What is off-piste skiing?
If downhill skiing is practiced only on marked and maintained slopes, off-piste skiing extends on any slope accessible by the ski lifts:
As soon as you leave the slopes, you are "off-piste".
Downhill skiing brings together 99% of skiers on 10% of the ski area.
1% of skiers take advantage of the remaining 90%. It's off-piste skiing.
Is off-piste skiing dangerous?
It all depends on the snow conditions, the weather, the visibility and especially the state of the snowpack. If the right conditions are met and you move on terrain suited to your technical level, it is even rather less dangerous than downhill skiing because the risk of collision between skiers is extremely low.
If all these favorable conditions are not met, just one simple rule:
We do not go off marked trails.
Wearing an A.R.V.A (avalanche victim search device) is essential for any off-piste excursion
SKI PROGRESSION provides free A.R.V.A to its customers
To summarize, we can say that off-piste skiing is no more dangerous than downhill skiing if you respect basic safety rules and are well supervised by people competent.
Minimum level required for off-piste skiing.
The snow conditions are extremely varied off-piste. Sometimes the snow is better and easier there than on marked trails.
In general, being comfortable on a red slope constitutes a reasonable technical basis for a easy start.
