Owners:
Claire Jeffery:
Claire is a qualified solicitor with over ten seasons under her belt. She was a Canadian snowboard instructor and Option NFA sponsored rider. Her love for heliboarding enthused her to make the sport more mainstream, and accessible to ski resort holiday enthusiasts not wanting to spend the time and money on long haul flights to the typical heliski holiday in Canada. In 2009, Claire took the decision to give up law and live the dream by starting Val Heliski. Run by their 3A’s code of Accessibility, Ability, and Affordability, Val Heliski have captured the Canadian experience and brought the same level of service to France: now offering an all-inclusive door-to-door package, allowing their clients to sit back and enjoy a stress free experience.
Tom Jeffery:
Tom is a Canadian / BASI ski instructor and chartered surveyor who utilised both his talents to win the European property ski championships in 2009. He met Claire whilst doing a ski season in Banff, Canada. Now married and living with their kids in Tignes, their passion for heliskiing and backcountry is undiminished. Their business continues to grow from strength to strength as they believe their fundamental passion for providing an honest, good service keeps their clients coming back year after year.
Operations Manager:
Jordan Tiernan:
Jordan is our Operations Manager. He has skied around the world and can usually be found searching for steep terrain in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Having worked in the snowsports industry for eight years as a Ski Instructor and Ski Patroller and his current role at Val Heliski, he has written a dissertation on avalanche education and developed his own mountain weather website.
Jordan has the ability to design, develop and market our fantastic Heliski experiences, ensuring that your heliski trip runs as smoothly and safely as possible. Whilst you are in resort, Jordan uses his knowledge of the Tignes / Val-d’Isère backcountry terrain & our Italian drop-zones to find you the best spots to ski based on the conditions during your stay, and his in-depth avalanche safety knowledge will ensure that you are always in the surest hands.
During the Southern Hemisphere winter season, Jordan lives in Queenstown whilst working for Southern Lakes Heliski in a similar role, whilst working towards his UIAGM (IFMGA) mountain guide certification.
Read more on what Jordan is up to on his blog here; http://jordtiernan.com
Guides:
Tom Grant (IFMGA):
Tom is a passionate and dedicated skier, alpinist and all-round climber. He’s particularly pursued the art of steep skiing, which has led him to ski many first descents in the Alps, New Zealand, and Baffin Island. Tom was born in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. Aged 11 he moved to Lewes, East Sussex with my family for a change of scenery. Tom began climbing on the major sandstone outcrops of Sussex aged 17, but only began to passionately pursue climbing while at university in Nottingham. His passion for climbing, adventure and the odd dose of suffering, led him to move to permanently to Chamonix in 2009.
Here is just a small snippet of Tom’s vast Ski Mountaineering experience;
– 2nd Descent of the Grand Couloir of the Brenva (Sentinelle Rouge Couloir), first time without rappel and heli
– First descents in the Mont Blanc Massif: West Couloir of the Aigulle Tour Noir and SW face of the Aiguille Tricot
– First descents in New Zealand, notably the South Face of Mount Cook, Mt. Darwin and the West Face of Elie de Beaumont
– North Face Les Courtes – Cordier Gabarrou
– Multiple descents of the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi – Eugster Diagonal, Mallory and Col du Plan North Face
– And many, many more…
Recent Comments