Scherer Tours

12/04/2025

Not many places we would rather be than in the Ötztal in April. One of the only places better than Sölden just might be the Gurgls. Even a children's playground becomes spiritual when it is located at 2600 m

08/04/2025

The ski season is NOT over. With 5 trips in April, plus the Ischgl closing in May, you can still get some of the best late season skiing in recent years. The reason-the cold weather...so, get on your Boards and Ride. And, plan AHEAD. Our Club Med trips are filling fast. No more singles available for either date: 10.-14.12 or 17.-21.12.2025. And, over half of the doubles are gone. So, plan now. Remember, prices go up in May. The early bird cost for these dates is € 889.- per person in a double, but only if you book now. Need convincing? Check out the 2024 movie! Sweet Mountains Of Mine
the 2024 Scherer Tours St. Moritz Video in Club Med
"Sweet Mountains Of Mine"
on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/1041911936
on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/scherertours.de/videos/2350470435309788

01/04/2025

"Be Good To Yourself" commemorates the annual Val Thorens alpine skiing adventure. Take a journey through our lenses from 22.-29. March 2025. The 2026 dates are from 21.-28 March. Come share the experience with us.

31/03/2025

We are working feverishly to finish the latest film from our 3 Valleys Adventure week. Entitled "Be Good To Yourself", it features our traditional "Black Runs Only Day", the legendary 10,000 vertical meter ski safari, our mountaintop dinner with ski-down excitement, and the lake crossing on our Boards. A new adventure day was reconned by Dave and Bori and it features 17 switchbacks and a € 540 taxi ride. This is one event you will want to miss! We are considering submitting the film to the Cannes International Film Festival, so it will take a while. We have the trailer already done.

26/03/2025

Our annual Val Thorens pilgrimage has raised the bar. We even found great powder under the ropes off the Bouchard Glacier. The ski safari started out in with over 20 and sun and 16 crazies (we call them the Wild Bunch), actually completed the journey in a raging blizzard... Peer pressure and adrenaline propelled 10 brave souls across the lake, highlighted by a Scherer Tours first: a tandem crossing from Annica and Steve. It is going to make a classic movie. Still three days for more memories for keeps!

24/03/2025

Hi Folks,

All good here. Completed the 10,000 vertical meter, VT to Courchevel Ski Safari , without taking the same run twice and without taking the same lift twice with time to spare-and 15 people. Still a few highlights to go including a mountain torch lit ski down and some waterskiing over the Lac du Lou. So far, so good!

Regards,

John

07/03/2025

GOOD NEWS for someone! We just received a cancellation for the 22.-29 March trip to Val Thorens. Many of you have been there. We have room for 1 or 2 people in a big studio unit. So, if you can make up your mind fast, it will be a decision you will certainly enjoy! Go For it! Contact us now for further details.

03/03/2025

Avalanche Considerations-and a translation of the 5 levels of avalanche danger that makes some sense

Many of our customers are confused when it comes to avalanche danger. Ski resort post a grid with 5 levels of danger that are so vague, they really don’t help all that much.

There are so many metrics involved in predicting avalanches. Just a few: actual temperature, amount of new snow in the past 24 hours, temperature changes during the day, time of day, slope facing angle, slope steepness, strength of skiers in your group, snowboarders, if any, in the group. Maybe another factor to consider: luck.
Anyway, ski areas employ 5 levels of danger, starting with 1-virtually none, up to 5-maximum danger. 1 means low, 2 means moderate, 3 means considerable, 4 means high, 5 means extreme.
These are very vague terms. For off-piste skiers, level 4 offers the most fun - and, the most risk. Level 3 is what most areas employ after snowfalls, and it is extremely arbitrary.

When you do venture off-piste, never ski alone, and always wear a backpack with avalanche gear consisting of a probe, a shovel, and a beeper.

Here is our guide (subjective) to help explain what they mean:

25/02/2025

Less than a month to go-that's the GOOD NEWS. And, there is still room on the trip-that's the BETTER NEWS. And, there's a ton of snow from the valley to the mountain summits-that's the BEST NEWS. (Snow report below from today, 25 Feb.) Experience why the Vall Thorens Ski Week is more than a trip...it is a skier's pilgrimage. 22.-29 March are the dates, and you can still be a part of it! The videos tell the story:
VT FILM 2024: SMOKE ON THE WATER
on FB: https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=775825317501114
or on Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/928692874

VT FILM 2023 IT'S A GOOD FEELING TO KNOW
ON FB: https://www.facebook.com/scherertours.de/videos/197384416375788
OR ON VIMEO
https://vimeo.com/896675748

15/02/2025

Today was a good day! I would call it a challenge day. Wanted to see if I could pull off a French Ski Safari in...the Arlberg. Most of you know the rules: no slope twice, no lift twice,(except one transfer Bahn), and 10,000 vertical meters skied. Needed 8 hours to do it! Got in 3 long descents off-piste as well Even had time for a few pictures-of the Madloch descent and from the Valluga. Best "turns" were made negotiating some nasty lift lines. Had no time for lunch-the donut I devoured at 14:45 was the best one I ever tasted! Anyway, I guess I am ready for France...are you?

06/02/2025

Over 1500 people have already read about our “Top 10”
Bucket List Ski Runs.
A quick summary: One is in Austria, Six are in Switzerland,
and Four are in France. (Portes du Soleil is in F and CH.)
Six are off-piste, four are on-piste.
Start elevations range from 3800m to 2360m.

How many have you skied?

10. Laax-Flims (CH): La Siala to Stargels (Piste)

9. L**h (A): Rüffikopf to Zürs (Piste und Off-Piste)

8. St. Moritz (CH): Corvatch to Silvaplana (Piste)

7. Portes du Soleil (F) and (CH): Avoriaz über Mouissettes to Morgins (Piste)

6. Verbier (CH): Lacs over the Col des Mines into town (Piste und Off-Piste)

5. Davos (CH): Jakob’s Horn Teufi Abfahrt (Off -Piste)

4. Chamonix (F) Grand Montets Point du Vue (Off -Piste)

3. Zermatt( CH): Gornergrat Moonlit Run into town (Piste)

2. Val Thorens (F): Lac du Lou (Off -Piste)

Number 1 (F): Chamonix: Vallee Blanche (Off -Piste)

04/02/2025

Here it comes...our choice for the number one ski descent experience in the Alps. We are back in France and above Chamonix. This one demands more ink than the other runs on the list. It’s the famous Vallee Blanche descent. You will talk about this experience for the season…for years…forever... Because the 20km long descent is more like a journey among four continents. Here’s why.
As you ride the second cable car up to the top, it transfers into an elevator, hoisting you up almost vertically to the station. The peak itself looks more like the Kennedy Space Center, with a Saturn style rocket memorial on top. Inside there is a museum, an elevator taking you to a higher look-out, a restaurant and a souvenir shop. Welcome to Alpine Disneyland. Welcome to snowed-in Florida. Welcome to North America. You won’t want to stay here too long, however, since the air is really thin at 3800m and you are more than anxious to get the first section of the run behind you. If you have a fear of heights, just take some pictures and take the cable car back down. Because, if you have a fear of heights, you are in for the scare of your life.

Next stop is Asia and the Himalayas. Welcome to Everest, welcome to the Hillary Step. The difference: in Nepal, you have to climb it to reach the summit. In France, you have to descend it to reach the snow. In both cases, it's a place you won't want to hang out for long. In some places no wider than a chair, with up to 70 degrees of slope angle, you have no margin for error. Lean too far left and you end up back at the middle station-dead-a sheer drop. Too far right and the rocks can cause major injury. You may not need a local guide to ski down, but the guide is definitely recommended for the snow staircase hike down. Crampons also highly recommended.
Once on the snow, the fun begins. The first section is easy, as long as the visibility is good. There are crevasses to consider as well. That is another reason hire a guide - he carries a rope. The classical route follows the Hellbronner Cable Car bringing skiers from Courmayeur up. The steeper variant leads more directly down and into a huge glacier outcropping. The run to the Ice Lake is a true joy, with the most amazing alpine natural views you can imagine. The is the European Alps at their finest. After an hour or so, you have dropped to about 2100meters and reach the Ice Lake (Mer du Glace). This is a 2 km. long flat ice covered surface that is perfect for taking a break and rejuvenating with your group. Enjoy the respite because ignorance is bliss. The worst is yet to come.
As the descent narrows, you finally end up at the bottom of a gully. The valley walls are so narrow and steep that you think, “OMG, how did I miss the route and OMG, where am I?” The good news is that you are not lost. The good news is that there is a mountain hut (the Rochers de Mottes at 1638m) only 200 meters away. The bad news- these are vertical meters. The bad news- you may even have to hike through an avalance to reach it. Welcome to Africa and Kilimanjaro, because this is pretty close to what it is like climbing up to the glacier summit there. But, not really: because there are no sherpas here to carry your gear.
After you somehow reach the hut, (there is no Plan B), you will savor the best beverage you have ever tasted. Time for some chagrining and bad jokes. From here, Chamonix lingers in the distance, but first you have one more challenge that is as dangerous as anything you have done so far.
We call it the Olympic Bobsled Run, because it consists of a series of switchbacks that are iced over and banked up to 70 degrees. Either commit or crash. Actually, once you get the hang of it, it’s kind of cool to accelerate through the turns. Trouble is, each curve pushes the envelope and is often followed by “ironing board” narrow run-outs that drop off 20 to 30 meters with, of course, no restraints.
After this almost never ending hairpin speed course, you finally arrive in the village. From here, you take off your skis, thank the snow Gods that you have arrived, and gaze up to the top station. Tired, maybe even exhausted, happy, maybe even ecstatic, confident, but most of all just lucky. One run, totally ungroomed, with almost 3000vertical meters. This one is worth telling your kids and grandchildren! You have just seen, and skied, 4 continents in less than 5 hours.
Did we omit one of your favourites? Some friends will be disappointed that the Dolomites didn’t make the list. Send us your comments and suggestions. We welcome your feedback.

31/01/2025

Favorite Runs and Routes: part 3

We count down to Number 2 on our Ski Bucket List

2. Val Thorens-Lac du Lou.
Ski the lake: if you dare! .…Once you hop over the ridge from either the Caron, 3200m or the shorter route from the Boisment 2700m, (a short hike from here) there is no turning back. The frontier run offers either 1300 or 800 vertical meters, until you reach your “target”-the Lac du Lou.
The off-piste terrain features majestic views, variable steeps, and one thing you will cherish: the sounds of silence. You may see a few other people here, or maybe not. The solitude is overwhelming. Pause for a break on the way and you can hear the snow melt. There is no better place to be “one with nature”. The best time to ski it is the early afternoon, around 13:30, when skiing the snow is like pushing a hot knife through butter.
Once you get down near the lake, you will see other people, many waiting on the hill above the lake to cheer your successful attempt, or laugh as you sink into the lake. (adding insult to injury).
Best to ski in late March or April, as the ice slowly retreats and presents us with a crazy challenge: water skiing. The length varies from 5 to 18 meters -you can choose your level of “difficulty”. Whichever “line” you choose, it’s an adrenaline kick that demands a certain amount of courage mixed with a shot of stupidity. If you should fall in, you won’t drown, but prepare yourself for an ice cold chill. Not a good idea as you still have to ski and take two lifts back, which means 45 agonizing minutes to get to your apartment. Your boots will dry out eventually, or maybe not. I got my boots drenched once, and they are now vases in my apartment. So much for multi-use equipment. Should you make it across, it is the highlight of the Trois Vallees, our choice as the overall best skiing area in the Alps.

Coming next week: Buicket List Selection Number One! Can you guess it?

30/01/2025

Well, thanks to our Resident "Ski Techie" (guess who that might be?), we have discovered the Beginning of the End, or maybe the End of the Beginning for ski touring. Touring skiers, the sport just got a bit more interesting. Except, maybe, it may be no longer a sport.
I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but now, we have E-Touring Skis. The name of the product is more than cool: E-Skimos
Think about this breakthrough:
no more offseason hours of treadmill training for the Back Country.
Heck, maybe even no more ski passes, necessary?
The future is here. Not sure if we want it, however.
Here are the product links:

https://www.powder.com/news/battery-powered-skis-tech-trade-show

https://apnews.com/video/nicola-colombo-james-brooks-consumer-electronics-show-50b174af5c4f4f2bac73218fb501581a

Ski touring proving too much effort? Just want to get to the descent? At CES 2025, Swiss company E-Outdoor is showcasing its electric assisted skis, that promise to take users four times further, in terms of elevation, with electric assistance.

29/01/2025

In case you missed the Freeriding Competition from La Masse next to Val Thorens, well, check this out. And, Scherer Tours will be taking two big groups here from 22 and 29 March. And you thought the Streif was dangerous? Then, again, you may not want to ski here...Watch and find out.
Here is the link:

Freeriding...and you thought the Streif was crazy? The Lac Noir near Val Thorens above Les Menuires was the venue....So, don't stop me now. Discover what…