We are delighted to announce that Starski Ski School has joined Oxygene. This means you can now ski with us in the family-friendly resort of Grand Bornand in the Northern French Alps.
1. A ski school created in 1986
Starski was founded in 1986 by Remi Lemaitre and Dominique Marie. Their ethos was to build a ski school to offer their clientele a more personalised ski experience. “From the beginning we didn’t put skiers in a box, we created a new one for them,” explain the directors, Jeremy and Jerome. Their personal approach has been key to Starski’s success but isn’t the only string to their bow. Starski is also a ski school with expert instructors, passionate directors and a love of exploring everything the mountain has to offer.
2. Why has Starski joined Oxygene?
In order to concentrate on what they do best, tailoring their approach to their clients, Jerome and Jeremy were looking to delegate certain elements of the running of the school. They realised that joining a ski school group like Oxygene would allow them to benefit from the support and structure of the group, freeing up their time to focus on the quality of their offering in resort. Two years ago, Jerome met Bertrand, one of the founders of Oxygene. Throughout their conversation it became clear they shared the same values. The idea of joining forces made sense and now Starski has become part of the Oxygene family and will from now on be known as Oxygene Grand Bornand.
The Oxygene team in Grand Bornand
3. Who are the directors of Oxygene Grand Bornand ?
Jeremy and Jerome have already proved themselves worthy directors of the ski school. Jeremy, son of one of the founders, made his first turns on snow with Starski over 30 years ago. Following in his father’s footsteps, he became an instructor and began teaching within the family business. Now he looks after the administrative side of the business whilst co-director, Jerome, focuses on the operational side, managing the instructor team. Jerome is an ex-Rossignol pro-rider, who teaches skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and speed-riding. He has lived and worked in the resort since 2014. He also works with ENSA, the French equivalent of BASI.
4. What is Grand Bornand like?
Grand Bornand is located between Mont Blanc, Annecy and Lake Geneva in the heart of the Aravis mountain range. It’s a medium altitude resort which, despite not being the highest ski area, always receives an impressive annual snowfall. It is an old village with a lot of history and has a lovely French village feel to it. To get to the ski area you take the gondola from the village centre or simply access it on foot from the Chinaillon area of the resort (where our office is located).
It is a family-sized resort boasting a modest 100kms of slopes. A large proportion of the slopes are ideal for beginners. That said, there is still a variety of terrains to satisfy your whole family or group. It’s a resort that is easy to find your way around and provides a perfect mix of adventure, freedom and tranquility. The Lac and Serpentine slopes are perfectly designed for beginners taking their first turns on snow.
Le Grand Bornand ski resort David Machet
5. Why choose Oxygene in Grand Bornand?
There are plenty of reasons! Besides our usual range of ski and snowboard lessons offered in group and private formats we have a number of original activities for you to try:
- “Baby snow” are snowboarding sessions for budding boarders from age 3.
- For the dare-devils amongst you, why not try your hand at speed riding, skiing with a light parachute allowing you to gain speed and jump on and off the slopes.
- Want to set the slopes on fire? Join us for a Star Wars style torchlight descent, every Thursday on the Chinaillon slopes.
And, if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget that we limit our children’s beginner groups to just 5 or 6 participants (according to level) to give your kids the best start on snow.
Oxygene keeps group sizes small
Tour the best resorts the French Alps has to offer with Oxygene
Each resort is different and it’s worth trying them all. If you’ve already skied with us in one or two of our resorts why not follow us to Grand Bornand? The levels and medal programme are the same whichever Oxygene resort your visit meaning your children can alternate between resorts and continue to collect their medals right up to Gold Ski and beyond!
So, let’s go. Arv’i! (As they say in Grand Bornand)