Ski touring

[hatler]

Anyone got any hints and tips for a first time ski-tourer ?

We're planning a six day jaunt next year with guide and it would be good to know those little things that make the whole event more enjoyable / endurable.

[PaulF]

Anyone got any hints and tips for a first time ski-tourer ?

We're planning a six day jaunt next year with guide and it would be good to know those little things that make the whole event more enjoyable / endurable.

Dare I suggest a chairlift

[mark]

Where are you going? Staying in huts, camping, or doing day trips from a base lodge? What kind of terrain will you be traveling on?

[hatler]

Heading for the Alps. Staying in a number of different huts on a point to point trip.

[mark]

The Haute Route?

Lots of sunscreen, the higher the SPF rating the better.

Stay hydrated- altitude and cold will dehydrate you faster than most people realize.

I'm told that alpine huts are great places to catch colds or other respiratory illnesses. People book a trip, come down with something just before they leave, and don't want to cancel so they tough it out. Add in crowding and lots of tired people at the end of the day and the microorganisms are just having a ball. Bring whatever you use to keep your immune system up, like loads of Vitamin C.

PaulF's suggestion is actually a very good one. I don't think you can tour for 6 days in the Alps without encountering at least one significant downhill stretch, and you'll enjoy it far more (and be a lot safer) if you can negotiate the downhill stretches with some skill. If you're already a reasonably good downhill/Alpine skier, put in some practice time on whatever ungroomed terrain you can find, be it bumps, powder or crud. If you're not an experienced downhill/Alpine skier, learning how will make your tour much more enjoyable (and it's a lot of fun in its own right).

In that vein, any aerobic sport that develops leg and foot coordination and balance will make the ski tour much more enjoyable. Soccer, trail running, ice skating, roller blading, surfing and mountain biking are all good.

[hatler]

Mark,

Thanks for all of that. Exactly the sort of thing I was after. Much appreciated.

Haute Route. Yes.

I'm a mildly competent downhill skier and am pretty comfortable on bumps, steep and powder (my formative skiing years were in a resort that prides itself on the fearsomeness of its bumps). Crud is never fun but I can just about cope. I've done quite a few days out with guides so have half a clue as to what to expect.

I'm rather hoping that my 20 miles/day cyclo-commute will provide sufficient aerobic fitness, and that a bout of half-term skiing in February and off-road mountain biking in the Summer will sort the balance out.  I do occasionally practise at falling off a surf board as well.

[djmc]

Skiing with a rucksack is very different from skiing without one, the weight is distributed differently. If you fall, and you will, getting up is like rescuing a stranded whale. You may be carrying anything from 15+ kilos. Get used to carrying the weight and really try to be ruthless when deciding what to carry. Make sure the boots are comfortable. In lots of ways ski touring is more like summer mountaineering in the Alps than downhill skiing. You need all the stuff you need in summer (rope, crampons, harness) plus stuff for skiing (skis, skins, ski-poles, harscheisen), the equipment needed for emergency bivouacs will be heavier. When I used to do it I used to wear winter mountaineering gear, and every one else did too.   

[mark]

Having skied with rucksacks of varying weight, I found that the best thing to do is to ski as much as possible without a rucksack, focussing diligently on proper technique and body position. Then when you do put on a rucksack, you will instinctively try to maintain a proper stance, instead of stiffening up and leaning back in response to the altered center of gravity. My first step in getting up after a fall is to get out of the rucksack then put it back on after I'm up on my feet. YMMV, of course.

Definitely work hard to keep the pack weight to a minimum. I don't think anybody's mileage will vary on that one.

[Exit Stage Left]

Take lots of Compeed, and lots of strapping. Your heels will tend to move in your boots, and that will cause blisters, you can strap your heels before you set off to limit that. Heat control is a big factor. Climbing is pretty strenuous, so it's as well to strip down to a comfortable level, that saves sweating, and carrying water is difficult.
Always put everything back on before the top of the col, It's usually colder and windier there, and you'll be fiddling with skins, and converting skis into downhill mode. Always keep one ski on on a glacier.

[mark]

If your heels are moving enough to cause blisters, your boots are too big.

[Exit Stage Left]

If your heels are moving enough to cause blisters, your boots are too big.

I've never had blister problems, largely because my feet are generally hardened at that time of year by doing herbicide spraying wearing wellingtons. I've been on a number of tours with beginners, and a third of them will have problems due to hired equipment. Someone asking basic questions prior to embarking on the Haute Route immediately brings blistered heels to mind.

[mark]

Hired/rented boots are frequently too big, especially if the renter is a beginner. Beginners frequently don't understand how snugly a ski boot should fit and the rental shop staff just want to get customers in and out of the shop without wasting time on explanations.

[Exit Stage Left]

Shops hiring ski touring equipment are few and far between, especially if you have size 14 feet. Any sensible guide takes their group out for a day prior to a multi-day tour to expose any bad equipment choices. I've toured in a pair of old style back entry Salomons with no real problems, but they require XL Friitschi bindings, which I've only ever really found at Jean Sports in Val d'Isere. There were none in the whole of the Trois Vallees the last time I tried.

[bobhitch]

Are you planning on buying? I find scarpa maestrale boots very comfortable -plenty of uk retailers sell them and well worth getting a preparer boot fitting-£440'ish
Enjoy the 'Haute Route'-I'm hoping to give it a bash next season so let us know how you get on 

[hatler]

A bit later than originally envisaged, but we're booked for this one in April. Just back from four days in the hills with my new Scarpa Maestrale boots. We had one day with a guide and did a middleish amount of skinning up hills.

Summary
The boots are good and there was no hint of rub or soreness. In fact, they got better over the course of the four days. They're not too bad going downhill. I'm a little bit fitter than I thought I was but not as fit as I need to be. I will need some new ski troos. The ones I have were warm in -20C, but they'll kill me with death-by-sweating in April. Going uphill with heavy skis is tougher than it needs to be. Skins can come off. Every ounce saved is good.

[trekker12]

I hadn't realised how popular this is.

In Seefeld at New Year there were hundreds of people walking up hill every day. It's probably because there had been no snowfall so the only opportunity was to walk up where the Pistes had been created with Snow cannon. I guess the rest of the time people are a lot more spread out and heading up through the woods.

Made me think I'd like a go but only ski one week a year and have spent my equipment budget on downhill gear.

[thing1]

We've seen it really take off in the last few years and a proliferation of equipment availability (this is in California but I expect elsewhere too)
Partly the expiration of the dynafit patent 2 years ago means there are several other AT compatible boot and binding manufacturers now and the competition has spurred more sales, but I don't think that explains all of it. Generally more advanced and lighter skis being more available might also be part of it. And global warming / bad seasons mean people are having to look off the grid for good snow?

We did a 5 day hut to hut tour in the Canadian Rockies last year and loved it. Would really like to do haute route sometime sounds a great experience.

[hatler]

The date approaches !

I had a trial skin up the hill in Flaine early on last Friday morning. I managed the 750m ascent in 2hrs 10mins. My buddy did it on the Wednesday morning in 90 mins, but I give him 14 years.

I skied all week with the rucsac I'll be using for the route with about a three-quarter load. Also tried out the various layer combinations. All good.

My gear hire requests have been sent off, insurance has been arranged, hotels, guide and huts are all booked and I've got some Reimanns P20 SPF 50 in the post. Hell, even my bag is packed. Raring to go. All I need to do for the next four weeks is keep up my daily 20 - 25 mile hill repeat cycle going and I should just about sneak through.

I will keep you updated here with progress and provide an account when we're back, together with a kit list.

[Aunt Maud]

I found a pair of Tyrolia harscheisen, which fit between binding and boot sole very useful especially when it gets icy.

[hatler]

Thankfully harscheisen are included in the kit hire list.

Skis, harscheisen, skins and poles from the ski shop.
Ice axe and crampons from the guide.
I already have transceiver, probe and shovel.

[Aunt Maud]

We also made sure we had a spare plastic ski tip in the group. It's a bugger to ski without a tip, but the chances of braking one are slim. In 5 seasons as a ski mechanic, I never came across a snapped tip on a tour, other than on my friends much abused skating skis.

We used skating skis as fast back country cruisers on all sorts of steep and unsuitable stuff in Thredbo, Australia, so it's no wonder they snapped.

If you've got a pocket diamond stone and a small flat file, it's worth taking to remove the burr from edges if you hit a rock. Some rub on universal glider would be good to have in the group too.

[hatler]

Only two weeks to go !!

Starting to get proper excited now.

Fitness routine had been going well but I bounced off the ground from my bike the other day and have broken my right thumb's distal phalanx. The thumb's in a splint which might just fit in my ski glove. Without the splint, gripping anything with the thumb is mildly painful. However, on the plus side I don't think my pole gripping ability has been compromised, and I can still cycle without a problem so can keep working on the strength and fitness.

I've asked the guide if he takes a diamond stone and file. If not, I can fit those in easily.

On a completely tangential note regarding insurance, I was amused to see how the insurance companies grade all the various 'extreme sports', with ski-touring being at the first (lowest risk) level. The sport that Mrs hatler and I engaged in passionately for ten years (without a care in the world, or indeed any insurance), offshore racing, was graded in the riskiest category. (It never felt that dangerous at the time.)

[Aunt Maud]

Good luck with the thumb. It sounds painful.

We took tuning stuff because we came from a ski mechanic workshop and were of the opinion that; if you were going to spend all that trouble going upwards, then the downwards has to be FUN, FUN, FUN.

Have a great time

[hatler]

Good luck with the thumb. It sounds painful.

We took tuning stuff because we came from a ski mechanic workshop and were of the opinion that; if you were going to spend all that trouble going upwards, then the downwards has to be FUN, FUN, FUN.

Have a great time

Significantly less painful when it's in the splint.

[Ham]

Sounds like fun, hope you enjoy. Way back when, Miss Ham fractured her thumb skiing in Courchevel. The doctor set the cast around a pole so she could carry on skiing