Off Piste Skiing (without a Guide) Travel Insurance Quote
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We offer off-piste skiing and snowboarding without a guide within a patrolled resort's ski area boundaries. You must follow four rules, listed below. To contact us by telephone or email: 0800 043…
We offer off-piste skiing and snowboarding without a guide within a patrolled resort's ski area boundaries.
You must follow four rules, listed below.
To contact us by telephone or email: 0800 043 0020 / 01273 092 757 support@jsinsurance.co.uk
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What counts as off-piste
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The four rules
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Summary of cover
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Search and rescue
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Avalanche safety kit
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Avalanche safety courses
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Resorts where the line is not obvious
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Off-piste without a guide FAQs
What the policy means by off-piste
Skiing or snowboarding on unmarked and ungroomed terrain within the ski area boundaries of a recognised resort that is patrolled, in areas that local resort management considers safe, where lifts and emergency services are easily accessible, and the run ends back at a ski area lift.
Not including backcountry, or areas marked or prohibited from entry.
Inside a patrolled ski area, you do not need to be with a guide or an instructor for the cover to apply.
Skiing or snowboarding between the pistes is covered
Traversing from one piste to another, cutting through the trees, or dipping off the edge of a groomed run to find powder is all off-piste.
All of it is covered, on the same terms.
Four rules for off-piste without a guide
1. Not on your own
Ski with at least one other insured adult, or with a guide.
Off-piste without a guide means without a guide.
It does not mean alone.
2. Never under a rope or past a closed sign
Roped, gated or signed as forbidden means out.
No cover.
3. Not when local advice says do not go
If the resort, the pisteurs or the avalanche service say conditions are too dangerous to ski off-piste, that is your answer.
We do not set a number on the avalanche scale, because a number does not travel.
Check the bulletin each morning.
It is posted at every lift station, on the resort app and on the national avalanche service.
4. Carry a transceiver, shovel and probe
All three, on you, and know how to use them.
This is a condition of your cover.
A transceiver on its own is no use to anybody — it tells your partner where you are, and they need a shovel and a probe to reach you.
What you are covered for
| Section and cover | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency medical and repatriation | £10m | £10m | £10m |
| Search and rescue | £50,000 | £50,000 | £50,000 |
| Personal accident | £5,000 | £20,000 | £50,000 |
| Personal liability | — | £2m | £2m |
| Cancellation or curtailment | — | £4,000 | £8,000 |
| Trip abandonment | — | £4,000 | £8,000 |
| Personal baggage | £500 | £2,500 | £3,500 |
| Valuables | £250 | £250 | £500 |
| Own ski equipment | £2,000 | £2,000 | £2,000 |
| — single item, pair or set | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Hired ski equipment | £750 | £750 | £750 |
| Loss of passport | — | £300 | £500 |
| Travel delay | — | £50 per 12 hrs, to £300 | £50 per 12 hrs, to £1,000 |
| Missed departure or connection | — | £500 | £500 |
| Legal expenses | — | £25,000 | £50,000 |
| Piste or mountain closure | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 |
| Avalanche or landslide | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 | £75 per 24 hrs, to £1,000 |
| Unused lift pass, lessons and hire | £50 per 24 hrs, to £750 | £50 per 24 hrs, to £750 | £50 per 24 hrs, to £750 |
Per person, except personal liability which is £2,000,000 per policy.
An excess applies to most sections and varies by benefit — see the policy wording for the full schedule.
The unused pack benefit pays for lift pass, lessons and hire you cannot use because you have been hurt or taken ill, not for a pass you have lost.
Search and rescue
Search, rescue and emergency transfer to hospital are covered up to £50,000, on every level of cover.
Helicopter evacuation off the mountain is paid under this limit, not under the medical limit.
Once you are at the medical facility, treatment moves to emergency medical expenses, which is the £10,000,000 limit.
Cover runs for up to 72 hours from the point assistance is first called, and the excess is £500 on Silver and Gold, nil on Platinum.
More on mountain rescue cover.
Up to 365 days as the sole purpose of your trip
On a single trip policy, we cover off-piste without a guide as the sole purpose of the trip for up to 365 days.
No restriction on the number of days you ski within that.
Which makes it a seasonaire policy in all but name if you are out for a month or a whole winter.
Avalanche safety kit
Off-piste, you are responsible for your own safety and your companions'.
Transceiver, shovel and probe are the minimum, and they are a condition of cover.
If you ski off-piste every season, an avalanche airbag is worth the money.
A Recco reflector is worth having at any level — they are inexpensive stickers, and they roughly halve search time.
Most off-piste areas inthe USA or Canada will have you beep your transceiver at a checkpoint before the gate, so you will be asked for it whether we ask or not.
A transceiver such as the Ortovox Diract is around £289.
A Recco reflector is £19.95, battery-free, and sticks to a helmet or pack.
It is not a substitute for a transceiver, but it cuts rescue search time.
Kit and advice at Snowsafe, including the Avalanche Safety Centre — avalanche basics, the factors, on the slopes, and accident case studies.
Snowsafe is our own snow safety business — we have been selling avalanche and protection kit since 2001.
Avalanche safety courses
- AIARE Level 1, Chamonix — beginner, 3 days, around €890
- AIARE Level 2, Chamonix — intermediate, 3 days, around €990
- Henry's Avalanche Talk, Val d'Isère and Tignes — intermediate, 3 days, around €490
- Avalanche awareness, Chamonix — intermediate, 2 days, from around €360 per group
- Chauvin Guides, La Grave
- Swiss Alpine Guides, Interlaken
What a course covers
Classroom theory — how avalanches work, snow types, and the weather that drives them: wind, ice and terrain.
Weather and route planning — reading the current forecast and the bulletin, then planning a route from it.
Equipment briefing — using a transceiver, shovel and probe, and how a group search is actually run.
Practical session — on the mountain.
Map reading, risk management, decision-making, group organisation and digging technique.
Debrief — reviewing the theory against what happened on the hill.
The course itself is covered by your policy, and so is skiing off-piste terrain as part of it.
It will not cover prepaid course fees if you have to cancel the trip.
Off-piste specialists
- Pure Powder, London
- Mountain Spirit, Wales
- Action Outdoors, Suffolk
- Ski Club of Great Britain, Wimbledon
- Mountain Tracks, London
Resorts where the line is not obvious
In most resorts the boundary is clear.
In a few it is not, and they are exactly the ones people go to for the off-piste.
Val d'Isère and Tignes
A large lift-served off-piste area with well-known routes, much of it inside the ski area boundary.
The famous descents that start inside the boundary and finish outside it are the ones to check before you drop in, not after.
Chamonix
The Grands Montets and Le Tour have extensive off-piste inside the ski area.
The Vallée Blanche is a different thing.
It is a glacier route, unpatrolled, with crevasse risk, and it is normally skied with a guide and a harness.
Treat it as a mountaineering descent rather than a run, and talk to us before you book it.
La Grave
La Grave has no pisted runs, no piste markers and no patrol.
The whole mountain is off-piste.
It is not a resort in the sense the policy definition uses, so do not assume standard off-piste cover reaches it.
Call us before you go.
The general rule
If a route starts inside the ski area and finishes outside it, the part outside is not covered.
If the mountain has no patrol at all, the cover does not simply apply because there is a lift.
Common questions
What does off-piste without a guide mean on this policy?
Skiing or snowboarding on unmarked and ungroomed terrain inside the ski area boundaries of a patrolled resort, in areas resort management considers safe.
Inside those boundaries, you do not need a guide or instructor.
Can I ski off piste on my own?
No.
You need at least one other insured adult with you, or a guide.
Do I have to carry a transceiver?
Yes, and a shovel and a probe.
It is a condition of your cover.
Does search and rescue include helicopter evacuation?
Yes.
Where it is medically necessary to get you off the mountain, the helicopter is paid under the £50,000 search and rescue limit.
Once you are at the medical facility, your treatment is covered under emergency medical expenses.
How am I covered if I am caught in an avalanche?
Mountain rescue gets you off the hill and to a hospital or clinic, covered under the £50,000 search and rescue limit.
From the moment you are being treated, it is emergency medical expenses, up to £10,000,000.
Avalanche or landslide that stops you skiing at all pays £75 for every 24 hours, up to £1,000.
How am I covered medically after an off-piste accident?
Emergency treatment and repatriation up to £10,000,000, with a 24-hour assistance line on every policy.
Call the assistance service before treatment where you can, or as soon as you are able.
How many days can I ski off piste?
There is no limit on days within the trip.
On a single trip policy, we can cover off-piste as the sole purpose of the trip for up to 365 days.
Is cutting between two pistes off-piste?
Yes, and it is covered.
Anything off the groomed snow is off-piste, whether it is three turns through the trees or a whole face.
Are itinerary runs and ski routes covered?
Yes, where they are inside the ski area boundary, and the resort has not closed them.
Itinerary runs are marked but not groomed or patrolled in the way a piste is, so treat them as off-piste — go with someone, carry the kit, and check the bulletin.
What about areas you get to through a gate?
If the gate is open and the terrain beyond it is inside the ski area, it is off-piste and covered.
If the gate is shut, roped or signed as closed, it is not.
There is no cover beyond a closed gate.
I am only going just outside the boundary and coming straight back. Is that covered?
No.
Outside the resort boundary is outside the cover, however briefly and however close you stay.
Intending to come back does not change where you were when it happened.
My friend is a qualified instructor. Does that count as being with a guide?
You do not need it to.
Inside the resort boundaries, you are covered without a guide, so long as you are not alone.
Does this cover on-piste skiing as well?
Yes.
On-piste skiing and snowboarding are included on every winter sports policy.
Can I add off-piste after my policy has started?
Yes.
It is added to the policy, and a new certificate is issued.
Do it before you travel, not after you have skied.
Where is this in the policy wording? Off-piste skiing appears in the Winter Sports Activity Table, at the level shown on your certificate.
The general conditions that go with it — following local advice and the safety requirements for the activity — are in the general exclusions.
Am I covered in La Grave, or Chamonix off the Vallée Blanche?
Those two need a conversation before you buy.
La Grave is unpatrolled and has no pisted runs.
The Vallée Blanche is a glacier route with crevasse risk.
Neither is a standard off-piste day, and we would rather tell you where you stand before you travel.
A route starts inside the boundary and finishes outside it. Am I covered?
For the part inside, yes.
For the part outside, no.
Plenty of the best-known descents in Val d'Isère and Chamonix do exactly that, so check the route before you drop in.
Am I covered off-piste with a guide?
Yes.
See off-piste skiing with a guide.
Does this cover ski touring?
No.
Ski touring is a separate activity, and it must be on your policy.
Select it during the quote,e and it is covered.
Does it cover backcountry skiing?
No.
Backcountry is outside the resort boundaries and is not an activity on our schedule.
P J Hayman writes that kind of risk.
Am I covered on an avalanche safety course?
Yes, including the off-piste terrain you ski as part of it.
Prepaid course fees are not covered if you cancel the trip.
Do I need to have done an avalanche course?
No, it is not a condition of the policy.
But you should not be skiing off piste without a guide if you do not know how to read the terrain.
What is the age limit?
Off-piste without a guide is available up to age 65.
Over 65, we can place it — call 0800 043 0020.
Can I get it with a pre-existing medical condition?
Yes, where the condition is on our accepted list.
See medical conditions.
More on off-piste
- Off-piste skiing with a guide
- Off-piste skiing guide
- Best ski areas in France for non-guided off-piste
- Best off-piste guided ski areas in France
- Best off-piste skiing in Italy
- Off-piste rules in Japan
- Off-piste skiing and snowboarding in Canada
Get a quote
Select off-piste without a guide during the quote, and it is on your certificate.
Full terms, conditions and exclusions are in the policy wording.
Holiday Companies that Specialise in Off-Piste
1. Pure Powder, London
2. Mountain Spirit, Wales
www.mountain-spirit-guides.com
3. Action Outdoors, Suffolk
4. Ski Club of Great Britain, Wimbledon
5. Mountain Tracks, London
Avalanche Awareness Courses
1. Chauvinguides Avalanche Course
La Grave, France
2. Chamonix Experience
Chamonix, France
3. Swiss Alpine Guides
Interlaken, Switzerland
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
We can provide a policy if you have pre-existing medical conditions and will be Piste Skiing / Snowboarding (without a Guide) whilst travelling abroad.