Freeride · Destination Guide

The Best Freeride Destinations to Ski in 2027

By The Mason Alpine Team  ·  December 2025  ·  8 min read

The allure of freeride skiing is elemental. It is the pursuit of untracked powder, of terrain without guardrails, of descents that demand everything you have and leave you altered in some hard-to-articulate way. It is also, increasingly, a discipline that the world's finest resorts have built their reputations on — and the gap between destination quality has never been more pronounced. If you are planning a freeride trip for the 2026/27 season, these are the destinations worth your time, your money and your commitment.

Verbier, Switzerland

There is no freeride destination quite like Verbier. The Bec des Rosses — the 3,233-metre peak that forms the centrepiece of the FWT Freeride World Tour — is the benchmark against which all other big-mountain terrain is measured. Watching the world's best freeriders drop near-vertical lines from the summit every March is one of winter sport's great spectacles, but the Bec is only the headline act in a resort defined by off-piste opportunity.

The 4 Vallées network provides 410 kilometres of piste for warm-up days, but it is the terrain beyond the markers that makes Verbier unmissable. La Fameux Backside — the legendary run dropping from the Mont Fort cable car terminus — takes experienced skiers through a sequence of open faces, tight couloirs and long glacier traverses that deposits you in a valley floor accessible only by ski. The Attelas and Vallon d'Arby sectors provide similar quality at slightly lower consequence, making them ideal for guides testing their groups on the first day.

The resort's infrastructure for guided freeride is unmatched. Verbier has the highest concentration of IFMGA-certified mountain guides in the Alps, and the Guide Bureau operates efficiently and professionally. Snow quality, when the conditions align, can be extraordinary — Verbier's cold, north-facing aspects hold powder for days after a storm, and the resort's altitude (top station at 3,330m) ensures excellent early and late-season skiing. The town itself is lively, expensive and unapologetically fun. Book your chalet early.

"Verbier is not just a resort. It is a rite of passage for anyone who considers themselves a serious mountain skier."

Chamonix, France

If Verbier is the proving ground of competitive freeride, Chamonix is its spiritual home. The Vallée Blanche descent — 20 kilometres of glacial skiing from the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842 metres — is perhaps the most iconic ski route in the world. Off-piste, the options multiply exponentially: from the classic north faces of the Grands Montets to the remote couloirs accessible only by splitboard or ski touring equipment. Chamonix's inbounds ski area is intentionally modest, leaving the emphasis exactly where it belongs: on the mountain itself.

What sets Chamonix apart for the expert freerider is the seriousness of its terrain. This is real alpine skiing — objective hazards, crevassed glaciers, routes that require rope and axe in some conditions. A guide is not merely recommended; in many areas, it is the difference between an extraordinary day and a catastrophic one. The standard of guiding in Chamonix is exceptional, and the culture of the town — serious, unpretentious, deeply respectful of the mountains — suits the discipline perfectly. Stay in the town centre for easy access to the Aiguille du Midi cable car; the 20-minute walk from Chamonix to the gondola base is part of the daily ritual.

Niseko, Japan

The statistics alone are remarkable: Niseko's Hirafu zone receives an average of fifteen metres of snowfall each winter, much of it arriving in the form of Japow — the legendarily light, dry, cold-climate powder that has made this corner of Hokkaido a global pilgrimage for powder hunters. Niseko is not technically challenging by Alpine standards; the resort's modest vertical and relatively gentle gradient mean that the mountain itself rarely intimidates. What it offers instead is quantity and consistency of snow that Europe cannot reliably match.

The combination of world-class snow, Japan's famed hospitality and the cultural experience of skiing in a country where the après-ski involves ramen, sake and traditional onsen hot springs makes Niseko a trip that satisfies on multiple levels. Go in January or February for the best powder, and book your accommodation at least six months in advance — the resort fills quickly as its international reputation grows year on year.

La Grave, France

La Grave is not a resort in any conventional sense. There are no groomed pistes, no ski patrol, no avalanche control. A single télépherique ascends 2,150 vertical metres to the top of La Meije at 3,600m, depositing skiers in uncontrolled, wild terrain that descends through glacial seracs, open powder bowls and tight tree runs back to the village. It is the destination of choice for expert alpinists, the kind of freerider who has outgrown the confines of conventional resort skiing, and those who want to experience mountains in their most unmediated form.

A guide is essential at La Grave — this is non-negotiable. The terrain is genuinely dangerous, conditions change rapidly, and several lines through the glacier require specific knowledge of current crevasse patterns. What you get in return for the commitment and planning is the purest, most challenging and arguably most rewarding freeride experience in Europe. La Grave is not for everyone, and it knows it.

Engelberg, Switzerland

The north face of Titlis at Engelberg remains one of the most technically demanding freeride experiences in Europe, and the resort's relatively low visitor numbers mean that lines stay untracked for longer than in Verbier or Chamonix after a storm. The Stanserhorn area provides more moderate off-piste terrain for warming up, while the Titlis north face itself rewards those willing to commit to a serious line with some of the most sustained steep skiing in Switzerland. Engelberg is a genuine alternative to the larger, more crowded resorts — and at current prices, represents remarkable value.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

American big-mountain skiing at its finest. Jackson Hole's 4,139 feet of vertical — the most of any US resort — and its legendary inbounds terrain, including Corbet's Couloir (the couloir that effectively started the modern freeride movement), provide a seamless gateway between resort skiing and full alpinism. The Aerial Tram to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain opens terrain that is unapologetically serious: boot-wide couloirs, cliff bands and the consistently steep Hobacks below. The resort's commitment to leaving challenging terrain open and unsoftened makes it feel uniquely alive by American standards. Add the town of Jackson itself — genuinely Western, genuinely characterful — and you have a trip that stands entirely apart from the European Alpine experience.

Planning Your Freeride Trip

Every destination on this list rewards proper planning and professional guiding. An IFMGA-certified mountain guide is not a luxury on serious freeride terrain — it is the foundation that makes the experience both safe and exceptional. At Mason Alpine Co., we build every freeride booking around a handpicked local guide who knows their terrain intimately, avalanche safety equipment included in all packages, and accommodation that means every evening is as good as every descent. Enquire with our team to begin planning your 2026/27 season.

Mountain Biking · Destination Guide

The World's Best Mountain Biking Destinations

By The Mason Alpine Team  ·  October 2025  ·  9 min read

Mountain biking has matured into one of the world's great adventure pursuits — diverse in discipline, global in reach, and increasingly accessible at the highest level of experience. Whether you are a gravity-hungry enduro rider looking for the biggest descents on earth, a trail enthusiast who measures a good day in kilometres of singletrack rather than vertical metres, or an explorer drawn to multi-day bikepacking routes through remote wilderness, the destinations below represent the best the planet has to offer. These are not just good trails: they are the places that redefine what the sport can feel like.

Whistler Bike Park, British Columbia

The benchmark. Whistler Bike Park is the world's most famous lift-served mountain biking destination, and it earned that reputation on merit. Over eighty trails spread across 1,530 acres of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, serviced by the Whistler Village Gondola and four high-speed detachable chairs. The range is extraordinary: from the world-famous A-Line — arguably the most recognisable trail in the sport, with its perfect sequence of berms, jumps and rollers — through to the terrifying technical lines of Dirt Merchant and the exposed ridgeline of Top of the World.

What makes Whistler exceptional is not just the quality of individual trails but the coherence and scale of the overall network. You can spend a week riding here and not repeat a trail. The bike park is matched by the village infrastructure: world-class bike shops, exceptional food and accommodation, and the kind of riding culture that means every chairlift conversation is worth having. The Crankworx Whistler festival each August — the Super Bowl of mountain biking — brings an electric atmosphere that transforms the resort into the sport's most exciting week of the year. Book accommodation months in advance if attending. Go in late July or August for the best trail conditions.

Finale Ligure, Italy

Five hundred kilometres of singletrack threading through rugged Ligurian limestone hillsides above the Ligurian coast, with the Mediterranean visible from the high ridgelines and the medieval walled town of Finalborgo as your base — Finale Ligure is the jewel of European trail riding, and arguably the most fun you can have on a mountain bike without a lift pass. Unlike Whistler's lift-served gravity park, Finale's riding is self-propelled and point-to-point, demanding physical fitness alongside technical skill. The reward is a sense of exploration and freedom that lift-served parks, for all their excellence, cannot quite replicate.

The trails range from flowy singletrack through pine and oak forests to technical rocky descents on the famous Pietra di Finale limestone — a surface that offers enormous grip when dry and becomes a polished skating rink in wet conditions, so timing your visit matters. September and October are ideal: the summer heat has abated, the trails are dry and the light on the hillsides in the late afternoon is extraordinary. Stay in Finalborgo itself for the full experience — breakfast in the piazza, lunch at a rifugio on the ridge, dinner in one of the small restaurants tucked into the medieval streets.

"Finale is proof that the best riding in the world doesn't always come with a gondola attached."

Moab, Utah

Desert riding unlike anything else on earth. Moab's defining feature is slickrock — the orange Navajo sandstone that gives the region its character and its name, and which provides a riding surface of almost mystical grip that allows lines through terrain that would be impassable on any other surface in the world. The Slickrock Trail, which put Moab on the global map, remains a must-ride: a technical loop across undulating orange rock with views across Arches National Park that are genuinely surreal. It is not a long trail — around sixteen kilometres — but it demands total attention and provides total reward.

Beyond Slickrock, Moab has diversified into one of the world's finest all-round mountain biking destinations. The Whole Enchilada — a 48-kilometre descent from the La Sal Mountains through five distinct ecosystems, losing 2,700 metres of vertical — is one of the greatest point-to-point descents on the planet. Porcupine Rim provides a more technical canyon-edge experience. The White Rim Trail offers a three-to-four-day bikepacking circuit through Canyonlands National Park that is as remote and beautiful as anything accessible by bike. Go in spring (April-May) or autumn (September-October) — summer temperatures regularly exceed 40°C and are genuinely dangerous.

Queenstown, New Zealand

The Skyline Gravity Park above Queenstown, accessed by gondola from the town centre, delivers lift-served trails from beginner flow through to expert black runs on the slopes above Lake Wakatipu — a body of water so extraordinarily blue and so surrounded by mountains that riding here feels slightly unreal. The Queenstown Bike Park has grown rapidly and continues to invest in new trail construction, with recent additions including several long technical descents that rival anything in the Northern Hemisphere.

Queenstown's appeal extends beyond the bike park itself. The wider Otago region offers hundreds of kilometres of trail riding, including the famous Queenstown Trail network and the Rude Rock reserve below the Remarkables ski area. The town itself is one of the world's great adventure tourism hubs — the dining, accommodation and activity scene is exceptional, and the southern hemisphere timing (riding season October to April) makes it the perfect midwinter escape from Europe's mud season.

Innsbruck, Austria

The Austrian Tirol's capital earns its place on this list for the improbable fact that you can take a cable car from the city centre to world-class alpine singletrack within twenty minutes of checking into your hotel. The Nordkette, Patscherkofel and Bikepark Innsbruck are all accessible by public gondola, and the trail quality — technical, steep and rewarded with views across the Inn Valley and the city below — is genuinely exceptional. Innsbruck hosted the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships twice, and the event course on the Nordkette remains as demanding as anything on the World Cup circuit.

The wider Tirol provides hundreds of kilometres of marked trails across multiple resorts, including the Bikepark Leogang (one of Europe's finest trail networks), Saalbach and the Bikerepublik Sölden. For a destination that combines urban convenience with access to world-class mountain terrain, Innsbruck is unmatched in Europe.

Morzine & Les Gets, French Alps

The Portes du Soleil network — linking Morzine, Les Gets, Châtel, Avoriaz and their Swiss neighbours Champéry and Morgins — converts from one of Europe's largest ski areas into an equally impressive mountain biking network each summer. Approximately 650 kilometres of waymarked trails, lift-served gravity descents and cross-country routes thread through this Franco-Swiss network, with the annual Enduro World Series race at Les Gets providing a focal point for the season every July.

Morzine itself is the ideal base: a genuine alpine village (as opposed to a purpose-built ski station) with an excellent restaurant scene, good hotels, and the kind of community that has embraced mountain biking with genuine enthusiasm. The Pierre Carrée and Super Morzine sectors provide the best lift-served gravity riding; the cross-country trails to Les Gets and beyond suit those who want to earn their descents. For a weeks-long trip combining riding with the pleasures of authentic alpine village life, there is nowhere quite like Morzine.

Planning Your Mountain Biking Trip

The best mountain biking trips combine great trails with great logistics — the right accommodation, the right guide, bike transport or rental sorted in advance, and an itinerary that builds in enough rest to actually enjoy the riding. Mason Alpine Co. plans mountain biking trips across all of the destinations above, with access to specialist guides, handpicked accommodation and the kind of local knowledge that makes the difference between a good trip and an extraordinary one. Get in touch to start planning your season.

Trekking · Ultimate Guide

The Tour du Mont Blanc: The Ultimate Guide

By The Mason Alpine Team  ·  August 2025  ·  12 min read

The Tour du Mont Blanc is, by most credible measures, the most famous long-distance trekking route in the world. It circles the Mont Blanc massif — the highest peak in the Alps at 4,808 metres — through France, Italy and Switzerland, covering approximately 170 kilometres with around 10,000 metres of cumulative ascent and descent across eleven traditional stages. Each year, an estimated 20,000 trekkers set out to complete it in full, and many thousands more walk individual stages or sections. For good reason: the combination of spectacular alpine scenery, cross-border mountain culture, excellent trail infrastructure and the genuine physical challenge of sustained daily effort makes the TMB one of those rare experiences that genuinely shifts perspective.

This guide covers everything you need to plan and complete the route — from the classic itinerary and key decisions to accommodation strategy, fitness requirements and the logistical details that separate a smooth circuit from a stressful one. We also describe Mason Alpine Co.'s guided TMB programme for those who prefer to walk in the company of an expert and sleep in the finest accommodation the route has to offer.

The Route: An Overview

The classic Tour du Mont Blanc begins and ends in Chamonix, France, tracing a roughly clockwise path around the massif through three countries. The official start point is the Les Houches cable car station, a short bus or train ride from Chamonix centre, though many walkers begin from Chamonix itself — adding approximately half a day to the circuit. The route passes through Les Contamines-Montjoie and the Col du Bonhomme in France, crosses into Italy at the Col de la Seigne for the Courmayeur section, continues into Switzerland via the Grand Col Ferret to Champex-Lac and Trient, before returning to France and Chamonix via the Aiguilles Rouges massif above Argentière.

The traditional eleven-stage itinerary takes eleven days of walking, though most experienced trekkers plan for twelve to fourteen days to allow for rest days, weather delays and the very reasonable desire to spend more than one night in Courmayeur, which is the finest town on the route. Days vary considerably in length and difficulty: the stage from Les Contamines to the Refuge des Mottets (Stage 2–3) involves 1,450m of ascent and is one of the most physically demanding; the stage from Champex to Trient involves the optional Fenêtre d'Arpette variant — a high, steep mountain pass that is the most technically demanding section on the standard route and one of its most spectacular.

Stage by Stage

Stage 1 — Chamonix / Les Houches to Les Contamines-Montjoie: A relatively gentle opening day via the Col de Voza (1,653m). Views of the Mont Blanc massif on the approach to Les Contamines. Distance: 19km; ascent: 1,100m.

Stage 2 — Les Contamines to Refuge des Mottets: The route's most sustained climb, crossing the Col du Bonhomme (2,329m) and Col de la Croix du Bonhomme (2,483m). The high traverse above the treeline is extraordinary in clear conditions. Distance: 20km; ascent: 1,450m.

Stage 3 — Refuge des Mottets to Courmayeur (Italy): Cross the Col de la Seigne (2,516m) into Italy — one of the great moments of the circuit. The descent through the Val Vény into Courmayeur rewards the effort magnificently. Distance: 17km; ascent: 760m; descent: 1,340m.

Stage 4 — Courmayeur to Refuge Bonatti (or Arnuva): The Italian section, climbing above Courmayeur to the Refuge Bertone and continuing along a high-level path with extraordinary views of the Grandes Jorasses. The Refuge Bonatti is one of the finest mountain refuges in the Alps. Distance: 17km; ascent: 1,690m.

Stage 5 — Arnuva to La Fouly (Switzerland): Cross the Grand Col Ferret (2,537m) into Switzerland. The descent to La Fouly through the Val Ferret is green, gentle and beautiful — a complete contrast to the dramatic Italian side. Distance: 17km; ascent: 750m.

Stage 6 — La Fouly to Champex-Lac: A quieter, more pastoral day through the Swiss Val Ferret. Champex-Lac — a tiny resort town on a lake — is one of the most charming overnight stops on the route. Distance: 15km; ascent: 540m.

Stage 7 — Champex to Trient (via Fenêtre d'Arpette or Col de la Forclaz): The Fenêtre d'Arpette alternative (2,665m) is steep, rocky and magnificent — the single most demanding section of the standard circuit and, on a clear day, among its finest. The standard route via the Col de la Forclaz is considerably gentler. Distance: 15–19km depending on variant.

Stage 8 — Trient to Argentière (France): The return to France via the Col de Balme (2,204m), with the first views of the Mont Blanc massif from the French side since Stage 1. Distance: 17km; ascent: 780m.

Stage 9–10 — Argentière to Chamonix via La Flégère: The final approach to Chamonix along the high-level path above the Arve Valley, with Mont Blanc visible throughout. The emotional weight of the final descent into Chamonix is something almost everyone who completes the TMB describes in terms of surprise at its intensity.

When to Go

The TMB is accessible from late June through to mid-September, with mid-July to mid-August being peak season. June and early July can see snow on the high passes, particularly the Fenêtre d'Arpette, which may require ice axes or crampons in early season. Late August and September offer quieter refuges, cooler temperatures and reliable weather, but the nights grow cold quickly and some mountain services reduce their operating season.

July and August offer the most reliable conditions and the longest daylight hours (important on longer stages), but refuges are extremely busy and must be booked months in advance. The atmosphere during peak season is festive and international — the trail is genuinely a meeting place for trekkers from across the world.

Accommodation

The route is well served by mountain refuges (refuges/rifugi/Hütten), gîtes d'étape (dormitory-style hiking lodges) and, in the larger villages, hotels and B&Bs. In peak season (late July to mid-August), accommodation must be booked as early as February or March — the most popular stops, including the Refuge des Mottets, Refuge Bonatti and Champex-Lac, fill extremely quickly. Most refuges offer a half-board option (dinner and breakfast) which is the standard arrangement and strongly recommended: refuge meals are often better than their modest surroundings suggest.

Mason Alpine Co.'s guided TMB programme accommodates clients in the finest properties on the route — including private rooms at the Refuge Bonatti, a two-night stay in Courmayeur at a four-star hotel, and premium accommodation in Chamonix at the start and end. This transforms the experience from a dormitory-and-boots circuit into a genuinely luxurious journey through the mountains.

Fitness and Preparation

The TMB is physically demanding but not technically difficult under summer conditions on the standard route. Most reasonably fit walkers with regular hill-walking experience will find it achievable with proper preparation. The key physical requirement is the ability to sustain six to eight hours of walking on consecutive days, often with 1,000–1,500m of ascent — not technical, but relentlessly demanding on the legs and cardiovascular system.

Preparation should include multiple back-to-back days of hill walking in the months before departure, with particular attention to descending (which places significant load on the knees) and to carrying a loaded day pack. Trekking poles are strongly recommended, particularly for the sustained descents from high passes. Footwear should be well broken-in mountain boots with ankle support; running shoes, however capable on single-day outings, are insufficient for the TMB's sustained terrain and variable underfoot conditions.

Walking the TMB with Mason Alpine

Mason Alpine Co.'s guided Tour du Mont Blanc programme runs in small groups (maximum eight participants) over ten days, led by an IFMGA-qualified mountain guide with deep knowledge of the massif. The programme includes accommodation in the best available properties on the route — private rooms throughout, a two-night stay in Courmayeur for rest and acclimatisation, premium hotel nights in Chamonix at each end, and all dinners and breakfasts. Luggage transfer between overnight stops means you walk with a light day pack and arrive each evening to your bags already in your room.

This is the finest way to experience the Tour du Mont Blanc: all the challenge and beauty of the route, none of the logistical stress, and the kind of expert local knowledge that transforms a long walk into an unforgettable journey. Enquire with our team for dates and availability for the 2026 summer season.