How to ski tour
Ski touring is a fantastic way to expand your skiing horizons beyond the boundaries of the ski resort and into an amazing world of high mountains, backcountry wilderness and rarely-travelled alpine terrain.
To get started you’ll need a few very important things:
- Some cool new skills that will enable you and your ski buddies the ability to adventure deep into the alpine and return home safely.
- A bunch of awesome new gear!
How is ski touring equipment different from alpine ski gear?
In recent years, ski touring has exploded in popularity and snowsports brands have responded by producing innovative products that make getting to the goods as fun and efficient as possible, including:
- Touring skis
- Touring ski bindings
- Touring ski boots
- Ski skins
- Ski touring clothing
Learn more about what to pack for backcountry skiing.
What are the best bindings for ski touring?
The primary difference between ski touring bindings and normal alpine bindings is that ski touring bindings feature a mechanism for releasing the heel of the boot while a unique toe piece enables the toe of the boot to pivot forward. This allows the backcountry skier to use a normal walking gait when skinning uphill. Touring bindings can be divided into a few categories:
- Tech touring bindings (also called pin bindings) – Tech bindings feature a pair of pins that clamp onto a special socket on the sides of the toe of a ski touring boot which, when the heel is unlocked, allow the toe of the boot to pivot forward and backward. Classic tech bindings also have pins that secure the heel of the boot in place when it’s time to ski down. Tech bindings are typically the lightest ski bindings available and are therefore widely used.
- Frame touring bindings (also called alpine touring bindings) – these bindings feature a toe and heel similar to an alpine ski binding that’s mounted on a frame, has a pivot point on the toe, and can be unlocked at the heel. Although these bindings are heavier than tech bindings, some freetouring skiers prefer them because they provide the elasticity and reliability of alpine bindings, which provides extra confidence when charging steep lines. Frame touring bindings are also used by skiers who spend most of their ski days riding lifts with a few ski touring days thrown in and therefore need one ski and binding setup that can do it all.
- Hybrid touring bindings – as the name suggests, these bindings combine the best features of tech and frame bindings. Hybrid bindings feature a tech toe piece and an alpine binding heel to provide a binding that’s lightweight and easy on the up with increased performance for the down, which is why more and more freetouring skiers are choosing them.
What are the best boots for ski touring?
As the specific demands of backcountry skiers has increased, so too have the wide variety of boots that ski manufacturers are producing to meet the specific needs of an increasingly divergent group of skiers. Yet with all the different models appearing, there are several major features that make ski touring boots different from alpine ski boots.
- Hinged cuff – all ski touring boots include a cuff that can be locked into place for skiing down and unlocked to provide a wide range of motion for skinning up.
- Tech fittings – ski touring boots will also feature fittings at the toe and heel that function with tech bindings.
- Grippy sole – lugged rubber soles not only make scrambling across rocks and ice easier, they make navigating across icy parking lots and busting disco moves on the bar at après ski a whole lot less risky.
- Lightweight – as with skis and bindings, shaving weight is a major consideration when it comes to ski touring boots. Specialty materials and innovative construction techniques ensure the performance needed for both the up and the down.
What are ski skins?
Ski skins are long, thin strips of fabric that are cut to precisely match the shape of your ski. One side of the skin has an adhesive that sticks to the bottom of the ski while the other side features a short ‘fur’ that’s angled so that it slides when the ski is pushed uphill and grips the snow when weighted. Although skins were originally made from seal fur, thankfully the vast majority of skins are now made from either mohair, synthetic fibers or a mohair/synthetic blend.
What is the best clothing for ski touring?
Ski touring presents a unique challenge when it comes to clothing. On one hand, you want to be warm when you ski down and stop for breaks. On the other hand, most of your time will be spent enjoying the highly aerobic activity of skinning up, during which you’ll need to stay dry by not overheating. The solution is to dress using the fabulously versatile 3-layer system.
- Base layer – a relatively lightweight, quick-drying base layer made from a moisture wicking material (like wool or synthetic)
- Mid layer – an insulating layer with a high heat-to-weight ratio like goose down or synthetic down.
- Outer layer – a windproof/waterproof/breathable layer that shields you from wind, snow and rain.
These layers can be easily mixed and match to meet the day’s weather demands. For instance, on a cold, dry day with low wind, a base layer and mid layer might be all that’s needed on the way up. Once you reach the top of your line, the outer layer can be thrown on to keep you warm and dry while you’re floating through that untracked, waist-deep pow on the way down.
Learn more about how to dress for ski touring using the 3-layer system.
What skills do I need for ski touring?
Ski touring isn’t the exclusive domain of expert skiers only. It is open to a wide variety of skiers, especially resort touring which, depending on where the skin track leads to, may allow relative beginners to skin up and ski down on a green groomed slope.
However, if you’re heading into the backcountry – and this is a very important ‘if’ – you need to nail down some essential backcountry skills like:
- Avalanche safety – ski resorts invest a massive amount of money and effort into making the area within their boundaries as safe as possible. Outside those boundaries is a wilderness environment that requires proper training to also be appreciated to its fullest. Part of the appeal of backcountry skiing is gaining the knowledge required to be able to enjoy wilderness terrain as safely as possible. This means taking avalanche training courses that will teach you how to identify dangerous terrain as well as how to efficiently locate and rescue victims that have been caught in an avalanche.
- First aid – if/when things go awry in the backcountry, outside help is not always available. The best insurance against good days turning really, really bad is to get trained in backcountry first aid and learn how to make a rescue sled out of the materials you have with you.
- Kick turns – when the terrain gets too steep for backcountry skiers to efficiently skin straight up, they start using a zig zag pattern to proceed upward. Once a skier gets to the end of his zig and it’s time to zag, a special maneuver called a kick turn is used. And while your first few attempts at this move may seem incredibly awkward, keep telling yourself that the more you practice, the easier and smoother it will become. Ski resorts with skin tracks are a great way to get up to speed with your kick turns so take advantage of them and dial in this basic skill before you head into the backcountry.
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