Mont Thabor is a brilliant ‘off the radar’ touring region and also makes a great first hut to hut trip. We meet in the French ski touring capital of Briancon, before travelling to Nevache to complete an excellent six day tour around Mont Thabor.  The area is little visited by ski tourers from outside France, so the huts in the region are small and friendly with a great atmosphere.

Please visit our Covid-19 Ski Information page for Covid FAQs, details of our new participation requirements, travel advice and what to expect on your trip.

Tour Info

The terrain offers flexibility in terms of objectives and snow conditions, as various routes are possible around the range. We also plan to make a ski ascent of Mont Thabor itself, which is the highest peak in the range.  Numerous different objectives are available, to suit the ability and experience of the group.

Trip reports >> Mont Thabor Ski Tour report

Suitability

This is an introductory level trip. To take part you should be at Fitness Level 2-3 and Tech Level 2-3 (see our Fitness/Experience guidelines). You need some previous ski touring experience in order to join this tour – eg a weeks’ day touring is usually enough. As this is a multi day tour, if you haven’t skied with us before, then we may ask for a reference to confirm your experience/ski ability for the trip. The week includes 5-7 hour days with 700-1000m of climb a day, so you can expect to be skinning for 3-4 hours a day. Type of ascent: We use 100% skinning on this tour – approx 5500m skinning up and 5500m skiing down.

Guiding ratio

One IFMGA guide skiing with 6 clients, or occasionally 2:7, with one Aspirant guide joining the team too.

Included in price

• 6 days of guiding/instruction
• All guides expenses
• 2 nights accommodation in Briancon, including breakfast
• 5 nights accommodation in mountain huts, including breakfast and evening meals
• Transfer from Briancon to Nevache

Excluded from price (see course factsheet for cost estimates)

• Uplift
• Evening meals in Briancon
• Lunches and drinks
• Flights and transfers
• Insurance
• Equipment hire

Hotels

Our meeting point is at a comfortable hotel in Briancon. Rooms are provided on a twin (or occasionally triple) sharing basis, but if you wish to book a single room please let us know at the time of booking and we will confirm availability. Hotel details can be found on our Accommodation page.

Huts

For overnights in the high mountains we will use mountain huts. The huts in this region of the Alps are small, quiet and very friendly, with excellent food. For more info please read the Using Alpine Huts article which provides an overview of typical hut facilities, average costs to help you budget for lunches/drinks, and general info on hut etiquette.  Also, our Multiday Ski Touring FAQs page answers some of the most common questions we are asked about multi day ski touring and logistics etc.

ABTOT Protected

This trip is protected by ABTOT – Alpine Guides Ltd, Membership Number 5394.  For further information, please visit our Financial Protection page.

Saturday

You should arrange outward travel on Saturday, arriving by 6-7pm latest in time for the briefing at your accommodation. Your guide will run through kit checks and safety routines, as well as hand out any rental equipment, before going on to discuss the current weather and mountain conditions and how these affect our plans. Overnight in Briancon.

Sunday

Skin up to Refuge de Laval

Transfer to Val Claree/Nevache (20-30 mins drive).

We’ll drive as far as possible (ie however far the road has been ploughed!) before skinning up the Val de la Claree to the Refuge de Laval.

From here we’ll head out on a half day tour, including brushing up on some touring skills – we’ll choose an appropriate objective for the group, taking into account local snow and weather conditions. ~900m ascent, 500m descent ~5hrs.

Overnight in the hut.

Monday

Day Tour from Refuge de Laval

There are plenty of good day tours above the hut, on both the east and west sides of the valley.

We’ll choose a suitable objective to make use of the best snow conditions and weather at the time.

Both north facing and south facing descents are available, so there is almost always some good snow to be found in the area ~900m ascent and descent ~5hrs.

Overnight in the hut.

Tuesday

Refuge de Laval to Refuge des Dreyeres

Depending on snow conditions, two possible routes are available here – either east or west of the main valley – with both options traversing a high col to pick up a good descent to the hut. There is also a lower level route up the main Nevache Valley between the two huts if conditions are poor high up.  We’ll choose whichever route is best for current conditions.

~900m ascent, 800m descent, ~4-5hrs.

Overnight in the hut.

Wednesday

Traverse to Refuge du Thabor

Our route to the refuge du Thabor involves making a high level traverse through remote terrain, crossing 3 different cols.

Along the way, there may also be the opportunity to take in a ski summit.

A choice of routes is possible for the final col, so we’ll go for whichever option currently offers the best snow conditions. ~1050m ascent, 700m descent, 5-6hrs.

The Refuge du Thabor is a great hut, run be Cedric and Fanny who always offer a warm welcome and serve excellent food,

Overnight in the hut.

Thursday

Mont Thabor (3175m) to Refuge I Re Magi

Mont Thabor is the big, classic ski peak of the area and a fitting high point for the tour.

The route is long and intricate, crossing two cols and intervening valleys, in order to gain the final long summit slopes.

Here the skinning track leads up past the famous Chapelle du Mont Thabor, perched high on the mountain, before cutting left up to the summit.

The descent is first class, skiing long open slopes and bowls, down into the lost Vallee Etroite and the superb Refuge I Re Magi, where a warm welcome is assured.  800m ascent, 1450m descent, 5-6hrs.

Overnight in the hut.

Friday

Ski out to Nevache

On our final day we ski out to Nevache, back to our start point.  There are lots of options and different routes available depending on conditions, but one popular way out is to start the day by skinning back up the Vallee Etriote, before climbing around to the west and up to the  Col du Vallon.

This gives access to an excellent, long 1000m run leading directly back down to Nevache.  900m ascent, 1000m descent, 4-5hrs.

There’s usually time to visit a local bar or café for drinks and lunch here, before the pickup back to Briancon.

PM Transfer back to Briancon.

Course debrief and final hotel night.

Saturday

Return travel should be arranged on Saturday morning, after your final nights accommodation.

Your course base is Briancon on the northern edge of the Ecrins National Park. This mountain town sits amongst spectacular scenery and is close to a number of major resorts.

Arrival

The most common way to reach Briancon is to fly to either Grenoble Isere Airport or Turin Airport, then take a transfer bus from the airport to Briancon, or hire a car.

Flights and transfers

• Fly to Grenoble:
• There are 3 transfer buses to Briancon each Saturday, to connect with flights scheduled to land at up to ~15.00 – book tickets on the Bensbus  website – https://www.bensbus.co.uk/
• Four Saturday return Bensbuses run from Briancon back to Grenoble airport.

• Fly to Turin: https://www.skyscanner.net/
• Transfer bus from Turin airport to Briancon (7 times per day Sat/ 4 per day Sun). Visit the Linkbus website: https://www.linkbus-alps.com/en/ to download timetables and buy tickets.

Alternatively, hire a car from any airport – driving times to Briancon are 2hrs from Turin, 2.5hrs from Grenoble, 3.00hrs from Lyon and 3.30 hours from Geneva.  NB you must hire a car with winter tyres or snow chains – as you will be crossing high mountain passes in winter, where special equipment is compulsory.

Other travel options

• Driving from the UK, take the ferry or Eurotunnel to Calais/Dunkerque, then 10-12 hours driving on the French Autoroutes (budget approx 100 Euros each way in tolls).
• Euroline coach: www.eurolines.co.uk/en
• Eurostar train from the UK to Lyon, then onward train/bus as above: www.eurostar.com/uk-en

Further information and travel links can be found on our Travel Planning page.

To enjoy this trip you should be comfortable operating at Fitness Level 2/3, and Ski Tech Level 2/3:

Fitness Level 2
You do 2-3 hours cv training/sport per week. At this level you should be happy doing either a 3-4 hr hillwalk, cycling 30-40 miles or mountain biking 2-3 hours without being exhausted. On foot: you should be able to walk from Ogwen Cottage in North Wales up Glyder Fach – Glyder Fawr – Y Garn – Ogwen in ~5hrs. Or in the Lake District Langdale – Bowfell – Esk Pike – Angle Tarn – Langdale in ~ 6hrs. On skis: you are capable of off piste skiing all day or doing a couple of hours skinning with out finishing up exhausted – ie you can do this for a number of days without taking a rest day.

Fitness Level 3
You do 3-4 hours cv training/sport per week. At this level you are happy doing a 5-6 hr hillwalk, 40-50ml cycle or 3-4hr mountain bike ride without being totally exhausted. If you are into challenges – then the thought of doing a road sportive, or training to do a 1/2 (or maybe even a full) marathon, wouldn’t seem too ridiculous. On foot: you should be able to do the full Langdale Horseshoe: Langdale – Pike of Stickle – Angle Tarn – Bow Fell – Crinkle Crags – Pike of Blisco – Langdale in a day without finishing up exhausted. On skis: you can skin uphill at 300-400m/hr for 3-4 hrs a day (ie 8-1200m of ascent each day)

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Tech Level 2
Improving Off Piste Skier. You enjoy black runs and the kind of tracked out off piste terrain found around many big resorts, but you haven’t skied too much in properly deep snow without a base to it yet. *Equivalent to Ski Club of GB Off Piste Level: Silver – Intermediate*
Likely to say: ‘I’d like to ski well in powder/link lots of short radius turns/go ski touring’
Our Advice: An Off Piste Skiing Course is highly recommended. If you’d like to try ski touring, then do either an intro ski touring course or an intro level ski tour.

Tech Level 3
Confirmed Off Piste Skier. You can put down a reasonable set of tracks in powder, but difficult snow types – eg heavy wet snow, crusts, poor visibility or 40dg slopes – can all cause problems (though you can cope with them safely, if not elegantly!) *Equivalent to Ski Club of GB Off Piste Level: Purple – Advanced*
Likely to say: ‘I’d like to handle difficult snow/steep slopes more confidently in better style’
Our Advice: Off piste coaching still useful. Intermediate off piste weeks are at your level too. If you want to get into ski touring, try a touring course or intro level ski tour. If you’re an established ski mountaineer, then intermediate level tours are generally suitable.

To view all of our Ski Fitness Levels and Off Piste Technical Levels, please visit our Ski Ability page.

If you need to top up your fitness for this trip, please see our Ski Touring Training Advice page.

Hut to Hut Touring Equipment List

Just remember, every extra kilo on your back knocks 10% off your enjoyment on the descents – so try and keep the weight down!

Technical Clothing

• Waterproof Jacket – preferably lightweight and breathable
• Overtrousers/ski pants – preferably with side zips
• Fleece mid layer – or equivalent
• Socks – specialist ski socks or a warm loop lined pair of mountain socks
• Wicking thermal top – not cotton please…
• Thermal leggings or ski pants
• Thin inner gloves
• Warm ski gloves or mittens, if you suffer from cold hands
• Warm hat
• Spare fleece/lightweight duvet jacket

Personal Items

• Water container – at least 1 litre
• Personal medications and blister kit – regular meds, zinc oxide tape, compeed and painkillers etc
• Lightweight head torch
• Ski goggles
• Sun glasses – CE rated 3 or 4 with side protection
• Sun and lip cream – factor 30+
• Wallet, passport, Alpine Club/BMC card (hut discount) and insurance docs

Hut Overnight Items

• Small wash kit
• Spare lightweight t-shirt/socks/pants
• Silk sheet liner
• Ear plugs
• (Hut slippers for indoor use, blankets/duvets and pillows are provided by the huts)

Technical Equipment

• Rucsac 35/45l – try and avoid ones covered in too many features, just ski and ice axe attachments required
• Ski mountaineering boots
• Skis with touring bindings – some ‘freeride’ bindings are also suitable
• Ski strap – to keep skis together on your rucksack if we need to carry them
• Ski poles – with good size 5cm+ baskets (telescopic poles are not needed)
• Climbing skins – they come with the skis if you hire your kit
• Harscheisen (ski crampons) – they come with the skis if you hire your kit
• Metal snow shovel – must be a full metal shovel (plastic blades don’t work in real avalanche debris!)
• Avalanche probe
• Avalanche transceiver – must be a modern digital model (older analogue models are now obsolete)
• Harness, with 120cm sling and locking karabiner
• Crampons – lightweight model
• Ice Axe – lightweight model

Your guide will have all other safety kit, first aid and survival equipment.

Recommendations and Advice
Visit the Knowledge Base section of our website, where we publish an annual review of the years best new skis, boots and touring equipment, plus a range of other interesting tips and recommendations. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please get in touch!

Purchasing Equipment
Backcountry UK in Otley offer an excellent ski touring boot fitting service, one of the best ranges of ski mountaineering equipment in the UK and top notch advice.

Hiring Equipment
Please visit our Equipment Hire page for recommended hire shops in your resort, and Alpine Guides hire equipment price list (safety equipment is provided free of charge on certain courses – please consult price inclusions).

For this trip you must have specialist travel insurance providing medical, emergency search/rescue and repatriation cover for off piste skiing and ski touring, as outlined in the trip itinerary. We also strongly recommend that you purchase cancellation cover, in case you’re unable to attend your trip due to personal circumstances or injury. Please arrange your insurance as soon as your trip is confirmed to run.

Further details can be found on our insurance info page.