La Grave, Europe’s mecca for freeride off piste skiing, with descents of up to 2300m vertical.
Situated at the bottom of the huge La Meije glacier peak, La Grave has it all for backcountry off piste skiers: diverse couloirs, steeps, tree lined snow bowls, ridge lines, gullies.
There are no marked runs, the gondola takes you up to 3200m in 30 minutes and from there, after taking in the breathtaking views from the glacier, an endless choice of north facing routes.
For this trip we have included our own mini bus so that we can access even more varied routes and different resorts for maximum flexibility.
This 6 day course includes 5 days skiing La Grave with a UIAGM guide and a Snoworks instructor per group, and 1 day (the last day) skiing in a neighbouring resort, with the Snoworks ski instructors.
Check your ski level here.
Helmet, off piste safety equipment, (transceiver, shovel & probe), touring skis (if you have them but not essential)
Situated in Les Hautes Alpes in France, La Grave is a traditional French village with a small amount of shops and bars, and dominated by the impressive La Meije glacier.
Accommodation:
We have included accommodation in the traditional Auberge Edelweiss for 7 nights from Sunday 21 March. It’s a converted coaching inn and suitated just a 5 minute walk from the main telepherique. It’s the perfect base for all the adventures this mountain offers, both in summer and winter. It has a lively bar that serves home made tapas and a restaurant with a superb choice of local dishes and an extensive wine list.
Travel Suggestions:
Fly to Geneva, Lyon or Grenoble. Please DO NOT book flights until advised by the office.
Backcountry La Grave 2 March 26
Diarmuid F Mar 15, 2026
La Grave is a special place, an iconic place with these massive almost vertical mountains that extend upwards from the village.
The village itself is quiet and very different from a typical bustling resort. It attracts a certain type for sure, with plenty of harnesses & ice axes on show. Don’t be put off by that however, as there is plenty of demanding but really enjoyable back county skiing available, without the need to be roped into the “Y Couloir”! (one look had me diving for cover).
Fred, our guide is a local legend while Matt from Snoworks played a blinder. Both helped to make it an incredible week.
Looking at pictures of the glacier in summer made me aware of the importance or local knowledge!
La Grave is a must go to destination in my opinion, particularly for those who enjoy the back country in St Anton.
Five stars & a great group of skiers from Snoworks.
Backcountry La Grave 2 March 26
Mike R Mar 18, 2026
5 reviews
As soon as this trip was available last summer I knew I just had to book it. As a previous client, I knew I could rely on Snoworks expertise to allow me to ski and experience this backcountry Mecca safely. I felt the trip was undersold – it was a ski safari, a backcountry, a ski tour, a steep and deep and a bumps course all in one! I was able to plan for every actuality ahead of the trip (I’m fairly new to touring and hired an ABS bag, and up to date with avi training before the trip, so as not lose any time skiing), so would stress that this trip covers skinning and boot packs at times and always in the backcountry inherent with its risks. My fitness was needed to make the most out of every experience over the full-on days. With only a few lifts in La Grave, I knew we’d have to earn our turns sometimes. I was glad that we had minibus access from the Sunday to Friday in-resort. The ski safari allowed us to visit Alp D’huez and Serre Chev. to find a variety of terrain. A little more experience and lift pass pre-prep in these domains would have enhanced our day, but our instructor/guide and a guest who knew the resorts made sure we covered some good terrain. With the addition of a day off piste in Serre Chavalier, we covered a massive area over the week. We benefited from excellent accommodation at the Auburge Edelweiss. Rooms were comfy, and The owners went above and beyond with hospitality and any dietary request was easily handled with great variety of food at dinner. Breakfast was good, but a cooked egg option would have been the icing on the cake. A 5 min walk to the most friendly and best ski shop in town to collect our skis and our guide every day ensured we were able to start our day ready for first lift, knowing that we probably catch the last lift up at the end of the day as well!. Matt our instructor always prepped us with the plan for the day well in advance. La Grave’s ski domain is enormous. Fred was the most excellent and safest guide I’ve ever had. Both his and Matt’s attitude to having a fun and safe time were superb. This was demonstrated when we bumped into another party who had an unfortunate incident with a bergshrund, in an area just 30m or so away from where we were guided past with safety. Feedback from Matt and Fred on my skiing was spot on, meaning I am starting to enjoy(!) couloirs more and more now. The deep snow didn’t arrive for us and conditions were hard, but if the stars align, I’d consider going back. La Grave’s ski domain is like skiing within a local community, like the old days when we were starting out before resorts were lift linked. They’re aren’t many places like this left, and it’s future remains uncertain, so if you’ve got the skills, the energy and don’t like to follow the masses, follow Snoworks instead and use their experience to provide the access to the people and the broad domain of La Grave
Snoworks makes dreams and lifetime memories happen. I cannot speak highly enough of the Snoworks team and courses. To sum things up I travelled in a plane for 24 hours from Australia to Europe to ski with Snoworks in 2024 and had such a good time that I did it again in 2025.
Really enjoyed the course. Fantastic instruction from Euan, always felt he had the right balance of pushing us but keeping us safe. Really good people on the course, sociable and great to ski with. My off piste skiing definitely improved, can’t wait to do more! Thank you for a great week. I look forward to doing more Snoworks courses!