Oliver and Elaine Ensor founded Snow Safari in 1989 and based themselves in Chamonix- Les Houches in order to take advantage of the great hiking, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing and and also the 20 or so fabulous ski areas all within an hour of Chamonix. In 1992 they bought the Chalet Savoy just six minutes walk from the Chamonix / Les Houches ski slopes. Not only is Les Houches ideal for wintersports but it is right at the start of the world's most famous walking trail, "the Tour of Mont Blanc".
Oliver passed the highest ski .jpg)
instructor exam available to foreigners in Austria while he was working there in the 70's. He is also British qualified and holds the top American ski instructor's qualification. Oliver is also a British qualified Nordic Ski instructor (x-country and telemark). He has passed the Austrian Mountain Leader exams and has also obtained the "International Mountain leader." qualification. Following the newest walking trend Oliver has recently passed the French "Nordic Walking" diploma. Before founding Snow Safari, Oliver worked as a travel guide in Europe and Asia and he is certified as a Tour Manager. He speaks French, Italian, Spanish and German.
Elaine, like Oliver, also worked as a Tour Guide looking after Spanish, 
English and Brazilian guests throughout Europe before they founded Snow Safari together and opened the Chalet Savoy. Elaine has qualified as a reflexologist and her international cooking skills are much appreciated by Chalet Guests. Elaine has also worked as a Bilingual secretary and speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese and is currently learning German and Catalan.
In 2000 Oliver and Elaine started marketing the Villa Catalan in the Costa Brava town of Estartit. Under the auspices of Snow Safari, their new program: "Sea and Mountains" offers skiing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, hiking, art weeks, history and garden tours and much more.
