Ski Touring - Mountain Guiding - Off Piste
Check out the mountains natural beauty, climb up to silent peaks and ski down making fresh tracks without seeing another person the whole day. That’s the appeal that makes ski touring more and more popular each year. But remember, always go ski touring with a qualified mountain guide or qualified off piste ski coach as you are in an uncontrolled mountain environment.
The term ski touring refers to a form of off piste skiing that involves travelling over variable terrain with the aid of special equipment designed to allow walking and climbing up hill. The skier will use specially adapted bindings that can be freed at the heel to allow a smooth ascent of both gentle and steep slopes. Skins on the bottom of the skis are fitted when required for climbing, as they enable you to grip to the snow as you climb up without sliding backwards. The skins are usually made of artificial nylon fabric and are glued on one side, which allows them to attach to the base of the ski.
Ski touring allows the skier to access areas that would normally be out of reach from a ski lift. In Europe’s top winter resorts there are many opportunities for the ski tour enthusiast to escape the main controlled area and experience the mountains in their true natural state. Just like off piste skiing, ski touring must never be performed without a fully qualified skiing teacher or qualified mountain guide. Anyone that embarks on a ski tour must be able to cope with varied terrain and be a competent and experienced skier.
It is also possible to snowboard tour. This requires the use of snowshoes and telescopic poles that can then be packed away in a backpack for the descent on the snowboard. Exactly the same rules apply when touring off piste with any equipment, always be accompanied by a fully qualified snowboard teacher or mountain guide.
Ski touring can involve very short trips of a few hours or much longer ones spread over days or even weeks. Europe’s top winter resorts share an enormous range of ski touring possibilities for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities who travel from all over the world to experience the regions fantastic scenery. Qualified mountain guides will be able to take experienced skiers and snowboarders ski touring into the off piste terrain, with the correct equipment.
Long ski tours require a fairly high level of fitness and mental strength. When starting off it is advisable to embark on short, easy tours that might last two or three hours. These tours can be on fairly flat terrain and will not stray too far from the controlled areas of winter sports resorts. These can be undertaken safely with a qualified ski instructor or mountain guide.
After gaining confidence with shorter tours the skier or snowboarder can embark on longer, more demanding trips. It is possible in Europe’s winter sports resorts to stay overnight in cabins or mountain huts. Sometimes these huts can be large and staff or operators of the hut provide food. Sometimes they can be small and you are expected to bring your own supplies.
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