I've never been to La Grave, only looked at it with longing from the top of Chamrousse - the days we had planned to go there the weather turned bad and it would have meant a lot of extra driving. Maybe Seth or someone else on the forum who's lived there can comment.
If it's anything like skiing off-piste in Chamonix or Italy or Switzerland, however, it is burly and unforgiving and many of the great lines are in very improbable places. Even if you're a very experienced skiier/mountaineer it helps a lot and saves tons of time to have a guide (or friend) to answer the questions like "does it go?" and "how do you get into the couloir?" "Which backyard do we ski through on the way back to the village?" - going rate, I believe, is 350 euros per day for UIAGM guides (unionized), though many charge extra (like 450) for guiding terrain that could result in their death. It's nice to have a party of 3 or 4 more-or-less equally skilled skiers and split the cost. Remember you are responsible for the guide's food and drink during the day and a tip as well. A good guide will also be able to size up your skill level quickly and have an idea of what you will enjoy; there is a lot of "fall you die" stuff that is completely off the hook in Europe that people ski seemingly casually every day.
It makes sense to hire a guide for select good weather days, or days when it hasn't snowed in a while (and a local knows where to find good snow), then work the same area on your own afterward.
Edited to add: It's a good idea to buy the "carte neige" insurance, which you can buy for a period of time or each time you buy a lift ticket at some areas -usually adds 2 Euros to the price of the ticket. Then program the rescue service number into your cell phone just in case you need heli rescue.
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