Winter Expedition
Step into the raw power of winter. Skiing virgin slopes, climbing snowy peaks and facing the cold.
Hosted by OTRO Elements
- Duration
- 5 days · 4 nights
- Location
- Italian Alps — Tour de Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso or the Dolomites, Italian Alps
- Group size
- 10–12 people
- Intensity
- Demanding
- Best season
- winter
- Languages
- English, Dutch
The experience
This expedition pushes you well past the comfort zone: skiing untouched terrain, ascending snowy mountains and enduring real winter conditions, and rediscovering your own strength and resilience in the process.
The route adapts to snow, safety and weather. Candidate areas are the Tour de Monte Rosa, Parco Gran Paradiso and the Dolomites; local mountain guides finalise the line shortly before departure.
Days are ski-touring across valleys and ridges, with avalanche skills training, map reading and rope technique built in. Mornings open with a ritual and evenings close in a circle, with reflection and storytelling.
Who this is for
Said plainly, so you can rule it out as easily as rule it in.
- You can ski off-piste competently and want touring terrain rather than lifts
- You are prepared for cold, and for a route that is only confirmed close to departure
- You want avalanche, navigation and rope skills as part of the trip
- You are new to skiing, or only ski groomed pistes
- You need to know the exact itinerary months in advance
What's included
Included
- Ski-touring across valleys and ridges with local mountain guides
- Avalanche skills training
- Map reading and rope techniques
- Morning rituals and evening circle gatherings
- Hut-to-hut or basecamp accommodation, depending on conditions
- Reflection and storytelling sessions
Not included
- VAT — the price is quoted excluding it, and is indicative until the destination is fixed
- Travel to and from the Alps
- Ski touring equipment and avalanche safety kit (transceiver, shovel, probe)
- Personal and travel insurance, including off-piste cover
Meet your host
OTRO Elements
Netherlands · basecamp at Alpe Selvaccia, Italian Alps6 years hosting
OTRO Elements run “nature-based expeditions designed for reflection, deep connection, and the art of letting go”. Their basecamp is Alpe Selvaccia — 22 hectares of alpine meadow and pine forest above Rassa in the Valsesia, with rustic huts, a fire circle, a tipi and a yoga platform looking out at Monte Rosa. They call the facilitator team the Tribe: Quirine, Fenneke, Tjeerd, Marit, Kalijn, Fernanda, Raymond, Robert-Jan, Benny and others, working alongside local Italian hosts and mountain guides.
Verified credentials
- Local IFMGA-affiliated mountain guides set and lead every alpine route
- Groups capped at 8–12 people, with several facilitators per expedition
- Winter routes finalised on snow, avalanche and weather conditions shortly before departure
Why you can trust this listing
A person reviewed this listing
Every listing is checked by our curation team against a quality bar before it goes live — the photos are the host's own, the logistics are confirmed, and the credentials are verified. Nothing is published automatically.
We hold your payment until your experience starts
Your payment is taken at booking but stays with NatureTreats. We release it to your host the day after your experience begins. If it doesn't happen, you are refunded in full, automatically.
Practical details
Including the cancellation terms — visible before you book, not buried at checkout.
Meeting point
Confirmed with the group shortly before departure, once the guides have fixed the route on snow and weather conditions.
What to bring
- Touring skis, skins and boots, or arrange rental in advance
- Avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe
- A full winter layering system, including a hard shell and spare gloves
- Ski goggles, sunglasses and high-factor sun cream
Accessibility
The most demanding trip in this catalogue. Multi-day ski touring at altitude in winter conditions, with hut nights and long days. Off-piste skiing experience is required. Not suitable for wheelchair users.
Cancellation — Strict
Deposit is non-refundable; balance refundable up to 45 days before.
- More than 45 days before: full refund of the balance, deposit retained.
- 45–21 days before: 50% refund of the balance, deposit retained.
- Less than 21 days before: no refund.