The International School of Mountaineering Ltd. (ISM)

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Leysin-Based Courses - Information Summary

Courses which convene in Leysin are: all Summer courses, all alpine Ice Climbing courses, all Ski courses apart from Chamonix-Zermatt and Vanoise Haute Routes and the Andermatt Off-Piste course (joining instructions for these will be found on the relevant course pages).

Getting to Leysin and the Grand Chalet

From Geneva Airport, a train journey around the shore of Lake Geneva brings you to the town of Aigle, where the train connects with a cog railway going straight up the mountainside to Leysin. To reach hotel Le Grand Chalet, disembark at the highest station (Grand Hotel / American College) turn left and walk 2 minutes downhill (passing the Hiking Sheep guesthouse). Alternatively, it is sometimes necessary to disembark at the larger Feydey Station, in which case, walk up-hill and reach the Grand Chalet in about 7mins.
From Zurich airport the journey to Leysin takes around 4 hours by train.
Train times can be looked up on the web www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm - a standard return fare is Geneva Airport-Leysin around £40.
If coming from the UK by car via the Auto routes, allow approximately 10 hrs from the Channel.

Unless a special arrangement has been made, all courses begin with a welcome drink & informal chat with guides/other course members at 6.45pm in the lounge bar of the Grand Chalet hotel on the course starting date. This is normally followed by a more specific course briefing at 7.00pm, then dinner at 7.30pm. Sometimes circumstances dictate that the course briefing is done the following morning at 8am after breakfast.
If travel arrangements make it impossible for you to attend the evening briefing don't worry - essential information can be relayed to you later

Occasionally ISM exceeds its room its room allocation in Le Grand Chalet and uses nearby accommodation of a similar standard (normally Chalet Ermina) still taking meals & other facilities as normal at Le Grand Chalet.

Booking extra hotel nights (in addition to those covered by the courses)

Please book the extra accommodation directly:

Grand Chalet - Tel : + 41 24493 0101 email: info@hotel-le-grand-chalet.ch
Chalet Ermina - Tel : + 41 24494 1261 www.ermina.ch
Les Cabris - Tel : + 41 24494 17 16 Fax: +41 24494 21 54
Hiking Sheep - Tel: + 41 24494 35 35 www.hikingsheep.ch

Information on other hotels in Leysin may be obtained from the Tourist Office tel: +41 24494 2244 email: info@leysin.ch

Safety and Insurance

Although ISM's safety record is second to none, mountaineering is a hazardous activity and accidents are always possible. All clients of ISM must have insurance cover for mountain rescue and medical costs resulting from an accident in the mountains (also On and Off-Piste skiing for Ski Tours). This cover is not provided by normal travel insurance.

The following organizations/companies offer mountaineering insurance:

UK residents -
BMC Tel : 08700104878 web www.thebmc.co.uk
Snowcard Tel :01327 262805 web www.snowcard.co.uk
Austrian Alpine Club Tel : 01707 324835 web www.aacuk.demon.co.uk
Non-UK residents -
Austrian Alpine Club Tel : 01707 324835 web www.aacuk.demon.co.uk

Please note that the cover provided through the Austrian Alpine Club only coverts rescue and limited medical expenses.

Alpine Clubs

By joining any of the major Alpine Clubs (Swiss, French or Austrian) or by obtaining a Reciprocal Rights card from the BMC, one can obtain reductions of up to 50% in hut fees. This is especially useful for people staying out in the Alps after a course.

All-inclusive Course Fees

With one or two exceptions noted on the relevant course pages, your ISM course fee covers hotel nights at the beginning and end of each course, board and accommodation throughout, guiding & instruction, transportation, telepheriques & mountain railways, and the loan of all technical equipment. On summer courses, the only items not covered are drinks. On Ski Touring courses restaurant lunches are excluded on instructional days spent within ski resorts.

Personal Guiding - the fees charged are for guiding only – clients must cover their own and the guide’s expenses for their chosen itinerary.

Fitness

While some courses are more demanding than others, all require a good standard of physical fitness. Clients must arrive suitably fit for the course(s) booked.

Please Click Here for Flight Information
Please Click Here for Grand Chalet and Leysin Information Leaflet

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