French Alps ski touring holiday
| country: | France |
| location: | French Alps |
| departures: | 2010: 21 Mar, 28 Mar, 4 Apr |
| price: | From €1270 (8 days) excluding flights, based on room share. Single supplement €350 if travelling alone and not sharing room |
| more info: | Price includes: 3 days of off piste ski and safety gear, 3 days with high mountain guide, 2 days with mountain leader, all local transport, a night in a refuge with dinner & breakfast, a catered week at our beautiful alpine ski chalet - see below for details |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Eco ski week in the Alps
An average of 100 million people visits the Alps every year with visible consequences. The goal is not to stop people exploring but to shift consciousness so that we explore with ‘Respect’. This non-profit course is one way of increasing awareness of the beauty and fragility of our environment without impacting it. We encourage you to come by train (or hitch hike) and the whole week is outside of the lift system.
The goal of the week is, however, to have a wonderful time in touch not only with nautre, but yourself and the people around you! How many times have you got into the real backcountry on a ski trip? Away from the crowds and the pylons? How many times have you been to stay in a high mountain refuge... next to a frozen lake? Have you ever been snow shoeing or built an igloo?
Our eco-lodge has been voted 'the best eco lodge in the Alps' by the Sunday Times. There is a unique, warm and freindly atmosphere here. Our celebrated chef buys most of his ingredients from local organic farms. Milk comes from the cows next door, yet we are on the edge of Europe's largest ski area, 1 hour from Geneva in Samoens.
You need to be a good skier, comfortable on most black runs. Off-piste skiing experience is not necessary. While on your skiing and yoga week, a 7 night stay at our beautiful alpine ski chalet is included.
A week at our ski chalet includes:
7x nights at our alpine ski chalet 7x organic continental buffet breakfasts with daily special 5x home-made cakes or biscuits with tea 5x delicious 3+ course largely organic, vegetarian or fish dinners with organic wine with dinner. 5x light room cleaning service 3x 20 minute pre-ski yoga-stretch sessions (not over school holidays) Wood fired hot tub 3 days of off piste ski and safety gear 3 days with high mountain guide 2 days with mountain leader including snowshoes All local transport A night in a refuge with dinner & breakfast
An average of 100 million people visits the Alps every year with visible consequences. The goal is not to stop people exploring but to shift consciousness so that we explore with ‘Respect’. This non-profit course is one way of increasing awareness of the beauty and fragility of our environment without impacting it. We encourage you to come by train (or hitch hike) and the whole week is outside of the lift system.
The goal of the week is, however, to have a wonderful time in touch not only with nautre, but yourself and the people around you! How many times have you got into the real backcountry on a ski trip? Away from the crowds and the pylons? How many times have you been to stay in a high mountain refuge... next to a frozen lake? Have you ever been snow shoeing or built an igloo?
Our eco-lodge has been voted 'the best eco lodge in the Alps' by the Sunday Times. There is a unique, warm and freindly atmosphere here. Our celebrated chef buys most of his ingredients from local organic farms. Milk comes from the cows next door, yet we are on the edge of Europe's largest ski area, 1 hour from Geneva in Samoens.
You need to be a good skier, comfortable on most black runs. Off-piste skiing experience is not necessary. While on your skiing and yoga week, a 7 night stay at our beautiful alpine ski chalet is included.
A week at our ski chalet includes:
lower carbon travel
If you hitch or take the train we’ll offer you a free pick up in Cluse and E60 off the price. E20 will go to Respect the Mountain, a charity raising Mountain Awareness.day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | When you arrive you’ll have time to sort out equipment and settle into our chalet with a welcome dinner party. Then the next day you head into a pristine winter wilderness with Agniezka. She has lived here for 15 years and is an International Mountain Leader and Snowshoe guide. At the end of the day, you’ll snowshoe up to a refuge and spend the night in a secluded paradise. The next day you’ll get to work building an igloo and learning about staying safe in a potentially harsh winter environment. In the afternoon, back in Samoens, you’ll hire all your ski touring gear ready for the next day. |
| Day 3-5: | On day 3 you meet Didier, our UIAGM aspirant guide. He will take you through the back country to some awe-inspiring places not many people get to see under snow. You will have 3 day-trips, ski touring and skiing off piste. If you are a snowboarder, you will snow shoe and carry your board. |
| Day 6: | The last day is a free day.. you could choose to ice climb, ski de fond, or even ski on piste... but beware... this week will alter your vision of piste skiing for life! |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
Our ski chalet is an Eco-Lodge and hence attracts eco-warriors, many or whom are in opposition to 'ski resorts'. Having said that they love the mountains and the sports it has to offer. In reaction, we created the Eco-Ski Week which, as far as we know, is entirely unique... For a start it is a non-profit course. We give €20 to the charity 'Respect the Mountain'. If you take the train or hitch-hike (a very underrated form of transport) we'll give you €60 back. If you fly, we'll plant a tree. This is a ski or snow boarding week completely outside of the lift system. You will learn to ski tour and use your legs to take you up pristine untracked mountains and down the other side. It is amazing how far you can travel under your own steam. We sometimes forget! Then you will try different winter mountain sports and practices; snow shoeing, igloo building and perhaps ski de fond. We ski tour with fake seal skins under our skis so we can walk up and then we ski down fresh tracks - always practising no-impact travel through the wilderness. Our accommodation has been described as a 'posh commune' – you will experience an alternative family lifestyle with a communal, community and environmental ethos. The McCallum family moved from Scotland to France to realise an evolving dream – to reconnect with each other and our environment, to live in the mountains, create a sustainable venue and run 'life-enhancing' courses. It took 3 years and is now up and running and is becoming a 'phenomena'. Journalists have described it as the 'best-eco lodge in the Alps'. Guests often talk about the 'positive energy' here. Renovation: We used sustainable building techniques where affordable including extra thick Warmcell insulation, triple glazed windows facing North, glass walls facing South, a highly efficient wood pellet burner, low temp under floor heating, organic paint, etc. We have mountain source water on tap. We try to consume minimum energy. All our appliances are A or AA and 90% of our lighting is low energy. We recycle metal, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard and compost and the kitchen is set up to make this easy. Our linen is organic cotton and our cleaning products are environmentally sound. Community The Alps is scattered with back country refuges rarely frequented by anyone other than locals. We will stay in a mountain refuge and eat local food. We employ 2 local guides on this course. We source 90% of our food wholesale from organic wholesalers and local farms. Our milk is from the neighbouring farm and we make our own rice milk. We will start growing our own vegetables this year. We also encourage guests to eat in the village, the mountain yurt and local farm restaurant, which are within walking distance. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |