If you really want to get away from the madding crowds and discover virgin, untouched terrain, then ski touring is the answer. Sometimes, just a short walk of 20 or 30 minutes is all it takes for you to have the mountain to yourself – amazing views, total freedom – and of course, all that pristine, untracked powder to ski!
Modern, lightweight equipment has made ski touring much more accessible, and most of our regular clients are permanently equipped with touring gear and have their skins in their backpacks all the time – skis, bindings and boots have now evolved to the point where skiability is not affected, and yet the equipment is still sufficiently lightweight so as not to compromise the climb. If you don’t have your own gear it’s easy enough to rent, and our friends at Mountain Pro Shop will give you a discount as an iSki-Val customer.
We’re a tight-knit team of highly experienced mountain professionals in Val d’Isere. Off-piste and backcountry skiing are our specialities, but we also offer a range of other services including technical lessons, snowboarding, telemark, and heli-skiing!
We’re a tight-knit team of highly experienced mountain professionals in Val d’Isere. Off-piste and backcountry skiing are our specialities, but we also offer a range of other services including technical lessons, snowboarding, telemark, and heli-skiing
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Chris has been living and skiing professionally in the Tarentaise valley for over 30 years. His principal playground is the Espace Killy but for those wishing to explore further afield, he is also very familiar with the Paradiski area, Sainte-Foy and the Three Valleys.
Hugely experienced, his mission is to find the best conditions for your ability and safety and to improve your technique and mountain knowledge along the way.
His mountain talents have clearly also filtered down to the next generation – after just 3 years as a member of the French ski mountaineering team, Chris’s daughter Emily has brought home the World Cup two years running.
Melvin is a dynamic young instructor who was practically brought up either on skis or on the water. A fully qualified ski instructor with a passion for freeride and freestyle, Melvin is equally at home on skis or on a snowboard. During the summer, he leaves the mountains behind and heads for the Atlantic coast where is also a qualified sailing and wakeboard instructor. Oh, and he is also a talented speed-rider. In short, there is no end to his talents and he is a fantastic asset to the team.
Didier is what you might call a “skier’s skier”. He spent many years as a trainer and coach with ENSA, the national training school for ski instructors, in parallel with his career within the UCPA where, as chief instructor at the centres of Tignes, Val d’Isere and Les Deux Alpes, he was also responsible for the training of young instructors. Didier is without doubt the best technician of the team, and enjoys the challenge of refining his technique to adapt to the new technologies and materials that are available to skiers today. His main activity within iSki remains off piste skiing, but teaching those who are willing to learn, whatever their level, remains a passion. He is also an extraordinary telemarker (and hence telemark instructor) and can occasionally be seen leading his off piste groups on telemark skis.
After an initial – and successful – career in business following his university degree, Philippe finally decided to follow his true passion which was skiing. Having skied competitively at club level from a fairly early age, he was able to qualify as an instructor with relative ease, and since then has devoted himself to off piste skiing and ski touring around the Tarantaise.
Hugely experienced, Philippe also teaches all levels of the “MetaSki” teaching system, a scientific approach that complements body mechanics and is often far more successful than traditional techniques for nervous skiers or those experiencing some kind of “skiers block”.
A fluent French speaker, Kiera is an important member of the team as she manages all the planning as well as email and phone traffic. An excellent skier herself, she can often be spotted “tail-gating” one of our off-piste groups, helping out if necessary, but otherwise just enjoying herself.
