Bernese Oberland Ski Mountaineer🇨🇭April 2023

The Bernese Oberland is a magical part of the High Northern Alps.  The vast glaciers feel more arctic than alpine in scale and provide the ski mountaineer with some truly impressive terrain to tour through.  This area also has inspiring peaks which lend themselves perfectly to logical ski ascents.

Your efforts will be well rewarded by this areas mountain huts, which are rightly famous for their comfort, hospitality and good food.  Enjoying a cold beer on the sunny terrace of the Konkordia Hut, with a majestic view, after a great days skiing, will make you think you have struck the perfect holiday balance of effort and relaxation!

Ski Bernese Oberland Course Aims

• Enjoy 6 days ski mountaineering in the high mountains on varied terrain featuring long glacier journeys, peaks & cols
• Complete some good ski mountaineering training & acclimatisation during the first ‘shakedown day’ with further training throughout the week
• Spend 4 nights in superb Swiss Mountain Refuges, enjoying the ambiance & cuisine of high mountain hut life
• Meet up with like other like minded ski mountaineers for a memorable & sociable spring ski journey

Fitness, Ski, Touring & Mountaineering Experience, Course Pre-requirements

• A high level of mountain fitness is required for this course in order to complete multiple long summit ski days in a row.  Thus an ability to comfortably maintain an ascent rate of 300m/hr on skins or foot for up to 4-5 hours with regular transitions, as part of multiple back to back long eg approximately 5-8hour days.
• Strong and effective off-piste skiing ability is also required with an ability to ski in all types of snow conditions including potentially quite steep and exposed terrain.
• Previous ski touring experience is also required to ensure you have a strong and reliable kick turn and ability to use ski crampons and make efficient transitions.
• Some existing mountaineering experience with ice axe and crampons is also required.  If you are keen to join this programme and don’t have quite all the skills listed here, please contact us to arrange other courses and private guiding to offer a suitable and inspiring progression or some private guiding prior to this course.
• Willingness to be part of a team and ski as an open group

This course runs at a maximum guide to guest ratio of 1:4 which means you can enjoy travelling around this superb high mountain area as a neat team and completing some superb ski peaks and journeys.   The more technical 4000m peaks are climbed at a 1:2 ratio on our Ski Bernese Oberland 4000m peaks course.