Lou Reynolds Mountain Guide
WAAC Introduction to Ski Touring Course - 31st January- 5th February 2027
Running on behalf of the Womens Alpine Adventure Club
Discover the magic of ski touring in the beautiful Haute Maurienne along side a group of like minded women and a female mountain guide and ski instructor.
About the course
Based in Bourg Saint Maurice we have a plethora of terrain at our finger tips. The brilliant ski resort of Les Arcs to warm up our ski legs and access some excellent off -piste ski descents. Only a stones throw away we have the beautiful and wild Beaufortain region, to delve into hut assisted ski touring expeditions. This trip will consist of three days learning the basic skills whilst sleeping in the valley, followed by a two day mini adventure with an overnight in a mountain refuge to put all the learning into practice.
Example Itinerary
Afternoon of the 31st: Arrive and collect any ski equipment, meet and greet and group dinner.
Day 1: Warm up day. Ski around Les Arc on and off-piste looking at ski technique and tools for dealing with off-piste snow conditions.
Day 2: Introduction to ski touring up hill, turning and skinning techniques, route choice, navigation, snow and avalanche awareness and transceiver training
Day 3: Day tour in a different part of the area with more skills training along the way.
Day 4: Set off from Pars on route to the Refuge Nant du Beurre in the Beaufortain national park. Spend the night at a beautiful alpine refuge which will provide dinner and breakfast in a magical setting and give us time to discuss route planning and answer questions from the week.
Day 5: Ski journey from the refuge back down to the valley rounding off all the skills we have learnt. Taxi back to Bourg Saint Maurice where we will grab a drink and tasty treat whilst rounding up the week.
Depending on the weather and conditions this itinerary could change, and every trip is unique but we will endeavour to cover all the skills and techniques to give you a good foundation in Ski Touring, whatever the weather.
This is the perfect place to learn all the ski touring skills, under the guidance and instruction of a female IFMGA Mountain Guide and BASI level 3 ski instructor, so you can venture off on your own ski touring adventures with more confidence in the future.
To find out a bit more about your guide, click the button below...
What our guests say about last years course
"Brill course, ace guide, amazing group and some of the most challenging and best skiing I have ever done! Lou was fantastic at making sure there were options for all levels of skiing within the group, and worked so hard to keep everyone comfortable and happy. I definitely gained skills and friends for life through this course, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to take their skiing up a level."
Fern
"Thank you so much for such a fantastic week! Your brilliant coaching (who knew small changes could make such a big difference?!) combined with catering for my abilities within the group (or lack of! ;) ) made the week so enjoyable. I immediately felt safe with your guidance and thorough decision making. I also really appreciated your fun and supportive leadership throughout. You’re super professional, incredibly skilled and hugely knowledgeable - truly an inspiration!"
Sarah
We will learn...
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Ski technique skills to help deal with off-piste skiing and variable snow conditions.
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What kit to carry and how to use it.
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Learn how use our ski touring kit both up and downhill.
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Transceiver, shovel and probe training and avalanche rescue skills.
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Avalanche awareness training and how to read the snow.
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Planning and route choice.
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Basic ski touring navigation and emergency procedures in the alps.
Ski Level
You need to have recent experience of skiing in a ski resort with the ability to link medium radius turns on black pisted runs whilst controlling your speed and with the ability to stop or avoid obstacles whenever needed. You must have some experience skiing off-piste sections in a ski resort or as part of a back country descent. Skiers need to be confident that they can safely negotiate the off-piste equivalent of red runs in variable snow conditions. It does not need to look pretty but it needs to be safe and effective. You do not need to have any previous experience ski touring or mountaineering experience; we will learn all these skills during the week.
Fitness
You need to have current fitness, ability and experience out in the mountains hiking for 6- 7 hours at a time. You need to be comfortable going uphill for a few hours at a time with a day bag and keeping a pace of 200-300m altitude gain per hour. There will be days when we could do up to 1000m of ascent with a rucksack and at altitude.
Equipment
You will need a full ski touring set up which you can either bring with you or rent. If you need to rent the equipment please e-mail Lou with what equipment you need and she will help you arrange the equipment reservation.
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Skis
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Skins
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Ski touring boots.
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Poles
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Ski crampons.
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Transceiver
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Shovel
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Probe
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30L rucksack
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Ski helmet.
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Ski touring clothing (this can be rented from ECO Ski or similar kit to mountaineering wear.)
Lou will provide any group equipment safety equipment.
There will be a full kit list attached by e-mail once you have booked and paid a deposit.
Booking and Logistics
Price
£675 per person for five days guiding plus an afternoon briefing, kit check and group dinner on the the afternoon of the 31st January. This price includes all the guides expenses and travel. Please see additional cost information.
This course needs a minimum of five people to run at this price. In the rare case that we have less than five people booked on, we can discuss the option of continuing with a slight increase in price for the benefit of a smaller group.
Additional costs not included in this price
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Accommodation in the valley. ( previous groups have found accommodation in the valley together, to keep costs lower and creates good group cohesion.)
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Transport to Bourg Saint Maurice
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Transport whilst in Bourg Saint Maurice (buses and taxis)
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Lift pass whilst in Bourg Saint Maurice (maximum 3 days of lift passes ranging between €80 per day and €30.)
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Equipment rental (approximately €300 for the week)
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Food and lunches apart from the breakfast and dinner provided by the Alpine refuge.
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Overnight in Alpine refuge (approximately €52 for bed, dinner, and breakfast. You will need additional money for extra drinks and snacks at the refuge.)
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Alpine ski touring insurance e.g: BMC, Snowcard, Austria alpine club plus travel insurance.
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It is worth noting that the additional costs could arrive at around €300-€400 with buses, taxis, lift passes and a night in the refuge
Logistics
Travel
Air
You can fly to Geneva, Lyon and Grenoble which will have many flights going from the main UK airports throughout the winter.
There are regular transfers from the airport to Bourg Saint Maurice as well as train links to Bourg.
Land
The snow train going from London to Bourg Saint Maurice in just under 9 hours. For more information visit: https://www.thetrainline.com/en/train-companies/eurostar/eurostar-ski-train
If you choose to travel by train to and from your course, I am supporting this by offering 5% off your course fee. Check out this article Environment | Lou Reynolds Mountai from a client of mine who given you all the tips. To receive your discount please send me the copies of your train ticket bookings.
Accommodation
You will need to book your own accommodation in Bourg Saint Maurice that is within easy walking distance from the central ski stations and shops.
Some ideas:
Last years group booked an Airbnb all together which worked really well for group bonding, logistics and a nice base to meet and have briefings.
Another option would be to all stay somewhere like the Hotel Base Camp Lodge which is reasonably priced and serves food so that you can relax more in the evenings.
Camping Huttopia: There are options to rent a chalet individually or as a group, as well as space for camping and van camping so hopefully there will be something to suit everyone here. Jenny Dart and Lou have used this venue before and highly rate it.
Once we have a confirmed course and deposits, if everyone is happy to share contacts, I can create a whatsapp or emai group that you can then coordinate shared accommodation and travel.
Booking
To book your place please fill out a booking form by clicking the button below.
If you would like to enquire or find out more information you can e-mail Lou at info@loureynoldsmountainguide.com or call on +33749584705
On receipt of the booking form Lou will then ask you to pay a 25% non refundable deposit to secure your place on the course. Once the course has five members or more, we will confirm the course is running at which point, we encourage you to book your travel and accommodation.