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Zermatt
off piste / backcountry
2012
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| Course
overview |
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Course
dates & availability |
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For
those looking for challenging off piste in stunning
scenery, this could not be better as you are surrounded
by over 29 mountains higher than 4000m. From the
highest cable car of the Klein Matterhorn at over
3800m you can ski all the way back to the valley
with over 2200m of vertical descent.
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For
this course you should be a similar level to those
on our Chamonix Off Piste Level 2 course with
at least a week's previous off piste experience,
such as previously attending the Chamonix Level
1 course.
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Your
expert IFMGA Mountain & Ski Guide will show
you some of the most remote regions of the Zermatt
region, whilst improving your technique and looking
after your safety. As with all our courses, you
are taught important skills such as avalanche awareness
and tranceiver searches, digging snow pits, essential
Alpine ropework, route finding over glaciers, and
crevasse rescue systems. |
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The
level of the runs is only limited by your previous
off piste experience and the conditions. You do
not need to be super fit, but good stamina will
make the days easier and allow you more breath to
enjoy the scenery. Our aim is for you to enjoy a
challenging, thrilling, great off piste week. |
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By
the end of the week you should have enhanced your
skiing ability in this amazingly varied terrain,
from tree skiing, to deep powder, to steep couloirs
and even some cliff jumps (optional, for the brave....!!). |
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The
group for each course is limited to six people per
Guide to ensure that you get good access, and learn
as much as possible, as we have found that a small
group on the mountain achieves and learns far more.
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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. |
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So
why choose Icicle? |
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We
are true specialists in ski touring. See our blog,
by clicking on the RSS logo (on the right). |
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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. |
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Our
prices are fixed in £ pounds sterling, to
protect you from euro currency fluctuations, so
that you can budget accurately. |
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We
have a team of over 30 IFMGA guides, and a resort
support team, who all want you to have the best
summit chances possible! For more details on the
guiding team and qualifications, please click
here. |
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Brief
Course Itinerary
The
itinerary of this course is adapted daily to cater for the best
snow conditions, and your improving ski level, but these details
should give an idea of what you can achieve during the week.
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| Sun |
Travel
to Zermatt to arrive in the hotel for the 19.00 meeting
with your Guide and the rest of your group. There is an
itinerary briefing and time for equipment checks. Briefings
are over by 20:00 and the Guide usually accompanies the
group for a drink in the bar. Night in Zermatt. |
| Mon |
Your first day is a test day of runs from the stunningly
located Gornergrat cable car. Starting from opposite the
main Zermatt train station, this train takes you up to
the start of the runs through a range of spectacular Alpine
vistas with stunning mountain peaks in every direction.
The slopes of the Riffelberg area are gentle and easy
to build your confidence and give you time to get your
ski legs back. Night
in Zermatt. |
| Tue |
Today
is based from the more challenging Stockhorn cable car.
Your
Guide will take you through the
huge untracked powder fields, with demanding runs through
the trees. As
Zermatt is both high in altitudes with an abundance of
north facing slopes, huge areas of powder snow or spring
(corn) can still be found many days after it falls
- and your Guide will know where to find it! Night in
Zermatt. |
| Wed |
The
most recognisable mountain in the world is the Matterhorn
which towers over Zermatt. Perfectly mountain shaped,
this mountain was used as the inspiration for Toblerone
chocolate. A week of off piste in Zermatt is not complete
without a day skiing the longest run in Zermatt from the
high Klein Matterhorn ski station where you can descend
all the way back to Zermatt past the North face of the
Matterhorn - a distance of over 17 kilometers, but you
are not just limited to the pistes.
Night in Zermatt. |
| Thu |
A
day of high adrenaline! Today is an opportunity to stray
further from the pistes and cable cars to try some 'hidden
gems' of Zermatt, with steep couloir skiing and some cliff
jumps. Night in Zermatt. |
| Fri |
This
is either a day for more challenging runs, or the opportunity
to upgrade to try a day of heli-skiing (see upgrades notes
below) - weather and conditions dependent). A big day!
Night in Zermatt. |
| Sat |
Breakfast,
then depart for home. It is also possible to extend your
stay in Zermatt for an extra night so you can enjoy a
day of extra free skiing unguided, and depart on the Sunday
(supplement payable). |
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| 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. |
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| Course
Prices |
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Standard
course
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5
full days IFMGA guiding, 1:6 max ratio
7 days holiday in total, Sunday-Saturday |
£1099 |
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Live
availability
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Click
on the planner logo to the right to
see the real time live course availability
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Secure
online booking system |
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Course Inclusions: 1) IFMGA Mountain Guides for five
days and all their fees and ski pass, 2) Pre course information
booklet, 4) Equipment discount voucher for UK kit shops, 5)
Accommodation in Zermatt (includes linen, bedding & towels),
Free 36 page technical Course Instruction Booklet. |
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| Exclusions:
1) Travel to and from Zermatt, 2) Cable Cars & uplift (ski
pass for week), 3) Ski / boot hire, 4) Personal laundry, telephone
calls, lunches, & any purchases in mountain huts / hotels
/ restaurants, 5) Transport outside the Zermatt valley, 6) Sunday
pre-dinner drinks & Friday celebratory meal & drinks,
7) Activities insurance, excess baggage charges. |
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| Notes:
The
loan of all avalanche safety kit is included (avalanche tranceiver,
avalanche probe and shovel). |
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| Upgrade
options |
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Avalanche
Skills Day
£49
(throughout the season) |
To
learn avalanche prediction, reutschblocks and use of avalanche
tranceivers. Course is available on any day during the
week (includes ARVA),
details. |
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