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Aosta ski touring week 2024
Early season intro ski touring course based in north Italy
Course overview
To undertake an early season week of intro level ski touring, is an ideal choice for those planning a hut to hut ski tour later in the season. During the week you are based in the beautiful Aosta valley of northern Italy, which gives great access to a huge choice of day ski tours, returning to your hotel each night.
If you have spent most of your time on skis on piste or on popular off piste runs, and want to escape the crowds, this course will give you the skills to access the mountains throughout the winter season by learning ski touring and more advanced backcountry skills, as well as avalanche awareness.
For this level you have skied a minimum of two weeks off piste before, such as a one week off piste course, and another week of off piste experience. Your key ambition is to improve and get some good instruction. If you would like a date later in the season, you could consider our Intro Ski Touring & Backcountry week.
Previous touring experience is not required, as this course aims to teach key skills starting with the basics. Sometimes people have done a day or two of touring before, but not received any formal tuition, so use this course as a springboard to future tours.
Any mountaineering skills or knowledge of ropes are an advantage, but not essential as all necessary techniques are taught. During the week you are based in a hotel in Aosta on a B&B. If you would like to arrive a day early, or stay a day afterwards, you can travel direct to Italy if that suits your plans better.
Key skills taught during this course include...
  using skins and touring skis
avalanche transceiver use
glacier travel techniques
kick turns for ascent on skis
use of couteaux / harscheisen
using crampons and ice axes
choice of kit for ski touring
crevasse rescue for skiers
recognising avalanche traps
Dates: these are listed in the column on the right, and they show the live availability from our secure online booking system. When you book online, you receive immediate confirmation, your Alpine Information Booklet, course specific kit list and invoice.

Brief Course Itinerary
The itineraries are for guidance, but should give an idea of what you can achieve during the week. Each week this course runs slightly differently to cater for your preferences, the conditions, and where the best weather and snow is to be found. This flexibility allows you to have the course tailored to your needs. Your guide will discuss the options with you each day, so that you get the most out of the course. The guide will be a local Italian guide, who speaks a very good level of English, and is a regular member of our guiding team.
Sunday
Travel to Chamonix to arrive for any time after the 16:00 check-in at the accommodation. There is time for the rental of equipment, or this can be done first thing the next morning with the guide. You will meet all the others on the course, and there are lots of nearby options of restaurants for an evening meal. The guide usually visits to introduce themselves for an informal chat or if you have any questions. Night in Chamonix on B&B basis.
Monday
After meeting your guide in the morning, your kit is checked and any safety kit is issued, then you are driven to one of the ski regions.
Day of introductory ski touring, practising how to use the equipment and kick turns, as well as off piste skiing to refresh your skills. A typical objective for the first day is Punta Leysser 2771m from Vetan above Aosta, with a vertical drop of 1100m. The ascent takes c.4 hours. Night in Aosta hotel on B&B basis.
Tuesday
Now you have got your ski touring legs back, there are a couple of good options for day tours today. The first is Colle Serena 2547m from Entroubles near S.Bernard, with a vertical drop of 877m, taking c.3hr30. Another option is the
Col Champillon 2708m from Ollomont in Val Pelline, with a vertical drop of 1258m, taking c.4hr30. Both these classic tours are famed for good snow, in the two different valleys. Night in Aosta hotel on B&B basis.
Wednesday
Great tour options for today include the Testa dei Frà 2818m from Morgex in the Valdigne, with a vertical drop of 1124m, taking c.4hr, or alternatively the Pointe de la Pierre 2653m from Saint Pierre near Aosta with a vertical drop of 1175m, and taking c.4hr. On any of the days where there is any spare time, the guide will teach you avalanche transceiver skills, or route planning, to develop your techniques . Night in Aosta hotel on B&B basis.
Thursday
Our favourite ski tour for today is the
Punta Croce 2478m, skiing up from Arpy in the Valdigne. This beautiful tour has a vertical drop of 778m, taking c.2hr30. The summit has the ruins of an old fort, with a spectacular view over Mont Blanc and La Thuile. Another option is the Arp Vieille 2963m from Bonne in the neighbouring remote Valgrisanches, with a vertical drop of 1153m, taking c.4hr30. Night in Aosta hotel on B&B basis.
Friday
On the final day of skiing, most groups go for a big day of touring, though if the legs are feeling tired then perhaps a shorter day with more great off piste would appeal. Typically you would ski one of the route options of the previous days, which you hadn't tackled yet. Your guide will be able to advise where you would find the best snow. Evening social drinks then a celebratory meal, with the final night spent in
Chamonix on B&B basis.
Saturday
Breakfast then the accommodation check out is by 10:00. Most arrange their airport transfers to leave around this time, to catch a flight from Geneva about midday. Depart for home.

ITINERARY NOTES: Where possible we follow itineraries. Mountain adventures are weather and conditions dependant, so occasionaly we are forced to alter the plans. If this is the case, suitable alternatives are offered. Please use this outline itinerary as a guide to the types of route / activity that you will attempt.

Course Prices
Standard course
5 full days IFMGA guiding, 1:6 max ratio
7 days holiday in total, Sunday-Saturday
£1399
Live availability
Click on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
Latest Availability
Secure online booking system
Standard Course Inclusions: 1) IFMGA Mountain Guides for five days, 2) Pre course information booklet, 3) Equipment discount voucher for our Windermere shop, 4) B&B hotel / gite for two nights in Chamonix, and four nights in Aosta in Italy (inc. bedding & towels), 5) Free 36 page technical Course Instruction Booklet, 6) Road transport to the Aosta valley from Chamonix, and to and from the slopes each day, 7) Preferential rates on ski and safety equipment hire.
Exclusions: 1) Travel to and from Chamonix, 2) Cable cars (not normally required), 3) Ski and equipment hire, 4) Personal laundry, telephone calls, lunches, & any purchases in mountain huts / hotels / restaurants, 5) Any optional stays in a mountain hut on a half board basis for you and the guide, 6) Transport outside the Aosta valley, 7) Sunday pre-dinner drinks & Friday celebratory drinks, 8) Activities insurance, excess baggage charges.
Group sizes: 3 - 6 people per IFMGA mountain guide. For group sizes of over 6 people, there are multiple guides, and the teams travel independently of each other.
Current course availability

Course Dates
Aosta Ski Touring
  • No Dates Available
NOTE: This trip has scheduled
dates, but if there are four who
are booking together, it can be
operated on any date you wish
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Price: £1399 Book online


Alternative courses
Intro ski touring week
Chamonix Off Piste
Haute Route (Cham-Zermatt)
Silvretta Ski Tour

Client feedback


Thank you so much for this holiday. It was superbly organised, and the ski tours each day were great

Mel F , Aosta Ski Touring


Brilliant group, and a perfect start to the ski touring season for us. Thank you so much for the trip

Leon H , Aosta Ski Touring


The attraction for me was that Aosta is a lot less commercial than other regions of the Alps, and the food each night was great

Hannah O , Aosta Ski Touring

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Location data for this trip

The trips meet in Chamonix, and you are driven to the Aosta valley in the Italian Alps. Chamonix is easily accessed via a 90 minute transfer from Geneva airport.

Time Difference
GMT +1hr
Local Currency
€ Euros
Travel from UK
1hr flight
Skis & equipment advice
Because we know it is so important to you to have the most suitable equipment and clothing for off piste skiing and touring, we have devoted a page especially to it, which you can access by clicking on the image, or by clicking here. This page outlines the key equipment you should bring, and gives examples of skis that are suitable for the course. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Suggested reading and kit
View full course equipment list, with examples of kit, click here
So why choose us?
We are specialists in ski touring. See our blog, by clicking on logo (on right).
Icicle Blog
Itinerary flexibility to allow you to take full advantage of the weather and conditions each day, so that you maximise the amount of time spent skiiing each day.
Our prices are fixed in £ pounds sterling, to protect you from euro currency fluctuations, so that you can budget accurately.
We have a team of over 30 IFMGA guides, and a resort support team, who all want you to have the best skiing possible! For more details on the guiding team and qualifications, please click here.
Any further questions?
A key part of choosing a company is being able to come and talk about your plans with an experienced course advisor face to face. In an increasingly virtual world, we know our clients value speaking to real people, getting open and honest advice. The vast majority of our clients are British, and our office and outdoor store is based in Windermere in the English Lake District.



Get in contact to arrange a meeting, and come in for a coffee to discuss your course in person with a trip advisor.


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