The Great Escape Back-Country Ski-Camp 2011
New for 2011 season, The Great Escape are running a series of weeklong Back-country wilderness ski-camps. In association with the Avoriaz Alpine Ski School, & limited to a maximum of 8 persons, our ski-camps are aimed at skiers who want to break away from the shackles of on-piste skiing and are now looking to progress into the adventurous world of back-country wilderness powder skiing & all that its environment entails.
The idea is to not only teach and improve your all-terrain ski capabilities, especially your off-piste technique, but also to teach you Avalanche awareness & mountain safety, so that you will have a better understanding of the forces of nature around you. The first half of the week consists of tuition and training, whist the second half culminates into the ultimate in pure wilderness adventure!
What’s Included:
- 4 x 3hr ski tuition/training sessions with the highly qualified instructors from the Avoriaz Alpine Ski School
- Avalanche safety equipment
- Filming session, video playback & analysis
- 2 x ski host days
- Full area Portes du Soleil ski lift pass
- Return airport transfers from/to Geneva
- 7 nights luxury accommodation in our beautiful chalet ‘The Alpine Refuge’ in central Morzine with sauna & hot-tub.
- 6 sumptuous 4 course evening meals with unlimited yet good quality wine followed by coffee/tea and chocolates
- 7 breakfasts – cooked and continental
- Afternoon tea with home made cakes for 7 days
- Courtesy minibus service to and from the lifts each day, including the chalet staffs day off.
- Free Wi-Fi
- Free T-Shirt and goody bag
Cost:
Only £799 for all of the above!
The Great Escape Ski-Camp Dates:
29th January – 05th February 2011
19th March – 26th March 2011
Pre Ski-camp requirements:
It’s not about gender, our Skicamps are open to both male & female guests, it’s all about ability. If you have a strong sense of adventure, a desire to learn, and you can confidently ski high end reds/easy black runs, and have had some experience in off-piste. Even if it’s just playing in the powder by the side of the piste, then this is the ski-camp for you!
Fitness-wise, you must be prepared to hike up to a few short summits & cols with your skis strapped onto your rucksack, to enable us to gain access into some of the more remote Back-country areas.
Ski-hire:
We have teamed up with Allmountainrental who are able to offer you a 20% discount off their shop-hire price. Within their ski-hire price, not only are they able to offer you a varied selection of the most contemporary freeride skis available on the market, but also over the course of the week, you will have the opportunity to swap & change, & test a series of skis, to find which suit your personal freeride skiing the best. At the end of the week at no extra charge, you will also be able to rent out a pair of ski touring skis & bindings.
Below are a few examples of the current leading skis you can hire:
Free/ride – Back country skis:
(wide skis, great flotation off-piste, but take a little getting used to on-piste). Black Crows – Navis / Volkl – Mantra & Gotama / Scott – Mission / Movement – Sluff & Source
All-mountain skis:
(Not as wide as the freeride skis, but still perform well both on/off piste)(wide skis, great flotation off-piste, but take a little getting used to on-piste)Salomon – Lord & Shogun / Nomad – Blackeye / K2 – Shockwave & Rictor / Movement – Yaka Rossignol – S80 / Volkl – Kendo
These are just a selection of the top range skis available to hire. For more information about these skis, prices & for what else is available, please visit http://www.allmountainrental.com
The Great Escape Ski-camp:
Saturday – Arrival. Sort out ski-hire & equipment.
Sunday – Ski host day: A chance to find your ski legs, get used to your skis & discover the vast Portes du Soleil ski area with our ski-host.
Monday Morning: Back-country tuition (3hr session)- Intro into Off- piste technique & use of safety equipment. (Avalanche transceivers, shovel & probes).
Afternoon: Free ski time.
Tuesday Morning: Back-country tuition (3hr session) – To include off-piste/all terrain technique & avalanche awareness & mountain safety.
Afternoon: Free ski time.
Evening: Video playback & analysis.
Wednesday Morning: Back-country tuition (3hr session) – To include off-piste/all terrain technique & avalanche awareness & mountain safety.
Afternoon: Free ski time.
Thursday Morning: Free ski time.
Afternoon: Vallee de la Manche Back-country wilderness circuit. (3hr session)
Friday – Ski host day: Discovering more of the vast Portes du Soleil ski area with our Ski host.
Optional extra: Ski-Touring day. Under the expert eye of a qualified mountain guide, we will take your Back-country skiing experience into a new dimension. We will take you away from the pistes, ski-lifts & far from the maddening crowd. With skis underfoot & a special skin attached to the base, we will hike 2-3hrs up to a summit in the heart of a nature reserve. With stunning unspoilt scenery all around us, & the mountains belonging only to us, we will have a packed lunch & a glass of wine to fortify ourselves! We will then each choose our own untouched powder line, & ski the dream! This is what we call ‘A good day!’
Saturday – Depart
For any more information & advice about our ski-camps, please do not hesitate to drop us a line, or give us a call.
