Alps Skiing Private

Ski amazing glacier lines or exciting couloir descents in the Alps with mind blowing views and amazing access. The alps are a perfect place to push your limits and tackle ski descents that fit your skillset and desires. Ski routes in the alps have a huge range of difficulty, from intermediate to elite levels, and we accommodate skiers with Advanced to Expert skiing abilities and backcountry experience. See prerequisites tab for details.

This is a Private trip, either 2:1 client to guide ratio or 1:1 client to guide ratio.

All deposits are nonrefundable. Payment in full of the remaining balance is due 180 days before your trip starts.

Overview
Itinerary
Prerequisites
Inclusions
Gear

Ski wild routes and peaks in the alps with out IFMGA Mountain Guides. We can build trips that are focused on fun and skiing as much as possible or create custom skills programs to expand your technical ski mountaineering horizons.

The Skiing - Skiing in the Alps is an amazing experience with endless possibilities. We will work with your group to find objectives that fit your current skills, and we can build skills programs to develop movement and technical ski mountaineering skills. The focus is on taking advantage of the infrastructure that allows us to get deep into the mountains each day, while returning us to the comforts of civilization each night! while that will challenge your abilities and push your boundaries. There is no place better than the Alps for access to exposed, technical alpine climbing. Ski Objectives we often guide include:

  • The Valley Blanche
  • The Cosmiques Couloir
  • The Capucin Couloir
  • The Breche Puiseux
  • The Petite Gervasutti Couloir
  • Objectives on the Argentiere Glacier
  • Objectives on the Aiguille Rouge
  • Ski Tours from France to Italy
  • Ski Tours from France to Switzerland
  • Much, much more! You could spend a lifetime here and not finish all of the options!
  • European Huts & Logistics - No camping required! We'll use lifts, trains, buses and refuges to make the access to our skiing objectives as easy as possible. Refuges are equipped with bunk beds, blankets, pillows, and full kitchens and bars to keep us well fed, hydrated and entertained before and after skiing.


We'll build a custom itinerary based on your climbing ability and desires. Let us know what styles of climbing that you prefer and we'll build a program packed with routes you'll love. From snow and ice climbs to rock ridges to wild traverses involving all of the above, the Alps offer a massive spectrum of climbing!

Build Skills. If you're focused on building skills for bigger objectives, the Alps are the perfect place to quickly build the skills you need to build comfort and efficiency in alpine terrain. Whether you need to build rock skills or steep cramponing skills, there are plenty of options to advance your climbing to the next level.

Pre Trip Meeting

Before we start our climbing days, we'll meet in Chamonix, France for a gear check. Our guides will make sure you have the right gear for the objectives and help you:

  • Minimize weight
  • Optimize your layers based on the weather forecast
  • Choose how much food and water to bring

Daily Climbing Objectives

We'll pick a climbing objective for each day. Depending on the objective we will either access the route via lift, train, car or refuge. Most long routes will require access from a refuges.


Accommodations

Accommodations will be a combination of hotels in Chamonix and refuges in the mountains and may change based on weather and appropriate climbing objectives. Hotels that we recommend are:

Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:

  • Intermediate Alpine Climbing Experience - Including cramponing and ice axe techniques including self arrest practice, basic rope skills. You should feel comfortable on steep, firm slopes of 40 degrees or more. If you need experience with these skills, sign up for a climb on Mt Shasta, Mt Baker, The Eastern Sierra, or The North Cascades
  • Glacier Travel Experience - You should have experience on travelling on crevassed glaciers on a rope team.

  • Excellent fitness - Able to spend 12-16 continuous hours outside, moving uphill at over 1,000’ per hour for durations of 1-2 hours between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 12-15 miles, climbing 3,000-6,000 vertical feet throughout the course of the day. People with excellent fitness typically have a strenuous workout 4-6 days per week. Be ready for a difficult day in the mountains!

  • Mountaineering Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Shop Recommended Gear OR Visit our Rentals Page

Pricing

    This is a Private trip, and depending on ski objectives can be 1:1 client to guide ratio up to 5:1 client to guide ratio. More technical couloir descents require a 2:1 to 1:1 ratio.

Here's what's included with your trip:

  • IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide
  • Ropes & Group Gear
Not Included
  • Overnight accommodation at Huts / Lodges
  • Lift, train or bus tickets for you and your guide, if needed
  • Bottled Water, drinks and food beyond dinner and breakfast at Huts
  • Sleeping Bag Liner for Huts
  • Personal Climbing Gear and Layers
  • Guide Gratuities

Refuges (Mountain Huts) really simplify the gear needed for alpine climbing in the Alps. Download our Alps Climbing Gear List Here:

🔽 Download the Mont Blanc 3-Day Gear List

Gear Specific to Climbing in the Alps

  • Sleeping Bag Liner

Know Before you go

SKILL LEVELAdvanced - Expert
ELEVATION3,500-4,810m
LocationChamonix, France

Price/Person $500.00
Private Programs
Duration: 1-12 Days
View Full Itinerary
Private Programs

Blackbird Mountain Guides offers both scheduled group programs and private programs.

Private programs are simply above and beyond what Blackbird Mountain Guides currently has scheduled. Scheduled courses are not always less expensive. Before booking a trip with Blackbird Mountain Guides, clients are encouraged to review the differences between these types of programs, and to decide what works best for them.

SCHEDULED PROGRAMS

Scheduled Programs have fixed dates, itineraries, objectives, curriculum, and costs. They typically appeal to solo individuals or small groups or who are looking to share the cost of their program with a larger group. Correspondingly, scheduled programs are less expensive for smaller groups (1-2), and they provide the opportunity to meet others with similar interests. If you have a large group (3+), Scheduled programs will often be more expensive. They can fill up quickly, and scheduling flexibility is obviously limited.

Scheduled programs will have advertised dates. All scheduled programs can be run as private programs with private dates/rates as well.

PRIVATE PROGRAMS

Private programs have scheduling freedom. They typically appeal to those who would like some flexibility in planning their own trip or course. In this regard, Itineraries and objectives can be tailored to suit current conditions as well as client goals. Private programs are normally less expensive for larger groups (3+). If you have a small group (1-2) private programs will be more expensive.

Contact us
Full Itinerary

We'll build a custom itinerary based on your climbing ability and desires. Let us know what styles of climbing that you prefer and we'll build a program packed with routes you'll love. From snow and ice climbs to rock ridges to wild traverses involving all of the above, the Alps offer a massive spectrum of climbing!

Build Skills. If you're focused on building skills for bigger objectives, the Alps are the perfect place to quickly build the skills you need to build comfort and efficiency in alpine terrain. Whether you need to build rock skills or steep cramponing skills, there are plenty of options to advance your climbing to the next level.

Pre Trip Meeting

Before we start our climbing days, we'll meet in Chamonix, France for a gear check. Our guides will make sure you have the right gear for the objectives and help you:

  • Minimize weight
  • Optimize your layers based on the weather forecast
  • Choose how much food and water to bring

Daily Climbing Objectives

We'll pick a climbing objective for each day. Depending on the objective we will either access the route via lift, train, car or refuge. Most long routes will require access from a refuges.


Accommodations

Accommodations will be a combination of hotels in Chamonix and refuges in the mountains and may change based on weather and appropriate climbing objectives. Hotels that we recommend are:

Ski wild routes and peaks in the alps with out IFMGA Mountain Guides. We can build trips that are focused on fun and skiing as much as possible or create custom skills programs to expand your technical ski mountaineering horizons.

The Skiing - Skiing in the Alps is an amazing experience with endless possibilities. We will work with your group to find objectives that fit your current skills, and we can build skills programs to develop movement and technical ski mountaineering skills. The focus is on taking advantage of the infrastructure that allows us to get deep into the mountains each day, while returning us to the comforts of civilization each night! while that will challenge your abilities and push your boundaries. There is no place better than the Alps for access to exposed, technical alpine climbing. Ski Objectives we often guide include:

  • The Valley Blanche
  • The Cosmiques Couloir
  • The Capucin Couloir
  • The Breche Puiseux
  • The Petite Gervasutti Couloir
  • Objectives on the Argentiere Glacier
  • Objectives on the Aiguille Rouge
  • Ski Tours from France to Italy
  • Ski Tours from France to Switzerland
  • Much, much more! You could spend a lifetime here and not finish all of the options!
  • European Huts & Logistics - No camping required! We'll use lifts, trains, buses and refuges to make the access to our skiing objectives as easy as possible. Refuges are equipped with bunk beds, blankets, pillows, and full kitchens and bars to keep us well fed, hydrated and entertained before and after skiing.


We'll build a custom itinerary based on your climbing ability and desires. Let us know what styles of climbing that you prefer and we'll build a program packed with routes you'll love. From snow and ice climbs to rock ridges to wild traverses involving all of the above, the Alps offer a massive spectrum of climbing!

Build Skills. If you're focused on building skills for bigger objectives, the Alps are the perfect place to quickly build the skills you need to build comfort and efficiency in alpine terrain. Whether you need to build rock skills or steep cramponing skills, there are plenty of options to advance your climbing to the next level.

Pre Trip Meeting

Before we start our climbing days, we'll meet in Chamonix, France for a gear check. Our guides will make sure you have the right gear for the objectives and help you:

  • Minimize weight
  • Optimize your layers based on the weather forecast
  • Choose how much food and water to bring

Daily Climbing Objectives

We'll pick a climbing objective for each day. Depending on the objective we will either access the route via lift, train, car or refuge. Most long routes will require access from a refuges.


Accommodations

Accommodations will be a combination of hotels in Chamonix and refuges in the mountains and may change based on weather and appropriate climbing objectives. Hotels that we recommend are:

Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:

  • Intermediate Alpine Climbing Experience - Including cramponing and ice axe techniques including self arrest practice, basic rope skills. You should feel comfortable on steep, firm slopes of 40 degrees or more. If you need experience with these skills, sign up for a climb on Mt Shasta, Mt Baker, The Eastern Sierra, or The North Cascades
  • Glacier Travel Experience - You should have experience on travelling on crevassed glaciers on a rope team.

  • Excellent fitness - Able to spend 12-16 continuous hours outside, moving uphill at over 1,000’ per hour for durations of 1-2 hours between breaks. Participants should be able to hike 12-15 miles, climbing 3,000-6,000 vertical feet throughout the course of the day. People with excellent fitness typically have a strenuous workout 4-6 days per week. Be ready for a difficult day in the mountains!

  • Mountaineering Gear - Come prepared with your own gear or rent from us
Shop Recommended Gear OR Visit our Rentals Page

Pricing

    This is a Private trip, and depending on ski objectives can be 1:1 client to guide ratio up to 5:1 client to guide ratio. More technical couloir descents require a 2:1 to 1:1 ratio.

Here's what's included with your trip:

  • IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide
  • Ropes & Group Gear
Not Included
  • Overnight accommodation at Huts / Lodges
  • Lift, train or bus tickets for you and your guide, if needed
  • Bottled Water, drinks and food beyond dinner and breakfast at Huts
  • Sleeping Bag Liner for Huts
  • Personal Climbing Gear and Layers
  • Guide Gratuities

Refuges (Mountain Huts) really simplify the gear needed for alpine climbing in the Alps. Download our Alps Climbing Gear List Here:

🔽 Download the Mont Blanc 3-Day Gear List

Gear Specific to Climbing in the Alps

  • Sleeping Bag Liner
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Epic Reviews From Adventurers

10 reviews
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Ready for a trip to pillow town?

    Ok, this was my 2nd hut trip with Blackbird and wow was it amazing. I mean, at 50 if I had done this 25 years ago I am pretty sure my life would have gone in a very different direction.

    First and foremost, Zeb Blaise (owner and lead guide), is an absolute rockstar. He ensured that everyone made it to the lodge no matter how hard the weather and airlines tried to prevent it. He was constantly working to make sure this was an amazing experience.

    While visibility was difficult all week I still think we scored big time. With 5-10cm of fresh every day and a mix of guides and practicum's with local knowledge we were never longing for more. With the ability to self select we were able to choose from skiing bell to bell or a more mellow day but always had fun.

    I could go on about the food being fantastic and the hut's sauna for days but there is only so much room to type.

    Oh yeah, about the pillows... This is probably this best pillow terrain I've ever seen, in person, a magazine or a video part. I mean Mike Lindell would be jealous of this place. A week later and I'm still dreaming about pillow lines!

    The only real question is whether I will return to Snowfall or check out a different hut next winter...

    Jeremy R.
    Verified Buyer
    Snowfall Lodge BC - Archive 2024
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Blackbird Guides - Snowfall Lodge

    In short, a once in a lifetime experience. The perfect balance between comfort (a lodge that is off the grid but has everything you need, including sauna and amazing food) and outdoor adventure (disconnected, epic snow and terrain, unreal views, the list goes on). To top it off, Blackbird guides helps to make the experience as good as it gets. They are professionals at coordinating and communicating plans, as well as true backcountry mountain guides - ensuring a safe experience, while providing education and guaranteeing epic powder turns. I have used Blackbird since they started and will continue to do so. They are at the top of their game. Don't miss this trip, or frankly, any trip Blackbird puts together. If you have the opportunity, GO!

    Greg F.
    Verified Buyer
    Snowfall Lodge BC - Archive 2024
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Incredible hut trip

    Magnificent terrain to explore each day and a beautiful hut to return to each night. Couldn’t have loved this week more!

    Jennifer L.
    Verified Buyer
    Snowfall Lodge BC - Archive 2024
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Another Epic Trip to BC

    Blackbird trips are something special. Amazing terrain, super knowledgeable and fun guides, great guests, and spectacular food. Snowfall had it all, from high alpine & glaciers to super fun tree and pillow skiing. Looking forward to coming back.

    Henning F.
    Verified Buyer
    Snowfall Lodge BC - Archive 2024
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