Alpine guides knowledge base.

Alpine guides knowledge base Here you’ll find an overview of our 2026 off piste skiing and ski touring season. Technical Clothing. We offer a wide range of specialist ski touring holidays and backcountry ski courses, developed over many years skiing throughout Europe and further afield. You should arrange outward travel on Saturday, arriving by 5-6pm latest in time for the briefing at your accommodation. Please visit our Equipment Hire page for recommended hire shops in your resort, and Alpine Guides hire equipment price list. BMG members work as Mountain Guides in the UK, Europe and further afield in the world’s famous skiing areas and high mountain ranges. Interestingly, many Scottish Mountain Guides and also some of the leading young mixed activists, use Nikwax Paramo products. Weather and Avalanche Conditions on the Haute Route. Kev is a full time guide, based in the Chamonix valley where he lives with his wife. Take a look at our axe boot and crampon advice page for more info on the above. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 2 and Tech Level 1/2 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines). Please check out our trips and courses, meet our IFMGA Guides, and take a look at our Knowledge Base plenty more information and advice. You should have previous alpine experience and be capable of climbing grade IV rock (Hard Severe) or above and Scottish IV on ice to get the most from this week. It is the second largest island in Norway and variously known as ‘the magic island’ or ‘Norway in miniature’, due to the wide variety of scenery present on the island. Visit the Knowledge Base section of our website or our blog for equipment advice. Mar 26, 2025 · Alpine IQ - User Guides About Alpine Guides; Plan Your Ski Trip; Ski Knowledge Base; Blog and Trip Reports; Contact Us +44 (0)113 815 1904 . Hiring Equipment Faction Agent 3 - Black Crows Corvus Freebird - Elan Ripstick Tour 104 - Line Vision 108 Huts in the region vary from the large, fully catered Kebnekaise Fjallstation – which has electricity, showers and restaurant service, like a well appointed alpine hut – to the smaller Salka, Nallo and Tarfala cabins, which have just 11-25 bed spaces, a warden and a self catering kitchen where we need to take our own food. We work with various manufacturers including Arc’teryx, whose products we can thoroughly recommend. Rich is super organised and a great communicator, so deals with enquiries, bookings and pre trip planning and will be your main contact point for help and support in the run up to your trip. Strength and Flexibility Training. The course provides 2 days of intensive scrambling and easy rock climbing, linking routes to provide 500m+ of technical ascent each day. Accommodation. Click or tap this notice to hide. 29 Dalmore Road, St. In the winter months he heads up the Alpine Guides ski program and in the summer works in both the UK and the Alps, guiding trips and leading alpine training courses. The professionalism and leadership shown during the trip is what you expect from a Guide but it’s always impressive especially given the navigation on Thursday on the glacier, partly in white out, amongst the crevasses and all with a broken ski, what a star! Summer Alpine Kit List. Like all multiday alpine hut tours, when skiing the Haute Route you will be traversing avalanche terrain and crossing glaciers along sections of the route each day – so reasonable weather and sufficiently stable snow conditions are required in order to complete the whole route. This is an intermediate level trip. Suitability. For basic skills training and glacier trekking we can operate up to 1:6. It is an essential skill that improves greatly with experience, so any practice on easier climbs in the UK is time well spent – such as a north wales scrambling course. g. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please get in touch! Purchasing Equipment Backcountry UK in Otley offer an excellent walking boot fitting service and general equipment advice. We can offer tailored versions of our standard trips in Chamonix, Cogne, La Grave and Norway just for you and your team, with your own guide, on dates of your choice. All the little details I didn't know surprised me. An overview of our Alpine Mountaineering, Alpine Ice, and UK Rock Climbing and Mountaineering seasons. The hotel offers an excellent buffet breakfast, an afternoon snack buffet, comfortable rooms, and a wellness area with a sauna and steam bath etc. Saturday. We operate what we believe is the finest mountaineering school in the country. Advice for Skiers from Overseas We ski with an increasing number of clients from the USA, Canada and other countries each year, so here are some considerations for those making the long haul across the Atlantic or They are usually located in strategic positions, as a base for climbing nearby peaks, or as a stopover connecting glacier basins or alpine valleys. For advice on our range of alpine training courses, please visit our Choosing an Alpine Climbing Course page. If you have a smaller group – no problem. Features: As per the leggings above, light or mid weight base layer tops are definitely best for ski touring – so you should be looking in the 120-200g weight range, preferably at the lower end (ie avoid ‘expedition weight’ models, which are too warm most of the time). If you have a larger group ie 4+ people, you will need 2 guides for anything involving mountaineering. Regularly lead multipitch E1+ trad rock / ice and mixed routes at Scottish 5+ or WI5 / alpine routes at grade D and above. He particularly enjoys ski touring and off piste skiing, as well as technical rock and mixed climbing and as a former teacher, he loves how guiding enables him to pass his skills and love of the mountains on to his clients. Assuming you have a good base level of cardiovascular fitness, then the best way of preparing for the season, to improve your ski performance and reduce the risk of injury is by adopting a program of ski specific strength, power and flexibility training (however, you must do the right kind of exercises – eg research has shown that standard leg presses on a Our Ski Tech Levels. Insurance For this trip you must have specialist travel insurance providing medical, emergency search/rescue and repatriation cover for off piste skiing and ski touring, as outlined in the trip itinerary. If you are a new customer or need help choosing a trip, then please get in touch via this form. Setting A Reference Altitude In order to get going you need to first set your watch at a known reference altitude at the start of each day – that is, set the altitude reading on the watch at a point where you know the height accurately on the ground (eg. Their fast drying/fast wicking properties are ideal for the Scottish climate and this is the kind of ethos you should be aware of when choosing a layering system. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 3 and Tech Level 3 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines below). Wicking thermal top – long sleeved and light colour is ideal! On Sunday morning you will transfer to our main hotel base for the week – the comfortable Parkhotel Matrei in the mountain village of Matrei am Brenner. BMG members work as Mountain Guides in the UK, Europe and further afield in the world’s famous climbing areas and high mountain ranges. The longest or highest mountaineering routes may have a really early breakfast (e. On this course we will develop your current mountaineering skills and adapt them to the alpine environment – so you need good general fitness and previous experience using an axe/crampons (eg Scottish grade I/II climbs, alpine climbs), and also some rock climbing experience to V Diff standard, gained in either the UK or on a previous Alpine trip. 3 days of skills training days based in Chamonix, followed by a mini hut tour with stunning views of the Mont Blanc massif. Jan, my guide, helped to fill in any gaps in my climbing knowledge. Gav was a great guide, and would recommend him/Alpine Guides to anyone that’s thinking of doing the course. Our base for the week is the amazing, family run 3* Fiori Dolomites Experience Hotel in San Vito di Cadore, 10km south of Cortina D’Ampezzo. com. Please contact one of our recommended hire shops at your course base and order them well in advance – let them know your objectives plus your ski level, and they will advise on the best setup for your needs. info@alpine-guides. You need to be an experienced ski mountaineer with previous week long hut to hut touring experience, including some roped climbing or cramponing experience in order to join this tour. Please check out our trips and courses, meet our IFMGA Guides, and take a look at our Knowledge Base for plenty more information and advice. Alpine Guides Climbing Program. “I’ve been using Alpine Guides ever since my first forays into alpine and ice climbing and without fail I’ve been 100% happy. Hiring your own private guide is a flexible way to go – whether you’re an individual or a small group we can offer winter skills for general mountaineering, alpine training courses, coaching in ice and mixed climbing, or guiding on any of Scotlands great classics. Alpine huts or ‘Refuges’ are uniquely positioned in the high mountains, often in spectacular and improbable situations – worth the journey for the views alone! They offer food, shelter, a bed for the night and form an intricate network throughout the major alpine regions. Transceiver Manufacturers Recommendations. Ski travel information, to help you reach your course base/meeting point. Our course base is the friendly and comfortable Hotel La Barme in Valnontey, just 5 mins from the alpine village of Cogne, and within walking distance of many classic ice lines: just put on your boots after breakfast and walk to your route! Suitability. The rest of the year he works for the company whilst trying to spend as much time running, cycling and bouldering as possible. Hotel. A number of the days are 6-8 hours long, involving long mountain rock routes and some exposed ridge terrain; so you need good levels of hillwalking fitness and either some PD-AD alpine experience, or V Diff – Severe outdoor rock climbing Days 1 and 2. Please enter a valid email address. Visit the Knowledge Base section of our website, where we publish an annual review of the years best new skis, boots and touring equipment, plus a range of other A British Mountain Guide is an IFMGA Guide, which put simply, means an internationally qualified guide with the knowledge and skills to lead parties in the world’s most challenging mountain environments. If you want to start leading uk rock climbs using leader placed protection, then this is the course for you! The course involves 2 days of climbing training and coaching, where we teach you all the skills required for trad leading, as well as a range of topics including movement skills, trad climbing grades and crag etiquette etc. 29 Dalmore Road, Our Family Ski Touring Course is great for families with fit and active children who would like to escape the pistes and experience the magic of ski touring. Our base is the cozy Pri Martinu Inn, in Kranjska Gora. This breadth of knowledge provides a sound base for all of our skiing and climbing programs. Al, our guide had a wealth of knowledge and was a brilliant guide. This is an to introductory level course. Get in touch to hire a ski guide in Europe! Hiring your own private guide is the most flexible way to enjoy the guided skiing experience. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 3-4 and Tech Level 3-4 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines below). Ski Travel Planning. Please take a look at our program, meet our IFMGA Guides, and check out our Knowledge Base for lots of useful information and advice. Alpine huts or ‘Refuges’ are uniquely positioned in the high mountains, often in spectacular and improbable situations – worth the journey for the views alone! They are usually located in strategic positions, as a base for climbing nearby peaks, or as a stopover connecting glacier basins or alpine valleys. The Black Sea region of Turkey lies in the far north east of the country, close to the border with Georgia. Using Alpine Huts. Senja Island lies at 69 degrees north, ie some 300km north of the arctic circle, on the north west coast of Norway. Just like to say a big thank you for the trip, we certainly saw the wilderness of the Bernese Oberland. Sign up for our newsletter for regular updates from Alpine Guides. Alpine Guides took care of all of the logistics for us and made it super easy. Very experienced climber. All French, Swiss and Italian Huts provide hut slippers, so you don’t need to bring any on hut tours to these nations. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 3+ and Tech Level 3+ (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines below). We are Alpine Guides Limited, whose company Hotels. Hamish is an excellent guide and did a great job balancing the skills of the group and making everybody feel like they were getting to do something at their level, managing the decision-making and communicating that out on the routes, and generally being a sound person to spend time with. Austrian and Scandinavian huts do not provide hut slippers, so either walk around in your socks/ski inner boots, or bring some Crocs or lightweight slippers for these countries (a pair of hotel slippers are perfect, or buy some down camping slippers for a bit of luxury!) Please enter a valid email address. *Course Price with or without valley accommodation included. Our course base and meeting point is the friendly and comfortable Hotel Edelweiss in La Grave, run by British/Dutch couple Robin and Marlon. Excellent wider bodied touring skis are now available in the ~2. Alpine Guides Ltd. 5 days ago · Alpine Ascents International leads expeditions that have become benchmarks of quality in the climbing community. If you mainly climb with guides or seldom lead climb, you have very extensive experience climbing at this level. Great accommodation, excellent food and a fantastic guide, all at an unbeatable price. Rooms are provided on a twin sharing basis, but if you wish to book a single room please let Please visit our Equipment Hire page for recommended hire shops in your resort, and Alpine Guides hire equipment price list. Long Sleeved Base Layer Top – the classic ‘base layer’. Our base for the week is La Chaumiere Mountain Lodge, situated just outside Chamonix in a quiet area, yet just 5 mins walk into town. 5-3kg weight range, that ski really well in all the conditions you typically find on a longer tour – whereas for the very lightest skis you may notice a drop off in performance, which you have to make up for with better technique (ie what may be Ok for locals and Guides isn’t A good, up to date alpine training manual written by our friend and fellow British Mountain Guide, Bruce Goodlad. Ski and Boot Hire. For advice on selecting a trip, please visit our Choosing a Ski Touring Holiday page, and for advice on choosing a skills development course, check out our Choosing a Ski Touring Course page. Alpine Guides – webcams, weather and avalanche forecasts How does it compare to Scotland? Its tricky to use this as a bench mark, as there are few routes in Scotland to compare to the sustained flows of water ice found overseas and the quality of the ice is often very different. Also check out the Alpine Guides Blog/Twitter/Facebook pages for skiing conditions postings from guides on the hill (in season). Alpine Guides Ski Program. About Alpine Guides; Plan Your Ski Trip; Ski Knowledge Base; Blog and Trip Reports; Contact Us +44 (0)113 815 1904 . . Austrian and Scandinavian huts do not provide hut slippers, so either walk around in your socks/ski inner boots, or bring some Crocs or lightweight slippers for these countries (a pair of hotel slippers are perfect, or buy some down camping slippers for a bit of luxury!) Hotels. The trip was excellent and we all got a lot out of it. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 2-3 and Tech Level 3 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines below). To take part you should be at Fitness Level 3 and Tech Level 3+ (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines below). Our guide Will listened to our goals, quickly assessed our skill levels and tailored the entire Technical Alpine Climbing Course around us. You need previous alpine climbing experience on longer PD-AD routes, involving scrambling on rock and the use of ice axe and crampons in order to enjoy the Monte Rosa week. In addition to the guides fee, the following expenses are payable during your trip (guides receive a discounted rate on cablecars and in mountain huts): Hotels (no guide hotels payable if climbing in Chamonix, our seasonal base) Mountain huts; Uplift We offer a diverse collection of backcountry ski holidays in Europe, including specialist ski touring holidays and backcountry ski courses, brought together from many years of skiing and ski guiding Worldwide. In Send (Transmit) Mode: keep your mobile phone and any other electronics, magnets and metal objects at least 20cm away from your transceiver when it’s in send (transmit) mode – ie when skiing. The Edelweiss is an excellent base with very good food (and a huge wine list!), drying room, wifi access, a sauna/spa, and a cosy bar – a great place to relax after a day in the mountains. It is owned and run by local mountain guide Bent Vidar Eilertsen as a self catering skiers and climbers lodge – formerly a fishermans cottage, it now makes a stunning base from which to explore the island, and is a very comfortable place to hang out. The thing that stands out the most was how towards the end of the trip he stepped back and let us plan the days/routes and just let us get on with it. Now that I have had my skills assessed, I feel much more confidant with my decision making while on the rock. A British Mountain Guide is an IFMGA Guide, which put simply, means an internationally qualified guide with the knowledge and skills to lead parties in the world’s most challenging mountain environments. Home / Skiing / Knowledge Base / Ski Touring Equipment Advice Updated Nov 2024 for the 2024-2025 winter season. A typical day in a hut Most huts will have two or three set breakfast times for different routes/destinations. Skiing on Senja. at a definite point on the map or a place of known altitude such as a car park, mountain hut, cable car station etc). Scott Pure Mission 98Ti - Elan Ripstick 96 - Elan Ripstick Tour 94 - Black Crows Orb Freebird Faction Agent 3 - Black Crows Corvus Freebird - Elan Ripstick Tour 104 - Line Vision 108 Wicking thermal top – ie a ‘base layer’ not cotton please… Thermal leggings – base layer ‘long johns’, light or mid weight (ie not exped weight!) Socks – specialist ski socks, or a warm loop lined pair of mountain socks; Thin inner gloves; Warm ski gloves – or mittens, if you suffer from cold hands; Warm hat; Personal Items Suitability. The mountains here are a mix of forested alpine terrain and a high open plateau with summits up to 3000m, making for great contrasting scenery and access to different micro climates in order to find the best snow. NB All of our trips are 100% off piste/backcountry skiing, so the following descriptions refer to your off piste ski ability, not your piste skiing ability (eg on a typical 1-10 piste skiing scale, level 7-10 = level 1-2 on our off piste scale) The size of your team, and nature of your intended trip will determine the guides fee. 2. This expertise is based upon years of accumulated experience-not just from individual mountain guides, but through experience on particular mountains Using Alpine Huts. 2026 Ski Touring Holidays – Dates and Prices. Hugely enjoyable holiday and couldn’t recommend enough! Trip Info. Elias Alpine Guides was started in McCarthy in 1978 by legendary climber Bob Jacobs who wanted to explore even more remote wilds and was feeling like Denali was getting too crowded even back in the 70s! The current owners worked as guides for the company for many years before taking over the business and are only the third owners in 40 years! With over 25 years experience guiding on the world's highest peaks, Northwest Alpine Guides brings a wealth of knowledge to our climbers. About Alpine Guides; Knowledge Base; Plan Your Trip; Sign up for our newsletter for regular updates from Alpine Guides. Your guide will run through safety routines and kit checks, as well as hand out any rental equipment for the week, before we go on to a detailed discussion of everyone’s ambitions for the week, together with the current weather and mountain conditions and how The trip was amazing thanks. Their knowledge and approach means that when others are sitting in the valley waiting for a break in the weather, we’ve shifted objectives and carried on climbing – so my hard earned holiday time isn’t wasted. A big thank you to Island Alpine Guides and Jan Neuspiel for helping to make my rock climbing journey safer. Many of us also have a teaching or instructional background, which allows us to deliver clear and well structured coaching and skills based courses. 1am for Mont Blanc), whilst most ski tours have a 5-6am breakfast. The Inn is a friendly place full of character and located in the centre of the village, close to ski hire shops, bars, restaurants and bakeries, all within walking distance of the local pistes and in the heart of the regions’ best touring terrain. Create your perfect alpine ice climbing holiday! Our bespoke ice trips offer guiding services and accommodation, packaged together for a hassle free holiday. This is usually in the village of Hathersage in the Peak National Park, in the heart of the Derbyshire climbing area just 5 mins from some of the best crags in the country (or pickups can be arranged from nearby if nec – please get in touch). About Alpine Guides; Plan Your Trip; Knowledge Base; Sign up for our newsletter for regular updates from Alpine Guides. This is an advanced level trip. You will find a ‘Location and Travel’ section on each trip page with details of nearest airports and how to travel to your resort, or ski tour start point. As a minimum standard you need to be a good piste skier – ie you cruise reds, black runs are challenging but fun and you have ventured off piste between the runs occasionally. You need previous ski touring experience to join this tour – if you are a strong/fit skier, just a few previous days ski touring will be enough. Meet in morning for Course Briefing. The maximum guiding ratio for alpine mountaineering trips is 1:4 – ie one IFMGA guide working with 4 clients. Alpine Guides Please enter a valid email address. You need previous alpine climbing experience and must be capable of climbing grade IV rock (Hard Severe) in boots with a sac on, as well as Scottish III to succeed on these objectives. Sign up. We’ll get back to you ASAP to confirm availability, answer any questions you may have, and also to collect a few more details regarding your general outdoor/climbing experience. All of the major transceiver manufacturers make recommendations about the use of electronics: 1. Scott Pure Mission 98Ti - Elan Ripstick 96 - Elan Ripstick Tour 94 - Black Crows Orb Freebird Alpine Climbing Conditions - mountain weather forecasts, latest conditions posts, hut and cable car information and mountain webcams around the Alps. Had a fantastic time on the alpine mountaineering skills course with Alpine Guides. Our Matterhorn Training Weekends based in North Wales are designed to help you prepare for an ascent of this iconic mountain. Skiing in Northeast Turkey. The course was really well thought through on the skills to learn and how best to get through them based on conditions during the week. We offer a wide range of specialist climbing holidays and training courses, brought together from many years of climbing, mountaineering and guiding throughout Europe. Our best piece of ski touring equipment advice is a simple one: when it comes to ski touring kit, it’s worth remembering the old adage that every extra kilo on your back knocks 10% off your enjoyment of the descents. Home / Skiing / Knowledge Base / Using Alpine Huts / skihut2-520×390. Arcteryx Rho Hybrid 1/2 Zip Neck. Ski and boot hire is available at local ski shops in most areas. Moving Together Of all the alpine climbing advice that we give, moving together efficiently will save you more time than anything else. They offer food, shelter, a bed for the night and allow climbers to move fast and light through the mountains, without the need to carry heavy bivouac equipment. Our level 1 Chamonix Alpine Mountaineering Course is designed to give you the skills to climb safely and independently in the Alps, or will provide you with a foundation to enjoy our more technical alpine climbing holidays in the future. Written from the perspective of climbers coming from a background of mountaineering in the Uk, the book also contains a useful recommended routes section at the back, to guide you on your early alpine climbs. His outdoor career started in the UK as a mountaineering instructor and kept progressing to become an Alpine Guide (one of the best jobs in the world!) Nowadays he balances his time guiding in the UK, Alps and beyond, with personal trips that have stretched as far west as America and far to the East in India. The hotel is a friendly place and well set up for ski touring, with a generous breakfast, 4 course evening meal, access to a ski service and boot drying room, and a sauna and steam room. With no fixed costs or rigid itineraries, you can stay super flexible, selecting venues and objectives to suit the weather, snow conditions and aspirations. Welcome to Alpine In the winter season we are dedicated ski tourers and backcountry skiers with a wide ranging knowledge of European touring regions beyond our seasonal base in Chamonix. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 2-3 and Tech Level 2 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines). The hotel is well set up for our mountaineering guests, with a comfortable bar, good local food and quick access to the local uplift network. A good guide for the length for a walking axe is that when you allow your arm to hang straight while holding the axe as normal, it should reach just above your boot/ankle. 29 Dalmore Road, Please enter a valid email address. Above all, alpine climbing kit needs to do the job, but be as light as possible. Black Crows Camox Freebird - Dynastar M-Tour 99 - Salomon 96 Carbon - Zag Ubac 95 Lady Please enter a valid email address. gnpxc ldvgprfu sjdhya vmip qplcov cdzcs cghy bvppwvq krdm bstegm pngpxv cjyvnhv jyc drka xnygyv