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Ski touring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ski touring, also referred to as ski mountaineering, ski randonnée, and alpine touring (or AT), is a form of backcountry skiing (off-piste skiing) involving trekking from place to place in the wilderness, that has parallels with hiking, backpacking and Alpine climbing or mountaineering.
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Ski touring is travelling over the winter landscape on skis under human power rather than through the use of ski lifts or snow vehicles. It can take place in terrain ranging from perfectly flat to extremely steep. In either case, unlike alpine skiing, the skiers heels must be free to allow a natural walking motion while ascending and traversing.
Going uphill or across a flat also requires grip, so that the ski will glide forward but not slide backwards when weighted. Dedicated cross-country touring skis may have a fish-scale pattern engraved into the base of the ski to enable the ski to grip, but other types of ski require the use of sticky wax or climbing skins. Skins are removable pieces of plush fabric whose knap runs at an oblique angle, allowing the ski to glide forward, but not back. If the snow is particularly icy or the skin track very steep, then the ski tourer may choose to clip on ski crampons, sometimes called harscheisen (German), couteau (French), or ramponi (Italian).
As the slope angles increase, the climbing ski-tourer will begin doing so-called "kick turns" to change direction, much like hairpins in a mountain road, typically resulting in a line that climbs at a moderate angle of 20-30 degrees. Skin tracks can be seen as zig zags heading up a snowy mountain. Ski-tourers try to maintain the "up-tracks" in avalanche safe zones as they head up the mountain. So the tourer will try to stay out from under dangerous cornices or out from under slide paths. Setting a proper and safe skin track requires a great deal of skill and avalanche knowledge as the tourer spends most of their time climbing. Traveling quickly up the hill is important for safety as well. Thus physical fitness is one of the most important elements of safe mountain travel in potential avalanche terraine.
On reaching the summit or other intermediate destination, skins (if used) are removed and the skiers prepare to descend. In traditional cross-country skiing equipment and more robust telemark equipment, the skier's heel is also free on the descent, while AT skiers lock down their heels for the descent in typical alpine skiing style.
Ski touring requires the ability to ski off-piste, good navigation skills, and good awareness of the risks of the mountain environment in winter. In particular it requires the knowledge to assess and test snow conditions to minimise the risk of avalanche. Avalanche rescue equipment including radio transceiver, probe and shovel should be carried, and the ability to use them quickly and efficiently is required.
Additionally, ski mountaineering implies climbing a mountain with the intent of skiing it, preferably from the summit and down an elegant "line." Ski mountaineering blurs the line between mountaineering and skiing as advocates typically choose peaks that are worthy climbs and challenging descents. Ski mountaineering may require kicking in steps up steep sections of the mountain with the climber carrying his or her skies on a backpack. Ski mountaineers may also use ropes, ice axes and crampons for ascending slopes too steep to skin up and too scary to just kick steps up. In some areas ski mountaineering requires glacier travel technique. When skiing on glaciers it is wise for the party to wear harnesses, carry crevasse-rescue gear and sometimes rope together to allow crevasse rescue techniques to be employed.
Ski touring requires cardio vascular fitness, mental toughness and a firm understanding of mountain craft. Touring involves navigating through potential avalanche terraine, route finding, meteorology and skiing skills. For advocates who possess the skills to safely enter the backcountry in the winter, the rewards of touring can be exceptional. Ski tourers can access mountain ranges and experience solitude, even in areas that would typically be quite crowded in the summer. The fit tourer can cover huge distances because the downhill sections are skied much faster than they could be hiked. Competent ski tourers also get to experience the self reliance that few others ever get to experience in the modern world. In many mountain areas cell phones are worthless and the ski party must rely on themselves for self rescue should something go awry.
Ski touring--or hiking for turns--is also popular with people looking for powder skiing since these conditions do not last long after storms inside ski area boundaries due to intense competition. Spring touring can also access corn snow which some consider to be equal to powder snow. Corn snow forms when the snowpack freezes at night and then melts during the day. The tourer tries to descend just as the corn ripens or when about an inch of slushy snow melts ontop of the firmly frozen snowpack. Whether a tourer is looking for winter powder of spring corn, the emphasis is on being self reliant in the mountains and skiing wild snow.
Ski touring can be faster and easier than summer hiking in some terrain and some conditions (like on talus slopes, for instance), allowing for traverses and ascents that in some ways would be harder in the summer. In this way, skis can ameliorate access to backcountry alpine climbing routes during the spring & early summer when snow is off the technical route, but still covers the hiking trail.
All ski touring equipment has the common ability to free the heel for level and uphill travel. However ski touring can be carried out using a variety of equipment. The choice of equipment is determined by the ski touring goals and to some degree, the other types of skiing the individual participates in:
Nordic ski touring is skiing with bindings that leave the heels relatively free all the time. Thus, nordic skiers do not have to change back and forth between uphill and downhill modes, which can be advantageous in rolling terrain.
At the lighter, simpler end of the scale, nordic skis may be narrow and edgeless cross-country types for groomed trails with boots that resemble soft shoes. These skis may have fish-scale bases which allow for very natural, seamless travel up and over hilly terrain due to the lack of a need to change modes for ascending and descending.
There's also a mid-range solution. The backcountry nordic ski is somewhat between traditional Nordic and Telemark. The ski's width is around 80mm, and use a wider version of Nordic bindings that is designed for backcountry skiing, allowing more stability and better energy transfer. Quite frequently, the boots are semi-rigid (usually the side is rigid), and the skis also have carving cuts similar to telemark/alpine skis, as well as metal edges.
At the heavier end of the Nordic skiing equipment spectrum lie Telemark skis for steep backcountry terrain or ski-area use. These skis are similar to alpine skis and AT skis: heavier and wider than other Nordic skis with a smooth base and metal edges for carving turns in steeper terraine. Telemark gear, like AT equipment, is frequently used for ski touring because of the additional control the equipment provides on the descent. Like AT equipment, telemark equipment is heavier than other nordic gear so the tourer is sacrificing the heavier weight on the uphill for ski ability on the descent.
Like all Nordic boots, telemark boots flex at the toe for more natural walking and striding, but they are heavier and more supportive than other forms of Nordic ski boots. Telemark boots conform to the 75mm nordic norm, which provides for a duckbill and the front of the boot with 3 holes on the bottom. The soft soles of telemark boots make kicking steps or front pointing with crampons difficult.
Traditional "3 pin" telemark bindings clamp the duckbill with the 3 holes in the boots aligned with 3 pins on the bindings to provide rotational rigidity. All modern bindings have a spring loaded cable that attaches around the heel of the boot, and most do away with the 3 pins entirely.
As telemark boots and binding springs have become progressively stiffer, the resistance for the skier to his his/her heel has increased. This resistance makes touring less efficient, especially when breaking trail through deep snow. Recent telemark bindings have added a AT style free pivot to allow frictionless forward rotation of the boot while touring. The pivot is locked for downhill skiing (much like at AT binding), but the heel of the boot is still able to raise off the ski.
The gradually increasing stiffness and height of telemark boots has led to increasing use of releasable telemark bindings. However, the design constraints of the 75mm nordic norm do not allow the boot to release from the binding effectively. Instead, releaseable telemark bindings leave part of the binding attached to the boot when release occurs. Due to the physics of the problem, it is very difficult to design consistent release into a telemark binding, so there is currently no DIN-certified releasable telemark binding available. The free heel of Telemark equipment appears to help prevent knee injuries common to alpine skiers or AT skiers even without releasable bindings <http://www.ski-injury.com/nordic.htm>, but non-releasing bindings still present a serious hazard in avalanches where attached equipment creates drag that increases the possibility of deeper burial.
Alpine Touring (AT) or randonnée equipment is specifically designed for ski touring in steep terrain. A special Alpine touring binding is used that allows the heel to be clipped down for more support when skiing downhill, and allows it to be released to swing resistance-free from the toe when climbing. Like telemark gear, this equipment is popular with people from an alpine skiing background; but unlike telemarking, it requires no learning of a challenging new type of downhill turn.
Most AT bindings have DIN safety release as in an alpine binding. Like telemark bindings, AT bindings are made in a variety of weights and styles designed for specific skiing applications. Special ski boots are also used, something of a cross between a downhill ski boot and a hiking boot, which are light and flexible enough to be comfortable to walk up in while still being stiff enough to provide good control when skiing down. These boots have specialized soles for traction and the ability to hold a crampon when climbing steep slopes with the skis on one's back.
Like downhill skiing boots, most AT Boots have rigid soles, which is advantageous for climbing steep snowslopes with or without crampons. However, all supportable ski boots are less than comfortable for hiking approaches over bare ground, so most skiers will carry their ski boots & use a lightweight hiking or trail-running shoe when approaches are dry & it is not possible to drive to the snow.
Alpine skiing equipment can be used for ski touring with the addition of a removable binding insert that allows for free heel swing on ascents. The advantage of this set up is maximum support and safety release at higher speeds, in more difficult snow conditions and on steeper slopes as well as no new ski equipment needs other than the insert (assuming one already has alpine ski gear and avalanche rescue equipment).
The major downside of this equipment arrangement is that it is very heavy, stiff and uncomfortable on uphills and long traverses. Also, the wide, deeply side-cut skis currently popular for resort skiing are optimized for downhill turning and are less effective than narrower (by today's standards), straight sided skis for "survival" techniques sometimes used by ski tourers to cope with steep, difficult or unskiable snow conditions, for instance: jump-turns of various flavors, side-slipping, traversing, snowplowing, uphill herringbone and side-stepping.
Snowboard touring is a variation of the activity in which a snowboard is used for the descents. To ascend, the snowboard tourer removes the board and uses snowshoes, stubby skis or a snowboard that can split in two pieces lengthwise (splitboard) to be used like skis with skins on the ascent. Of course, with snowshoes or stubby skis the snowboard must be carried whilst ascending adding to the weight carried. Whereas a split board is more akin to skis and must be converted before the descent by removing the skins and fixing the two halves together.
Snowboards are the tool of choice for some difficult snow conditions like breakable crust, spring slush or dense new snow. Many people also prefer them for powder. Unfortunately, travelling over flats and uphill is somewhat contrived and difficult, with transitions taking much longer than skiers.
U.S.
Ski touring takes place anywhere there is snow in the U.S. In much of the country, this means skiing in low-angle terrain, often on snow-covered roads packed down by snowmobiles. Skiing along prepared tracks on golf courses or in city, county or state parks is generally referred to as cross-country skiing rather than ski touring; the distinction is subtle with the essential difference being that the decision where to ski is predetermined by the track setters.
In steeper terrain, U.S. ski touring is in large part driven by the desire for powder snow or spring corn snow. Peak ascents, traverses and other ski mountaineering considerations are generally secondary since logistics tend to be challenging. Mountain access typically takes place from high paved and plowed roads and passes (or from ski areas boundaries), so elevation gain and loss is moderate and horizontal distance travelled tends to be minimized. A typical tour may rise 1,000-5,000 feet over 3-5 miles, and skiers may "yo-yo" to make multiple runs on the best descent sections. It is, however, possible to find much more striking vertical relief in places like the Pacific Rim volcanoes, i.e. Mt. Rainier, Mt. Shasta and in abrupt fault-block mountains like the High Sierras and the Tetons where up to 7,000 feet of descent (and ascent) is possible for the truly energetic in some seasons.
The drive for backcountry powder skiing has caused several problems. First, in-area skiers crossing over to the backcountry for off-piste or lift-assisted ski touring without learning the additional skills of avalanche awareness, first aid and winter mountaineering frequently run into serious, media-grabbing problems as they slip under ski area ropelines.
Second, this lackadaisical attitude creates conflicts with ski area operators who are understandably unwilling to accept liability for injuries and deaths in the backcountry outside the ski area's controlled terrain. Attempting to minimize this potential liability in the past, resort managers typically enacted blanket prohibitions on backcountry access via their boundaries. While skiers are entirely free to hike into these same areas from the parking lots, most U.S. backcountry skiers prefer to spend as much of their day as possible making downhill turns rather than slogging up long approaches. Since most ski areas are partially or entirely on public land, the issue failed to die and many ski areas are accommodating with open boundaries or backcountry gates as they receive support in the courts against claims resulting from backcountry accidents. In the interim period, many serious backcountry skiers gave up and moved on to Europe.
Due to the almost complete absence of public transportation in remote U.S. mountain areas, ski touring from point-to-point requires often lengthy and onorous car shuttles; a spectacular example is the 5 hour car shuttle required for the Sierra High Route: that's 5 hours there to drop a car, 5 hours back and 5 hours to return with the car at the end...15 hours of driving; therefore, most U.S. ski touring is out-and-back.
Most U.S. ski touring is also day touring, since the rarity of mountain huts means that skiers must carry all required camping gear, food and fuel for multi-day trips, rendering the actual skiing quite difficult on a multi-day traverse. However, "corn camps" are reasonably popular in the spring, with skiers packing in and setting up a base camp for several days of ski touring in the area during this period of warmer weather, stable snow and longer days.
Popular ski-touring areas in the U.S.:
- The "East Side"; California's High Sierra
- The Cottonwood Canyons; Salt Lake City, Utah
- Teton Pass; Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Jackson Ski Touring Foundation, Jackson, NH
Canada
With similarities to both Europe and the U.S., ski touring in Canada is also possible using remote lodges for basecamp staging. Accessing and stocking the lodge by helicopter or snowcat, ski tourers then make day-trips into the surrounding area, with or without the services of a mountain guide who may own the lodge.
Popular ski-touring areas in Canada:
- Roger's Pass; British Columbia
- Wapta Traverse; Alberta - British Columbia (Banff and Yoho national parks)
Europe (the Alps)
The European Alps are a Mecca for ski touring with an elaborate and interconnected ski lift system for high mountain access, open ski area boundaries and excellent public transportation within and between mountain valleys.
The extreme elevation gain of the Alps--over 12,000 vertical feet in Chamonix, for example--leads to a long season, glaciers and dramatic descents. This challenging alpine environment favors the greater stability of spring snow and many routes are dangerously not in condition until then.
Point-to-point ski tours are facilitated by a system of manned alpine huts that provide food, heat and shelter, eliminating the need for carrying massive packs of camping gear and enabling skiers to go high and stay high over long distances rather than having to drop way down into a valley at night. Many point-to-point, multi-day Alpine ski tours have become popular and famous, the best known undoubtedly being the spectacular Haute Route. Examples of other tours of this type in the Alps include the Berner Oberland, Western Bernese Alps, Monte Rosa (Spaghetti Tour) Circuit and Tour Soleil.
Ski touring from point-to-point, skiers must deal with many aspects and elevations. This means that the snow conditions and terrain will likely be highly variable and ski mountaineering techniques like climbing with ice-ax, rope and crampons, mountain navigation, minimizing gear weight, preparing for crevasse-rescue and covering longer distances will be required. These increased demands favor Alpine Touring equipment and also create a real need for professional mountain guiding services that are less necessary for the ski touring goals, conditions and terrain typically encountered in the U.S.
Popular ski-touring areas in the Alps:
- Chamonix, France
- La Grave, France
- Zermatt, Switzerland
- Davos/Klosters, Switzerland
- Cosley & Houston Guides This web-site includes an equipment pack list, maps, photos and route descriptions of the winter Haute Route, the Berner Oberland and other multi-day ski tours.
- Mark Seaton, Mountain Guide This web-site includes an equipment pack list, photos of ski tours, links to snow, avalanche and mountain conditions in the Mont Blanc and Pennine Alps, stories about the Haute Route, Spaghetti Ski Tour, Davos/Klosters off-piste and other routes, a blog with descriptions of recent trips and Google-Earth coordinates for the winter Haute Route.
- Swiss Topo the Swiss make beautiful 1:50,000 topographic maps with ski routes in red.
- Couloir Magazine A backcountry skiing resource.
- Telemarktips A Telemark skiing resource.