Chamonix holds a particular place in our lives. Tash and I spent a month in “Cham” the summer before we got married, living cheaply and falling completely in love with the place — the town, the mountains, the culture, the sense that you’re surrounded by people who have structured their entire lives around being in the hills.

We’ve passed through a handful of times since, always with that same feeling of coming back somewhere that matters. But we’d never actually snowboarded there. So when Norrøna invited us to join their annual Freeride Festival — a three-day, all-inclusive event set in the heart of Chamonix — saying yes was easy.

The Norrøna x Gore-Tex Freeride Festival is an annual, invite-based event that brings together around 80 skiers and snowboarders for three days of guided freeride clinics, ambassador presentations, and off-piste exploration across the Chamonix valley.

It’s organized through Norrøna Adventure and hosted at the Hotel Les Aiglons — a four-star property in the centre of town with an outdoor pool, spa, and the kind of cozy post-ski atmosphere that makes it hard to leave the lobby.

The format is simple: you arrive Thursday evening for dinner and introductions, spend Friday and Saturday in full-day clinics, and do a final half-day on Sunday before heading out.

Meals, ski passes (including the Vallée Blanche), shuttle transport, and product testing are all included. You sign up for clinics in advance and get grouped accordingly.

The Clinics

The clinics on offer span a solid range of disciplines and ability levels:

  • Vallée Blanche — the iconic off-piste glacier descent from the Aiguille du Midi
  • Steep skiing — technical terrain with Chris Davenport, anchors, abseiling into lines
  • Ski touring — uphill travel, route planning, backcountry decision-making
  • Girls only — off-piste freeride guided by Norrøna’s female ambassadors
  • Avalanche awareness — lift-accessed terrain with rescue scenarios and risk management
  • All-terrain skills, resort exploration, and backcountry freestyle

The ambassador roster is genuinely impressive — names like Amie Engebretson, Christian Nummedal, Benjamin Forthun, and Chris Davenport, alongside a crew of local Chamonix guides who know this terrain the way most people know their own neighbourhoods.