spacebetween

walking & adventure holidays

winter activity

Ice ClimbingWinter Summit

Come and enjoy the most fun you can have in the white stuff.

For lovers of the great outdoors in winter this break offers the chance to take part in a variety of fun activities in the snow and ice.
Rather than just racing down hill on two planks, we’ve responded to demand by offering a week of activities which offers, for sure some down hill skiing, but also a chance to try your hand at snowshoeing, ice climbing, and a winter summit ascent.
For the first snowshoe day we ascend Baus de la Frema, just above Valdeblore, which offers great views of the Vésubie valley to the south, and the Tinée to the north. For skiing we will go either to Isola 2000 or Auron - both venues offer great facilities and miles of piste.
The ice climbing venue depends very much on prevailing conditions, but rest assured that you will have a fantastic day out with guides of the highest calibre. As novices you won't be put at risk, and you will always be anchored safely.
The same applies to the winter summit day - experience an alpine refuge in winter, and then the clear views from the summit on the following day, and the satisfaction on return to your accommodation!!
The ice climbing and summit ascent are led by local and qualified Guides des Haute Montagnes, and the client/guide ratio is kept at 3:1, and the first day's snowshoeing is guided by a qualified International Mountain Leader.
Your accommodation can be either gîte based (self catering), or hotel/chambre d'hôte based, both, either just bed and breakfast or half board and packed lunch included. We tend to favour Le Grand Chalet, but this does depend on numbers and time of booking.


Testimonials

A great week - thank you.
Paul Egan - 2007

SnowshoeSeason

Winter only - contact us for family specials.

Departures to date

2009 - contact us for further information.

Pricing

Standard weekly package :

Gite based - £695
Hotel or Chambre d'Hote B&B - £845
Hotel or Chambre d'Hote half board - £950


Single supplement for Hotel or Chambre d'Hote - £108


For non-standard periods and programmes, contact us to discuss the options. Read about our flexible way of working.

Walking Grades

grade

Grade
attributes 1 2 3
physical fitness x x x
confidence with heights x x x
technical ability x x x
mountain experience x x x

Our grades are explained in "essential info"

Your Accommodation

GÎte
Enjoy the beautifully secluded situation of La Zourcière in the small hamlet of Berthemont les Bains in the Vésubie valley. The gîte sits on the ground floor of the house and is fully self contained. There are shops about 10 minutes drive from the hamlet, and an organic farm just 200m down the road from the house. Follow this link for more details.
Hotel or Chambre d'Hôte
Le Chalet or La Bonne Auberge are situated in the town of St Martin Vésubie, a thriving small community that has been the centre of life in the valley since the 12th century. There are plenty of local shops and restaurants to choose from, and the Bonne Auberge has its own restaurant.
Le Grand Chalet is a homely chambre d'hôte run by Christine and Luc and is situated overlooking the small village of St Dalmas Valdeblore. A good week of outdoor activity is well fuelled by Christine's great cooking, crafted from home made (mainly organic and local) ingredients. Vegetarians are welcomed.
Other accommodation options can be found here

What's included

8 day trip, 7 nights accommodation.  Transfer to and from venues, and for those opting for B&B or half board, transfer from and to Nice airport. Please note - Gîte based will normally mean that clients hire a vehicle, and supply their own food.

Gîte Based : self catering, no meals or drinks included.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte B&B : Breakfasts only - evening meals can be taken at local restaurants, and packed lunches can be purchased at local food stores.
Hotel/Chambre d'Hôte Half Board : All meals, inclusive of packed lunches.
Transport : To and from Nice airport for chambre d'Hote and hotel guests, and to and from all venues for all.
Activities : Five days or guided activities by a qualified International Mountain Leader/High Mountain Guide.  Hire of all kit except walking poles. Ski passes and ski hire for 2 days.

 

Itinerary

  • Day 1 Arrive Berthemont les Bains for gite accommodation or pick up in Nice – hotel accommodation.
  • Day 2 Snowshoeing day.
  • Day 3 Ice Climbing day.
  • Day 4 Downhill skiing day.
  • Day 5 Morning free, afternoon trek up to refuge at Madone de Fenestre.
  • Day 6 Winter ascent of St Robert, return to accommodation late afternoon.
  • Day 7 Downhill skiing day.
  • Day 8 Depart from Berthemont les Bains gite.  Hotel guests transfer back to Nice.

Suitable for

Adults - contact us for family specials.

Your welfare & protection

As a small enterprise, it's very important to us that our guests are professionally looked after during their stay with us.
Your protection : our operational base is in France, and our company in France is registered as a tour operator (habilitation touristique) and holds business failure cover and public liability cover.
Your welfare : all our activities are led by fully qualified local Mountain Guides and International Mountain Leaders (Accompagnateurs), thus ensuring that you receive not only top professional care, but that you will also benefit from their in-depth local knowledge of the regions that we operate in.
This web site is serviced by Futureservers. Contact John Short at john@webok.co.uk.
Copyright : Spacebetween Alpine Adventures Ltd registered in England, company No : 5154532.
SARL Spacebetween registered in France, siret No : 47784956600013 Habilitation Touristique No : H.A. 006.06.0007