Ski Mountaineering Further Information

Our High-Calibre Guides

All of our Alpine ski guides hold the International Mountain Guides carnet (IFMGA) and are members of the British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG). They are expert skiers with the mountaineering judgement and instructional skills to ensure that each member safely achieves their full potential. The main personnel on our Ski-mountaineering courses are as follows:

Jim Blyth BMG IFMGA
Jim Blyth has been the Director of our Ski-mountaineering programme since their inception. He is a talented mountain guide and instructor who has also led a number of expeditions for Jagged Globe. He lives in France throughout the year with his wife and two children. Consequently, as you might imagine, he has excellent knowledge of the Alps, including the language, as well as of the mountains themselves. A native Scot, Jim is fluent in French and speaks German. Jim is taking a break from coordinating our Ski-mountaineering courses in 2008, as he is taking his family to live in New Zealand for a year.

Paul Farmer BMG IFMGA
Paul has been guiding since 1988 in Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Antarctica and further afield in the Greater Ranges. He is an IFMGA Guide who has been involved with Jagged Globe Scottish Winter Courses, Alpine Courses, Alpine Ice and Ski-Mountaineering Courses for many years. Paul also leads expeditions every now and again, most recently to Ama Dablam in Nepal. Paul has just bought a flat in the Alps, and is in the hot seat for the 2008 season as our Ski-mountaineering Course Director.

Rick Marchant BMG IFMGA
Rick is a fully qualified IFMGA guide and has been a resident of the Chamonix Valley for many years. He is a regular face on our Alpine Ice Courses and on our Ski-mountaineering programme. Rick has worked for the British Antarctic Survey and has guided many of the famous peaks in South America, including Alpamayo, Huascaran and Pisco in Peru, Aconcagua in Argentina and Illimani in Bolivia. Most recently, he led a successful Ama Dablam expedition for us. Rick is fluent in both French and Spanish.

Ski Mountaineering grades

Our three-tiered grading system should help you make the best selection of course:

Introductory
Designed for those who want an introduction to Ski mountaineering/touring. To enjoy these courses and for you to take advantage of the instruction being offered, you will have some previous off-piste experience and you should be able to ski linked, short radius turns confidently. When we are not based overnight in the valley, we either do day tours from huts, or a short hut-to-hut tour at the end of the week, allowing you to ski with just a light pack. You should bring along your sense of humour and a desire to learn!

Intermediate
To join these hut-to-hut tours, you need to be a competent off-piste skiers/ski mountaineers capable of skiing slopes up to 35° and ascending for 4 hours with a 10kg pack. A foundation course such as the Introductory Ski Mountaineering would be ideal preparation.

Advanced
Ski mountaineering requiring excellent skiing ability and control in all snow types. Steep slopes to 45°, carrying skis, axe and crampon work frequently encountered. You need to be able to enjoy ascending for 5 hours with a 12kg pack.

Guide to student Ratios

These are the maximum guide to student ratios:

Introductory Ski Mountaineering		1:6
Ski Bivio		1:6
Ski Haute Route		1:6
Ski Haute Maurienne		1:6
Ski Saas Fee 4.000ers		1:6
Ski Les Ecrins		1:4
Ski Japan		1:6

Travel and Transport

All course members are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the course venue.

Detailed travel advice will be provided along with the confirmation of your booking.

During the courses any travel will be by private car or public transport/taxi. The guides have cars which will be used whenever possible. Occasionally, it may be convenient to use course participants' cars for short journeys.

Accommodation and Food

Valley accommodation is in good standard hotels equating to 2 star quality. When not in the valley, we stay in Alpine huts ready to make an early start to climb a chosen route to a summit. The cost of all accommodation is included in the price of the course. The hotel accommodation is provided on a twin-share basis. A single room supplement is payable should you want to have a room to yourself. Mountain huts provide clean, basic dormitory accommodation.

All meals throughout the course are included in the cost except for lunch. Course members will need to provide their own lunch and drink on the hill each day.

Equipment

We provide all communal mountaineering equipment for the courses. You will need to provide your own personal clothing and equipment. This should include touring skis, ski-mountaineering boots, crampons, ice axe, rucksack and harness. We will send you a full equipment list with your booking confirmation. Skis and all other technical equipment is available to hire from each course venue. Please indicate your requirements on the Equipment Hire section of our Jagged Globe Account on our website.

Course Inclusions and Exclusions

The following paragraphs summarise what is included and excluded from our European course cost.

Inclusions

Valley accommodation in either a 2 star hotel or in a self-catering apartment, twin sharing, as given in the course description.
For ski-mountaineering courses when touring and using mountain huts, a shared dormitory bunk.
For all courses except those in Tignes, breakfast and dinner throughout including when in mountain huts. Tignes is provided self-catering throughout.
Instructional fees based on the published student to instructor ratio for the activity being undertaken. Ratios are in keeping with the recommendations laid down by BASI (British Association of Snowsport Instructors) the IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) and the BMG (British Mountain Guides Association) for Alpine Ski-Guiding.
All group ski-mountaineering equipment such as ropes and other technical equipment.
Ice axes, crampons and harnesses as required and when booked in advance.

Exclusions

Ski Passes.
Cable car and mechanical uplift costs of any sort.
Ski, boot and equipment hire.
Transport between the UK and the course venue.
The return journey from Zermatt to Chamonix following the completion of the Haute Route and any other taxi journeys or public transport used during the course.
Skiing, Mountaineering and travel insurance.
Lunch.
Personal skiing, climbing equipment and clothing.

*Please bring enough money with you to cover additional costs, especially cable cars and lunches. Credit cards are widely accepted and can be used for most cable cars. Insurance should be organised and paid for before you travel to the Alps.

Insurance

Insurance for helicopter rescue, medical and repatriation costs is mandatory. Full insurance cover for this and including cancellation or curtailment is available through us.

Up to 5 days - £40
Up to 10 days - £48
Up to 17 days - £59
Up to 24 days - £65

Please note that the insurance premium for Ski Japan is £200.

On-line booking

You can book any of our courses securely on-line by selecting your preferred dates and paying a deposit by credit/debit card of £150 per course (£300 for non-European tours). We will send you a confirmation of booking and comprehensive Joining Instructions, which includes travel information and a detailed equipment list...