day. You should be prepared to ski all day long at a good pace, approx. 4 - 6 hrs skiing.

*Good to know: if you don't have the level required, the guide may ask you to leave if necessary, for the well-being of the rest of the group. If in doubt, please do not hesitate to ask!

Itinerary - Powder Trip

The Powder Trip fixed date tours leave on Sundays and return on Fridays during January, February & March and will head to wherever the best snow conditions are best in the French Alps, Via Lattea & Aosta Valley in Italy, or the Valais of Switzerland. Make a Booking Enquiry ->

Day 1: Sunday, Arrival, Ground Transfer & Start Skiing

Meeting first thing in the morning at Briançon (6.30am) or Oulx (7.15am) train stations. You will be picked up in the tour van by the guide & transported to your first day's location, so be dressed for skiing! The journey may be short, to Sestriere or Serre Chevalier, or a few hours’ drive to Val Thorens & beyond. Either way it will be awesome. The first day skiing will be such that the guide can evaluate participants' abilities and will include some time to ensure the group can use individual avalanche safety equipment & climbing skins. Transfer to your hotel accommodation at the end of the day, which may be your home for the next 2 nights, or just one night if the intention is to move further afield the next day. Flexibility is the key on this tour!
Meals included: dinner.

Day 2, 3, 4 & 5 (Monday to Thursday): Freeride Powder

Freeride skiing options are limitless in the western Alps & the days will be spent where the snow is best. It may be the challenging La Grave or resorts further away like La Clusaz, in the Chamonix valley or even amazing Verbier (to name but a few options!). If the weather is poor, larch forests may be the 'go to' ski zone. If sunny & stable, the high alpine glaciers, couloirs and wide-open bowls will be the juice. At the end of the day the group can enjoy an après ski session and relax after some hard but incredibly enjoyable skiing!
Meals included: breakfast & dinner.

Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt - Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend

Day 6: Friday, Last Day - Go Hard & Go Home!

A final day to liquefy your legs in the fresh powder, plus add a few climbs to gives our legs a break before venturing down the slopes again through untracked powder. At the end of the afternoon, return to Oulx and Briançon. End of this freeride skiing trip. Decision time - go back home to work or hang around the Via Lattea for a few days. Sick day anyone?
Meal included: breakfast.

Please note this itinerary is an example of a Powder Trip freeride ski trip. Understand that the guide may adjust certain itineraries and ski areas according to weather & snow conditions as well as participants' abilities & wishes. You are kindly asked to respect such decisions.

Accommodation & Food

Hotel Lodgings

In order to make the most of the best snow conditions, your ski tour's hotel will be chosen at the last minute. In general, a locally-run hotel of minimum 3-star rating will be chosen in the centrally located alpine village near the ski location. Flexibility, weather & snow will dictate the best place to stay. A final decision on the hotel will be made closer to the tour date. Rooms are on a twin share basis, but depending on the group size, triple share or sharing with a person of the opposite sex may occasionally occur. Single rooms are available for an additional fee.

For lodgings prior to the tour near the meeting point at Oulx train station, search & book here for Oulx accommodation.

Powder Hunt, Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt, Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Powder Hunt, Elite Freeride Skiing Long Weekend
Photos are not necessarily representative of the hotel lodgings that will be used on the tour.

Food

Meals provided on the tour are on a half-board basis at the hotel, starting with dinner on the first night & finishing with breakfast on the last morning. Enjoy the local cuisine! Drinks will be available at the hotel & at other local bars.

Lunches will be had out on the slopes or at a ski resort mountain hut as dictated by the wishes of the group &/or the ski terrain planned for the day. The guide knows all the best places for fantastic lunches in the mountains. Follow their lead!

Rates & Inclusions

Rates Information

All Season - 6 days/5 nights from €1,465 (low season) to €1,565 (high season)

  • Invoice / base currency is EUR €
  • Price based on 5 nights, twin share, minimum group of 5
  • Custom dates for snowboarders, solos or private groups on request
  • Convert to your currency here
Inclusions
  • ACCOMMODATION: 5 nights in 3-star hotel, twin share
  • MEALS: Half-board (breakfast & dinner)
  • GUIDE: Full-time professional guide during entire tour
  • AVALANCHE SAFETY EQT: Beacon, shovel & probe, plus harness for glaciers
  • TRANSPORT: All ground transport during tour from the meeting point
  • SMALL GROUP: Group size is 5 to 8 guests
  • TRAINING: In the use of all safety & rescue equipment
  • GIFT: Azimut welcome pack
Add-ons
  • SINGLE ROOM: €220/person (subject to availability)
  • FULL SKI EQT RENTAL: Boots, skis, skins, ski-crampons, poles - €215/trip
  • SKI RENTAL: Skis, skins, ski-crampons, poles - €175/trip
  • ABS AIRBAG BACKPACK: €120/trip
Not Included

Terms & Conditions

As per agreed terms & conditions with the tour operator, Azimut, including but not limited to the following:

Payment

A 30% deposit, as well as the insurance cost if you choose to subscribe the latter, is required to secure your booking. You will receive a reminder email 35 days prior to departure for the outstanding balance due latest 30 days prior to departure.