The ski schools in Chamonix are particularly strong in specialist fields – off-piste, glacier and couloir skiing, ski touring, snowboarding and cross-country. English-speaking instructors and mountain guides are plentiful.
At the Maison de la Montagne is the main ESF office and the HQ of the Compagnie des Guides, which has taken visitors to the mountains for 150 years. Both offer ready-made week-long ‘tours’ taking clients to a different mountain or resort each day.
For several years now there has been a branch of BASS here, with all British and Irish instructors, offering a range of options including a three-day off-piste package; reports welcome.
There are several other small, independent teaching and guiding operations.