The heart of every snowboarder lies in the backcountry and nothing comes close to the rewarding feeling you get from gliding effortlessly through the deepest powder, leaving just fresh tracks and envious faces behind you.
So leave the lift lines behind and choose your adventure:
From those making their first fresh tracks to experienced explorers alike, if you love riding powder then this the perfect session to make your holiday a memorable one!
Learn the technical skills to float through off-piste terrain with fluid and effortless style, all while developing essential backcountry safety knowledge such as transceiver skills and route selection.
Backcountry snowboard lessons have start locations in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets, using our local knowledge with a mixture of lift accessed terrain and short hikes to deliver the best off piste experience for your ability.
Who needs a chairlift?! Splitboarding is liberating and rewarding experience, allowing riders to explore even further into the backcountry and truly earn their turns.
For first timers this is the perfect intro to the equipment, touring techniques and tactics, safety knowledge, plus riding skills to make the most of each run. A great way to dip your toe and enjoy some fresh tracks.
More experienced splitboarders can enjoy a tailor made session to suit their ability level, with adventures to some of the Portes du Soleil’s famous runs and best kept secrets.
We have 1/2 day start locations for splitboarding and backcountry snowboard lessons in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets. Full day tours can choose to take advantage of locations well away from the ski area.
Our off-piste / backcountry snowboard lessons and split boarding tours are available in Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets and throughout the Portes du Soleil. All built bespoke around your ability and experience, to find the best powder and endless new terrain.
Backcountry in the Portes du Soleil area is truly awesome and we can find off piste runs to suit most levels. Being confident on your board is key in helping you enjoy this type of lesson to the full, so for this and safety reasons we aske that you be of level 6 or higher on our scale.
Additionally due to the inherent physical nature of split boarding lessons we recommend that you be in good physical shape and at least be able to complete a gentle 5km jog/walk without collapsing into a ball of death afterwards.
Unsure of your level? Then check out our scale here.
Intro to off-piste snowboarding, intro to split boarding lessons and all half day tours are available in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets.
Full day tours and more advanced off piste lessons can also take place in these resorts, or in the wider Portes du Soleil area.
All off piste, backcountry and split boarding lessons are available for either a half day (3 hours) or full day (6 hours).
All lessons are delivered in English by one of our British snowboad specific instructors. Every member of our team in France is qualified to BASI L4 ISTD ISIA with French Carte Pro equivalence and back country specific qualifications.
Your instructor has an in depth knowledge of the Portes du Soleil off piste and backcountry areas... heck, it's where we play on our days off :-) We'll be there every step of the way to build your skill set and confidence, so you an ride down through the powder with the biggest ear to ear grin possible.
All lessons include the use of one of our offpiste safety packs, which contain:
For split boarding lessons you will need to provide your own split board, skins, poles etc.
We can recommend rental shops in town who can help with this.
For other off piste lessons while a powder specific board is not essential, please keep in mind those designed for off piste riding are likely to perform better than those designed for park and inability to ride in certain conditions will limit where we can take you for safety reasons.
Our backcountry snowboarding lessons in Morzine, Avoriaz and Les Gets can be booked for 1 - 6 people in a single group. You can check the prices above.
Being around the same level helps, however split ability groups are completely possible and we always ride terrain to the ability of the least experienced person in your crew.
For safety reasons, all group memebers must be a minimum of level 6 or above.
Simply select the number of people and duration of your lesson above, click the button and give us a few more details regarding dates and level. We’ll then get in touch to get your lesson in the diary ready for some fun on the slopes.
All lessons require full balance payment at the time of booking to reserve your chosen dates and times.
All Onyx private backcountry/split board sessions include tuition and use of our off piste safety bags only, so you’ll need to make sure you’ve got:
Read the booking terms and conditions here and drop us a line for any additional help or further information.
All sessions include FREE use of our off-piste safety packs (including Mammut Barryvox Element transceiver, shovel and probe in a Burton ak 15L pack).
Split board rental is not included, however is available through our partners in town.