Ski across the Alps - from Geneva to NiceJoin the Grown Trans-France ski trip from Lake Genevea to Nice in the Mediterranean in February 2014:

800km of travel distance, 450km on skis and on snow, skiing 30 ski resorts, climbing about 3000m on skins only, skiing down 42000m vertical!A climate friendly ski adventure using only existing ski lift infrastructure and public transport to ski as much as possible while exploring the French Alps with their world class skiing and their natural, cultural and culinaric secrets.

Date: February 1st-11th 2014 More info and booking: info@grownskis.com

The tour characterExpect to explore! This trip is an adventure that will give you insights in nature and culture of the French Alps you could not imagine before.

Our focus is on the downhilll! We ski the best of the French Alps, and the biggest, and the smallest. We ski the hip and the unknown. We go big and we go small. We enjoy a beer in a bar but also an ascent on skins into the wild.

We usually start with breakfast around 7 in the morning, then we walk to the ski lift picking up a pain au choco-lat in a boulangerie and are first at the lifts. We start skiing traversing the ski area, do a run in the powder without backpacks and have lunch from the pack or in a local mountain restaurant. We climb an hour on skins to connect to the next ski area, or take the public bus for twenty minutes, or skate out the valley on a cross country ski track - sometimes we also shoulder the skis and hike for some time, depending on the snow. In the late afternoon we may have to use the head torch to reach the hut in the woods, or the hotel in the village. Some evenings we have time to visit a local cheese maker, or a bar, and have exciting discussions on more than skiing...

Trans France - facing Mont Blanc

The tour in a nut shellTraverse the French Alps from Geneva to Nice, environmentally fair.Ski about 30 ski areas, 42’000m vertical, and 450 km on skis.Ascent about 3’000m vertical on skins - randonnee or Telemark.Explore the diversity of the natural and cultural treasures on the way.Stay overnight in a great variety of places - small hotels, pensions, huts, B&B, and get in touch with locals.Visit local cultural treasures - for example the Beaufort cheese makers.Enjoy French wine and cheese, and have thrilling discussions on more than just skiing.Make new contacts with adventureous skiers and explorative minds.Travel fair and climate neutral - we use only existing ski lift infrastructure and public transport, eat local, measure and offset our carbon footprint.

Ski across the Alps - a unique cultural, culinary, social, sportive and environmentally friendly experience of the French AlpsSki resorts we will ski (examples):Portes du Soleil (Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets) - Flaine - St. Gervais - Megève - La Plagne - Courchevel - Méribel - Val Thorens - Serre-Chevalier - Valloire - Montgenèvre - Isola 2000

Climate footprint of the whole trip: 0.199 t CO2eq, compensated with myclimate.org

The guidesWe offer a fully guided trip in a small group of max 8 people, plus two guides:

Stewart Sheppard is a French skiing local with in-depth knowledge and 30 years of offpiste skiing experience in the French Alps, knowing the local cultures and history by heart. Stewart developed this trip and is the organizing head behind the 11 days of the tour. Stewart is a sustainability consultant in French ski destinations and has local expert knowledge of the best kept skiing secrets on this trip.

Prof. Dr. Tobias Luthe is a certified ski mountaineering guide and professional ski instructor with more than 15 years of ex-perience in guiding mountaineering trips and expeditions world wide, e.g. in the Arctic of Kamchatka, Svalbard, Canada, or in South America and all over the Alps. Tobias is a Professor for Sustainability Science and does research on sustainability and environmental change in Alpine and Arctic regions, at a Swiss university. He is founder of Grown skis, the most eco-friendly skis, and owner of Science Experience Wilderness Tours. (More info: www.tobiasluthe.de)

Skills and equipmentThis trip is unique in its setting and character. We ski for 11 days starting in Chatel at Lake Geneva Febr 1st and ar-riving in Nice at the Mediterranean Febr 11th.We carry all our equipment ourselves - pack small and bring a pack not bigger than 35 litres, and not heavier than 10kg.We ski allmountain - on piste, off piste, powder, crud, we tour, and we skate on the flat. Bring a light but strong, wide but not too wide ski. We offer Grown skis, allmountain freeride skis ideal for this trip, for test and sale.We have parts where we climb with skis and skins - bring randonnee skis or Telemark skis, and skins. Be fit to climb up to 1000m vertical on a day. Bring also randonnee or Telemark boots, and an extra pair of light hiking shoes. Days maybe long - be ready to ski into the dark, thus bring a head torch, and expect to hike with skis on your pack for an hour or two if snow in the valley gets sparse.We ski a lot - you need to be an eperienced skier who can ski any slope on and offpiste with a backpack safely. We ski safe - bring full avalanche equipment, a shovel, probe and beacon, and ideally a pack with airbag system.We are social and need to team play while travelling in a group of 10 people for 11 days.

The tour packageWe offer a fully guided trip of 11 days in a small group of 8 people, plus two guides, for the package price of 2150€.

The tour price includes the following:11 nights in various hotels, pensions, huts or B&B11 days half board (brekfast and dinner)Ski tickets for 11 days in about 30 ski resorts11 days of professional guiding with two guidesCosts of public transport for the transitions during the 11 daysClimate footprint compensation with myclimate

What you need to cover yourself:Transport to the tour start in Chatel and from the tour finish in NiceFood and drinks (lunch and snacks) during the day, and drinks in the eveningsHave your own travel and health insuranceAny extra costs that might appear (like a taxi in case of equipment failure, or an extra night in case of bad weather)

Reservation and bookingMake your reservation before December 20th 2013 by sending an email with your name, phone and address to info@grownskis.com.

Tour dates: February 1st-11th 2014. Limited space available, minimum of 6 bookings necessary.

You will receive a confirmation with more details on the booking and payment procedure with your reservation email. For further questions, send an emai to info@grownskis.com.