Beginner Ski Touring Adventure: Your First Steps Beyond the Pistes

Make your own way to Gap, where we will meet you at 17:30 at the train station. From here, enjoy a short transfer into the mountains to your base village for the next few days.

After settling into your accommodation and taking in your first views of the surrounding peaks, join the group for a relaxed welcome dinner in a local restaurant (payable locally). It’s a great chance to meet everyone on the trip, chat  and ease into the rhythm of your ski touring adventure.

Meet your guide in the morning and, if needed, head to the local shop to get fitted with your ski touring equipment. Once everyone is equipped, your guide will run through how everything works, from skins and bindings to using couteaux (ski crampons) and managing transitions.

You will then head out near a local ski area to put everything into practice. Learn how to move efficiently uphill on skins, practise kick turns and get comfortable handling your equipment in a real mountain setting.

Throughout the day, you will begin exploring off-piste terrain, with the option to return via groomed pistes if you prefer while building confidence.

In the afternoon, take part in an introduction to avalanche safety, including a practical rescue scenario using transceivers, probes and shovels.

Today you will head to a different area to broaden your experience and adapt to new terrain. The focus is on improving technique: more efficient skinning, steeper kick turns and better flow on varied snow.

You will begin linking short off-piste descents and understanding route choice, while still keeping the safety net of nearby pistes if required.

By the end of the day, you will feel more comfortable moving uphill and more confident skiing in ungroomed snow.

After breakfast, check out of your accommodation and bring your bags with you for the day. Your guide will plan a final ski tour based on the conditions, heading into quieter, more natural terrain away from the pistes.

This is your first true ski touring journey, applying everything you have learned over the previous days. Enjoy a steady ascent through forests or open slopes, followed by a rewarding descent on gentle, accessible terrain.

At the end of the day, return to the valley and transfer back to Gap, where you will be dropped off at the train station at around 17:00 for your onward journey.