An off-piste week with UCPA in Val d’Isère

Training, the group and the evening rhythm

Take the avalanche training seriously. There are always things to improve, and one day that training could make the difference between your friend surviving or being injured.

After skiing, the guide gathers the group to talk through the day: how it felt, whether everyone feels they are in the right group, and some plans for the rest of the week. Then there is the familiar rhythm of fika, time in the bar and dinner.

Photo supplied by Fredrik

Tuesday: more off-piste, with technique along the way

Tuesday usually starts with skiing again at 08:45. The difference is that it is now all off-piste skiing, perhaps with some technique exercises depending on how the group is made up. You might practise short turns in very steep terrain, for example, or different techniques for different types of snow. There are tips along the way, but above all there is more skiing.

I usually find Tuesday a lively, enjoyable day. Everyone is very motivated. There will probably be another avalanche-training session in the afternoon, this time with practical exercises. Afterwards, the evening follows the same rhythm again.

Wednesday: a free morning and a guided afternoon

Wednesday morning is free from the instructors. Some people make Tuesday their night out because they can have a lie-in the next morning. Others take the opportunity to ski with friends or people they know who are in the resort.

Then Wednesday afternoon is instructor-led again, choosing the off-piste runs that are most suitable that day.

Thursday: a day over in Tignes

It is quite common to spend Thursday in Tignes. We ski there for the whole day and have lunch at the UCPA centre in Tignes. It is a very enjoyable outing: different scenery, different runs and different food, too.

That change is usually much appreciated. It is quite a long day, and you tend to be tired when you get back. The evening rounds off in the same way as the other days.

Friday: the last guided day, then karaoke

Friday is the last day with an instructor, so the level can step up a little further. You usually find yourself wishing you had more days than you do, but Friday is the last one.

There is usually a bigger party in the evening, with karaoke and entertainment in the bar.

Saturday: a last ski morning and hamburger lunch

If your flight is in the afternoon, you may be able to ski until noon on Saturday. There is usually a very good hamburger lunch that day. If you can stay long enough to have it, I would.

Most people, though, need to leave early on the transfer buses on Saturday morning. An extra ski morning needs to fit your transfer, lift pass and equipment-return time.

Keep planning

• UCPA in Val d’IsèreSimple rooms in the old village, shared meals and a choice of coached or independent skiing. UCPA suits travellers who enjoy a social base and having the main parts of the trip organised together.
• Classic off-piste routes in Val d’Isère and TignesFrom the high valleys above Fornet to the couloirs and long descents of Tignes, these classics show how much variety lies beyond the pistes. Use the names to shape a day with your guide.
• Piste routes in Val d’Isère: connected ski outingsBuild a day around a gentle Solaise lap, Bellevarde’s green circuit, the red Arcelle or the black Face de Bellevarde. Each outing joins the lifts and pistes, with its level and a clear way back to the village.