Emil Wittrup Præstbrogaard.
For many adventure tourism enthusiasts, destinations like Nepal, Kilimanjaro, Antarctica and many more may be hot topics of conversation. But one destination that’s been there for a while, home to a select community of frequent skiers that’s easily accessible, is Chamonix, France.
Chamonix is no stranger to the skiing elite; it’s been a popular destination for many skiers of all levels for decades. And recently, Emil Wittrup Præstbrogaard, a seasoned ski tourer, shared why he keeps returning every season to this captivating destination.
And it’s more than just the mountains.
In 2023, Emil left his full-time corporate job to live off his savings and campervan in the pursuit of powder and connecting communities through his new app, www.getoak.app, starting from Chamonix.
Dive with us today to learn about Emil’s story, the magical community of skiers that Chamonix holds and his advice for the best ski touring experience in this destination.
Why Chamonix?
If you’re a professional skier, then Chamonix may seem like an obvious answer. Sat at the base of Mont Blanc, the highest summit at 15,781 feet, it holds world-class ski facilities and resorts, a mecca for many ski tourers. Tourists have been frequenting Chamonix since the mid-17th century, and then, in 1924, it was the first host of the Winter Olympic Games.
Not to mention that it also has:
- Skiable Area: 61 km2
- Resort Height: 1050m
- Aspect: All Aspects
- Off Piste Highest Lift: 3842m
- Resort Highest Lift: 2765m
- Vertical Drop: 2800m
- Pistes: 150+ km
- Longest Piste: 22km
- Number of Lifts: 65
Source: See Chamonix
But Emil Wittrup Præstbrogaard reveals you’ve got to go there- to truly experience the magic that lies beyond the internet.
Emil’s background
To share some ski secrets about the community, let’s learn a little bit more about Emils. At Skitouring.com, we were lucky to catch him just before he headed out on his ski season in Chamonix for 2023-2024.
Early beginnings
Like many Danish, skiing has been a way of life for Emil, hitting the slopes with his parents since he was five years old. For him his love for skiing began from his first trip to Austria and then started skiing every year.
Teenage years
Once he hit his teenage years, he began arranging his own trips with friends. Later, he did two seasons as a regular tour guide, guiding people around the piste in Saalbach in Austria and Val Thorens in France, alongside summer guiding.
Worklife
Upon graduating with a degree in Finance Emil worked as a consultant for 6 years. While working as a consultant, he would spend his vacations traveling, often skiing for 1-3 weeks a year.
In 2019, Emil started to explore a little bit more on a ski vacation tied to Macedonia on an off-piste only tour. The concept was very simple, you jump in a snowcat that takes you out in the mountains of Macedonia where there is no ski resorts and then you ski first lines from 8 am to 6 pm.
Then, he was introduced to ski touring for the first time, returning 3 years later to do a full ski touring trip to Macedonia.
Chamonix
After becoming highly familiar with the powder of Macedonia, Emil decided to take the plunge and take a lone wolf trip to Chamonix the following year. He travelled and lived out of his car with little expectations, just in the hope of making some friends, and he got way more than he asked for.
Upon arrival, Emil found himself amongst many friendly and like-minded people. A breath of fresh air, Emil built the foundation with some lifelong connections.
His biggest learning?
There were many individuals just like him who wanted to do something different with their lives. Many people had left their jobs, were working remotely and wanted to make a change.
Since he’s been there a few times, he is always amazed at how he meets new people and a lot of them, too. More than planning ski tours together, they mingle with beers, food, and activities afterwards.
But, compared to some notorious binge-drinking destinations like Val Thorens, Verbier, Meribel, and Zermatt, Chamonix has a different atmosphere. Making friends with many serious, focused and driven ski goers, Emil found himself amongst many 30-40-year-olds who weren’t chasing the party scene.
How do you connect with skiers in Chamonix?
A few seasons in, Emil has already made friends from Chamonix, where he recently returned to spend New Year. But that just didn’t happen organically; it derived from reaching out to individuals on his own when he first arrived in Chamonix.
He got into a habit of connecting on Facebook groups and WhatsApp, randomly finding people to arrange a ski tour with Facebook groups such as Chamonix Ski Touring and Nordic skibums:Chamonix. Luckily for Emil, most of his experiences turned out amazing. But looking back, it was a bit risky.
Other than doing his own Facebook and Instagram vettings of profile photos and bios and his gut feeling, there was no way to verify the people he was skiing with.
This is why he decided to do a full 360 degrees on his life and implement a safe way to arrange ski tours with people in Chamonix, which meant leaving his full-time job to pursue his passion.
The making of Oak
In early 2023, Emil left the startup scene in Copenhagen, downsized into his old cool red T4 campervan and completely depended on his savings to explore the charm of Chamonix in full for 2-3 months. For the pure love of ski touring, he travelled to Chamonix on a basic lifestyle, living out of his van with no heat or electricity.
When the season ended he drove to Portugal with his girlfriend to learn how to surf and rethink the next career choices.
“When suddenly experiences so much freedom both in France and Portugal I realised how increasingly weary I was of working long hours at the office throughout the year and then living my ‘dream lifestyle’’ for only 5 weeks a year during vacation time. I wanted to flip that upside down”
Upon returning to his apartment in Copenhagen, Denmark, he realized he needed to change direction in life and try to pursue his passion over job security. Going back to Chamonix, Emil was curious about why know one has solved the grouping of strangers for ski touring and other mountain activities before him, as there clearly was a need based on his own experience from Chamonix, and decided there actually was a perfect match between passion and the potential of making a living out of it – Hence the seeds for Oak were planted.
The only problem was that Emil, as a seasoned consultant, was a generalist and not a software developer, but he took up the challenge anyway.
“When I started, I could say words like front-end, back-end, and full stack (skills I cultivated as a consultant), but honestly, I had no clue what they meant.
What I do know is how to get things done, no matter how hard it might seem. And luckily, there are many tools available today that significantly accelerate the learning curve. As a well-educated Google and YouTube warrior with plenty of time on hand, I took up the challenge.
Still, it was pretty hard, but not as difficult as expected. With a lot of good people around me to guide me through the process when things were not working, I think I can say I surprised both myself and the people around me when I announced that this somewhat seasoned generalist had built his first piece of software from 0-1.”
For most of 2023, Emil has been focusing on the app, which has gone live (www.getoak.app). This year he’s switching his time up in Chamonix, skiing 3-4 days a week and then working on the app.
How many people for ski touring?
Having skied all his life, we were curious to know Emil’s standpoint on the number of people suitable for a ski tour. While there isn’t a general rule, he feels there’s a 4-6 people limit; anything bigger may be a burden.
For instance, if you need to call for help, perform a specific task or even think on your feet in a dangerous circumstance, i.e. a person falling down into a crevasse on a glacier it’s good to be more than 1 person to figure out what to do, but at the same time it can be a burden being to many and also increase the overall risk exposure
Consider: One important tip is to be aware of your own and each other’s skill level, fitness level and risk appetite. Emil has been on trips where people have been unfit, slowing down the group and being stressed by the pace. Finding it hard to keep up, they often make more mistakes, placing more pressure and risks on the group ski touring.
Ski touring for the first time in Chamonix
If you’re new to ski touring, Emil recommends booking a guided tour with a certified IFMGA guides; with around 450 guides located in the Chamonix Valley, you’ll likely be in safe hands in the backcountryback country. Having done many ski tours with them, one in Macedonia and several in Chamonix, Emil has had some remarkable experiences.
“The best part of a guided tour is when you also get to learn something. Many of the guides are not only taking you safely out in the back country but also gladly provide advice and help you on your own journey towards educating yourself to become someone who can travel more safe in mountains.”
One of the classics of Chamonix
In 2023, a personal highlight was going on a full-day glacier tour called Col du Passon. Here, he skied across the Argentière Glacier, boot packing through a narrow collier, skied down glacier du Tour into the Le tour Village it self.
The Ladies Mont Blanc
Another full-day ski tour worth checking out is Mont Buet, also known as the Ladies Mont Blanc. When you’re on the top, you can get some breathtaking views of Mont Blanc. It’s around 2000 verticals and 20 km in total; So it is a long day, with decent options both for intermidate and more experienced skiers that wanna ski more steep terrain.
Courses to do in Chamonix
Emil suggests undertaking courses in Chamonix if you’re serious about ski touring. While many tend not to do these unless skiing, he feels it’s vital to progress. While in the beginning, you can rely on guided tours. But at some point you might find that too expensive and want to explore the backcountryback country with like-minded people, hence is why he suggest educating yourself.
Emil recommends undergoing avalanche and ski touring introduction courses. Also, Crevasse rescue training if you have plans to ski on glaciers.
It’s important you have the skills to navigate safely in the backcountryback country.
And it’s your responsibility to know what you’re doing before joining a group.
What equipment do you need for ski touring in Chamonix?
Emil suggests anyone who wants to ski tour, should always bring at a minimum:
- Avalanche kit (Shovel, Transceiver, Probe)
- Ski crampons (for icy terrain)
- Boot crampons and ice axe (for bootpacking)
- Cravesse rescue (for glacier travel)
- Abseiling kit (if you plan to rappel or for checking avalanche danger in steep terrain)
- Emergency kit
Tip: You might also consider a satellite phone if you are going far into the backcountry and radio communication between the group while skiing.
How to keep yourself fit for Chamonix?
Ski touring requires some form of fitness level. Due to the amount you’re walking and skiing, it’s more of an endurance sport, which requires you not to get exhausted. You could be walking outside for 6 hours plus at a medium pace and still need to have the energy to ski down (sometimes also multi-day hut to hut tours).
Emil tries to keep fit all year and uses his MTB and road bike to keep up the endurance level during off- season time. When home in Copenhagen he likes to bike-pack between Copenhagen and Aarhus where his family lives which is a 7 hour bike trip, including a ferry, that is similar to a long day in the mountains . He also recommends that during a season or vacation for ski touring in Chamonix, at least 10 minutes of stretching and yoga every day is essential to recover.
In summary
Overall, ski touring is fairly easy to learn- sometimes, there are technical aspects to it when traveling in steeper terrain, but overall it is quite easy to learn if you already are an experienced skier. If you’re new to ski touring, you are recommended to book a guide or an intro course to ski touring, this can all be done through the Oak app.
If you’re considering going but your best friends don’t feel up for it, make the trip alone- like Emil. With a wide range of resorts and many international skiers, you’re guaranteed to meet like-minded individuals.
But don’t just leave it to chance or gut feeling. Connect to the community of Chamonix here.