Where to find the best off-piste skiing in the world

The best off-piste skiing can be difficult to find unless you know where to look. Brice Lequertier is one of the three founders of Elite Ski Travel, a travel agency and ski school based in Courchevel and Méribel that works closely with Consensio.

We asked Brice to share his five favourite spots in the world for the best powder. Here is where he recommends the best off-piste skiing in the world.

Méribel – France

My home and favourite playground is for sure Les Trois Vallées. We have everything we could dream of here: the most efficient lift system in the world, endless terrain, world-class accommodation and food, and consistent snow. I have been guiding for nearly 15 years in Les Trois Vallées and I keep discovering new places each year. It is so vast and so close to the national park of La Vanoise that whether ski touring or using the lift, there is always something untracked to be done if you know where to go. Any type of skier can give it a chance in Les Trois Vallées as we have the most versatile terrain and truly skiing for every level of skiing. Additionally, the first-class lunches after a morning off-piste skiing makes it my favourite place to guide. I took this photo in February 2018 after a pretty good snowfall without wind. It was really deep and the cold weather maintained the snow for a couple of days. We skied so much those days we could barely walk after, but the sessions are well written in our minds. To book your next ski trip to Méribel, find out more about Consensio’s Méribel catered ski chalets and self-catered apartment here.

 

Iceland

I went for the first time ever to Iceland in early April 2019. After many years of Sweden, Greenland, Norway and Spitzbergen I have always been chasing good late-season snow and the possibility to watch some northern lights at the same time. I was blessed on my most recent trip to Iceland to score some epic snow on my last day there. We could ski all the way down to sea level in perfect light fluffy powder while the night before we were watching the northern lights. It was truly a trip to remember and some of my best shots ever were taken that day. I took this photo on our very last run of the day, we had done 14 runs already and we could not stop skiing. Everything was surreal, the snow was perfect, there was zero wind and the sea was so calm that we could see some fishermen in the background.

Canada

I have been lucky enough to spend about six weeks per season for the past nine years of my life in Canada. Being a fully qualified Canadian ski guide I work part-time in Revelstoke for a heliski company and this is probably my second home. Everything people say about Canada is true: deep powder, striking cold, endless storms, friendly Canadians, an authentic laidback vibe, legal marijuana, excellent pale ale beer and by far the most consistent skiing on earth. We have barely any down days in Revelstoke as the helicopter flies in bad weather below the tree line and we ski through the trees during the storm. This is probably the best way to ski the deepest snow in a safe way. I took this photo on Christmas Day 2018 in one of those famous burned forests on a bluebird day (which is quite a rare thing at that time of the year). I like this shot because although you don’t see much apart from the skier, there is no doubt that this is in Canada.

Chile

My summer getaway! I have worked for the past 13 years for Andesheliboarding in Chile as a heliski guide. Chile is truly a wonder of the world. It is a very unique and diverse country that has the most amazing mountains and snow stability. The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and there is not much there yet, so with a helicopter you can access a vast unknown area, and there are wonders behind every corner. Skiing in Chile is unique because the snow lets you ski steeper and higher terrain than most places because avalanches are less of an issue. The mountains are truly bigger than the Alps and our fantastic team of pilots is always ready to take us somewhere new. I took this photo a few years back after one of those El Niño storms. The snow was so deep that when I first jumped out of the helicopter I nearly sank into it; I jumped back in the helicopter and we waited a couple of hours so the snow would settle a little bit. The first runs were so deep we could barely move. Damien in this picture found a way to get through that deep snow nevertheless.

Japan

I have made nearly 20 trips to Japan, and this is an exotic ski trip with the most amazing snow you can think of. You can spend weeks in Japan without seeing the sun, and this is where you will, without doubt, find the biggest quantities of snow you have ever seen in your life. The mountains are smaller, the lift access is not very good, a lot of the off-piste skiing is forbidden and at the end of the day, you sometimes wonder why the hell you have travelled all the way to Japan. But on the morning after a 70cm overnight snowfall when you hit your first tree run and every turn brings a cold, light face shot of the best powder, nothing else is relevant anymore. I took this picture on the main island after a long day skiing and touring in a very small resort close to Nagano. Everybody was so wet, so tired and so hungry but at the same time so stoked about the day.

 

Brice Lequertier is a ski guide and photographer based in Méribel. He works in Canada and Chile for heliski companies and organises bespoke trips all over the world, and in an incredible off-piste ski guide. To contact Brice, you can email him at bricelequertier@icloud.com.