Skiing on unmarked or unpatrolled areas
Free moving heels during the ascent are a defining characteristic of ski touring. After reaching the mountain top or other destination, the heel portions of the special touring bindings are fixated such that the skis behave like normal
alpine skis
on the typically long ride downhill.
Marked ascent track of a previous ski tour to the
Wildspitze
(3.768 m) in Tyrolia in
Austria
. The route leads over the
glacier
Taschachferner, whereby the mountaineers made a detour around an area with open
crevasses
(middle).
A descent from a mountain in
Switzerland
under nearly perfect conditions, meaning
powder snow
and sun. In contradiction, depending e.g. on the local weather history, mountaineers may also have to struggle with previously melted and re-frozen deep snow, which can be very tiring especially for lesser skilled skiers.
Ski touring
is
skiing
in the
backcountry
on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-
piste
and outside of
ski resorts
, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to
backcountry skiing
but excludes the use of a
ski lift
or transport.
Ski touring combines elements of
Nordic
and
alpine skiing
and embraces such sub-disciplines as
Telemark
and
randonnee
. A defining characteristic is that the skier's heels are "free" ? i.e. not bound to the skis ? in order to allow a natural gliding motion while traversing and ascending terrain which may range from perfectly flat to extremely steep.
Ski touring has been adopted by skiers seeking new snow, by alpinists, and by those wishing to avoid the high costs of traditional alpine skiing at resorts.
[1]
Touring requires independent navigation skills and may involve route-finding through potential
avalanche
terrain. It has parallels with
hiking
and
wilderness backpacking
.
Ski mountaineering
is a form of ski touring which variously combines the sports of Telemark, alpine, and backcountry skiing with that of
mountaineering
.
History
[
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]
Among the pioneers of ski touring is
John "Snowshoe" Thompson
, perhaps the earliest modern ski mountaineer and a prolific traveler who used skis to deliver the mail at least twice a month over the steep eastern scarp of the
Sierra Nevada
to remote California mining camps and settlements. His deliveries began in 1855 and continued for at least 20 years.
[2]
Thompson's route of 90 miles (140 km) took three days in and 48 hours back out with a pack that eventually exceeded 100 pounds (45 kg) of mail.
Cecil Slingsby
, one of the earliest European practitioners, crossed the 1,550-metre-high (5,090 ft) Keiser Pass in Norway on skis in 1880. Other pioneers include
Adolfo Kind
,
Arnold Lunn
,
Ottorino Mezzalama
,
Patrick Vallencant
, and
Kilian Jornet Burgada
.
Terminology
[
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]
Ski touring involves both uphill and downhill travel without needing to remove skis.
[3]
Various terms have emerged to refer to how the terrain is accessed and how close it is to services.
- Frontcountry
refers to terrain that is off-trail but within ski area boundaries where
ski lifts
and emergency services are close at hand.
- Slackcountry
refers to terrain that is outside of marked ski area boundaries and accessed from a lift without having to use
skins
or bootpack. Usually this also includes terrain with access back to the lift as well. For purists, slackcountry touring may also include touring where people use a car as a shuttle.
- Sidecountry
refers to terrain that is outside of ski area boundaries yet still accessible via a ski lift. Typically sidecountry requires the skier to
hike
, skin, or climb within ski area boundaries to reach or return from the sidecountry area, or both.
- Backcountry
refers to terrain in remote areas that is outside of ski area boundaries and not accessible via a ski lift.
Equipment
[
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]
Alpine touring ski boot, binding, and ski crampon. The red spot below the toe portion is the
pivot point
of the binding about which the rest of the boot turns during a step, resulting in a movement similar, but not identical to a normal human walking movement - the shoe tip is always at the same height, because the skis are moved to glide at the snow surface level.
Styles of equipment
[
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]
- 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.
- Nordic ski
touring is skiing with bindings that leave the heels 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 or ideal snow conditions, used with boots that resemble soft shoes or low boots. Backcountry Nordic uses a heavier setup than a traditional Nordic setup, but not as big and heavy as a full Telemark setup.
- Telemark skiing
is at the heavier end of the Nordic skiing equipment spectrum, designed for steep backcountry terrain or ski-area use.
- Alpine Touring (AT) or
randonnee
equipment is specifically designed for ski touring in steep terrain; a special
alpine touring binding
, otherwise very similar to a downhill binding, allows the heel to be raised for ease in ascending but locked down for full support when skiing downhill.
Ascending aids
[
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]
Various devices can be used to make ascending easier. "Fish scale" pattern friction aids embossed in the center section of the bottoms of the skis or sticky
ski wax
in the center pocket are used in lower-angle or rolling terrain. Climbing
skins
are used when fish scales or ski wax fail to provide sufficient grip for skiing steeply uphill. Ski
crampons
may be attached when conditions are particularly icy or the grade too steep for skins.
Ski touring regions
[
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]
Skiers in western
Norway
Spring ski touring on Hardangervidda, Norway
Ski touring can take place anywhere that has suitable snow and terrain as well as reasonable means of access to the trailhead, i.e. plowed roads, snowcats, or aircraft.
Iceland
[
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]
Activities center on the Troll Peninsula in northern
Iceland
.
[4]
Norway
[
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]
Touring in
Norway
has a long tradition. Skiing was originally a practical means of winter transportation, and ski touring formed the basis of the polar expeditions of Norwegian explorers like
Fridtjof Nansen
and
Roald Amundsen
. There are thousands of kilometers of marked
ski routes
in Norway in forested areas and in mountain areas above treeline. The trails are maintained by organizations like
Skiforeningen
in the
Oslomarka
area and the
Norwegian Trekking Association
nationally, including
Hardangervidda
,
Rondane
, and
Jotunheimen
. The Norwegian Trekking Association (
Norwegian
:
Den norske turistforening
; DNT) maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway and has more than 200,000 members.
European Alps
[
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]
The
Haute Route
and
Tyrol
are popular areas for ski touring.
[5]
Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia
[
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]
Many companies started offering ski touring services in these three countries that share
Sharr Mountains
these tours are 5 to 10 days and are specific as they are implemented away from ski centers offering pristine views.
[6]
Canada
[
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]
Ski areas are concentrated around the
Rockies
[7]
and include
Jasper National Park
,
[8]
Rogers Pass
,
[9]
Wapta
,
[10]
Revelstoke
,
[11]
and
Golden
, in southeast
British Columbia
at the confluence of the
Columbia
and
Kicking Horse Rivers
. Surrounded by the
Rocky Mountains
to the east and the
Purcell Mountains
and
Selkirk Mountains
to the west,
[12]
Kananaskis Country
,
[13]
the
Skeena Mountains
,
Chic-Choc Mountains
, and
Gros Morne National Park
also attract ski tourers.
[14]
United States
[
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]
Touring takes place anywhere there is sufficient snow in the U.S., for example, in
Jackson Hole
,
[15]
Loveland Pass
,
[16]
Berthoud Pass
,
[17]
and the
Sierra Nevada
.
New Zealand
[
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]
Ski areas of New Zealand include
Arthur's Pass National Park
, Central
Otago
,
Fiordland
,
Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park
,
Mount Ruapehu
, Nelson,
?hau
,
W?naka
, and the
Arrowsmith Range
.
[18]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]