Off Piste Skiing

People hear the words off piste skiing and panic. They think of disappearing off into the wilderness and getting lost, others think that you take a helicopter and ski some normally inaccessible pistes. Others just simply think about skiing next to the designated pistes, going on and off them. The truth is, they are all true. There is no single true definition of off piste skiing as it is very subjective and depends on you personally on how to define depending on your own experiences.

Some people, if not most, are quite happy to stay on the designated and flattened pistes which is perfectly fun, relatively safe and sometimes better than off piste skiing! Unless you are on a mogul field, then everything if flat and uniform, you can try little tricks and if you fall over, it isn’t a massive difficulty to get skiing or snowboarding again. When you are off piste, the terrain is more unpredictable and can be very tiring to get going again if you fall over.

By far the most popular type of off piste skiing is next to the designated pistes which involves skiing down one of the controlled and prepared slopes which are normally called green, blue, red and black runs. You can choose to come back onto the designated slope whenever you want to, it is relatively safe as there are less risks to there being avalanches (there is still a possibility so please still be careful) and they tend to be much easier to ski/board technically. You can be of any level of skier or boarder to try this, with those people feeling comfortable on regular blue runs in general will feel comfortable going off piste next to the blue run. You can discover this style of skiing quite easily as there are many possibilities, especially after a big dump of fresh snow. Be sure to be the first on the slopes if this is the case so others don’t get to them first!

Ski Performance Courses

This is the next step if you decide you are comfortable with off piste skiing is taking ski performance courses. It is quite expensive, but you are taken by a professional guide who will know the areas perfectly, will know where and when to take you, will have all the necessary equipment with him or her if there is a problem such as an injury or possibly an avalanche and can give you advice on how to navigate the fresh powder and make the most of your experience. You could even try heli-skiing which is technically not allowed in France, so one way around this is to go to one of the resorts next to Italy, such as La Rosiere where you can ski over to Italy, do some heli-skiing and then come back once you are finished. It is a truly wonderful experience to be taken to some fresh powder snow that maybe hasn’t been touched by anyone, away from everything, and you can have the mountain to yourself. It is a great sensation when you feel the light, fresh snow underneath your skis or snowboard knowing that you might be the first person to have ever touched this part of the mountain! Okay, so this last bit is pretty unlikely, but when you are practically alone with a small group of 6 or 8 people, you would be forgiven for having this thought! A highly professional group such as the ESF school can take you from La Rosiere to experience this phenomenal activity.

Off Piste Skiing Insurance

When you make the choice to ski off piste, it is very important to realise that you are taking a big risk with both your life and those around you. It is an incredible experience which many people strive to experience every time they go skiing, but with this need for powder comes a high-risk sport that can have potentially fatal consequences. Therefore, it is imperative that you check your travel insurance and that it is specifically written that it covers off piste skiing. We hear of people every year thinking they are safe as they have bought a regular or even a ski travel insurance, so they are free to explore the wilderness, take risks, even cause avalanches and won’t have to pay if there is a problem. This is not always the case. Having to call in the patrol, perhaps the helicopter and perhaps hurting someone else can be extremely costly if you don’t have the appropriate off piste skiing insurance so it is vital that you check the small print before you try it.

Off Piste Clothing

Now this is the most important part of skiing off piste. You have to know where you are going and when to go as you’ll need to venture quite far away from the regular runs, away from the ski patrol and quite far from any form of help. We strongly recommend that you pay for a local guide to take you out as the risk of avalanche is very present, especially if there has been a recent dump of fresh snow and even more so if fresh snow has fallen after a period of no fresh snow and so is sitting on a very hard icy base which could slip at any moment. You must be very careful and be an experienced skier or boarder. Therefore, you MUST have the necessary equipment and clothing with you as help may be far away if there is a problem which you either need to solve yourself or you need to help the ski patrol to find your location. The following off piste clothing is including but not limited to a:

A beacon – so you can be found in case of an avalanche
A probe – to locate the exact location of someone if one of your group was taken down by an avalanche
A shovel – to start digging when you have located the buried person
Avalanche airbag – if you set off an avalanche, it is highly recommended to have one of these with you which you can activate and potentially keep you above the snow and help stop you being buried. There are many possibilities, but here are some examples of airbag backpacks

How To Ski Powder

There are many schools of thought on how to ski powder and even the type of skis you have can make a massive difference. Rather than explain the best way via text, it will be much easier to see how to ski powder by checking out this video for tips and techniques:

How To Snowboard Off Piste

Similar to with skis, there are different opinions on how to snowboard off piste. Getting the right snowboard, choosing the right length of board and even its width all make a big difference. However, like above, check out this video on how to snowboard off piste:

There are many resorts to try off piste skiing, however one of our favourites has to be the fairly unknown Sainte Foy Tarentaise. This resort offers some of the best-off best skiing in Europe! So much so, that when the Tignes, Val d’Isere and other surroundings ski resort instructors have days off, this is where they go. It offers an incredible variety of pistes for different abilities from intermediate to highly advanced, so be sure to choose your runs very carefully. Again, please pay that little extra and take a local guide with you.

There is a massive choice of off piste skiing in France, and several of us are passionate about it! If you have further questions, want some advice, or would like to book an off piste skiing holiday, don’t hesitate to contact us.