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Ski touring isskiing in thebackcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside ofski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar tobackcountry skiing but excludes the use of aski lift or transport.
Ski touring combines elements ofNordic andalpine skiing and embraces such sub-disciplines asTelemark andrandonnée. 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 potentialavalanche terrain. It has parallels withhiking andwilderness backpacking.Ski mountaineering is a form of ski touring which variously combines the sports of Telemark, alpine, and backcountry skiing with that ofmountaineering.
Among the pioneers of ski touring isJohn "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 theSierra 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 includeAdolfo Kind,Arnold Lunn,Ottorino Mezzalama,Patrick Vallençant, andKilian Jornet Burgada.
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.
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 stickyski wax in the center pocket are used in lower-angle or rolling terrain. Climbingskins are used when fish scales or ski wax fail to provide sufficient grip for skiing steeply uphill. Skicrampons may be attached when conditions are particularly icy or the grade too steep for skins.
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.
Activities center on the Troll Peninsula in northernIceland.[4]
Touring inNorway 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 likeFridtjof Nansen andRoald Amundsen. There are thousands of kilometers of markedski routes in Norway in forested areas and in mountain areas above treeline. The trails are maintained by organizations likeSkiforeningen in theOslomarka area and theNorwegian Trekking Association nationally, includingHardangervidda,Rondane, andJotunheimen. The Norwegian Trekking Association (Norwegian:Den norske turistforening; DNT) maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway and has more than 200,000 members.
TheHaute Route andTyrol are popular areas for ski touring.[5]
Many companies started offering ski touring services in these three countries that shareSharr Mountains these tours are 5 to 10 days and are specific as they are implemented away from ski centers offering pristine views.[6]
Ski areas are concentrated in theRockies[7] and the Coast Mountains. Popular areas includeJasper National Park,[8]Rogers Pass,[9]Wapta,[10]Revelstoke,[11] andGolden, in southeastBritish Columbia at the confluence of theColumbia andKicking Horse Rivers. Surrounded by theRocky Mountains to the east and thePurcell Mountains andSelkirk Mountains to the west,[12]Kananaskis Country,[13] theSkeena Mountains,Chic-Choc Mountains, andGros Morne National Park also attract ski tourers.[14]
Touring takes place anywhere there is sufficient snow in the U.S., for example, inJackson Hole,[15]Loveland Pass,[16]Berthoud Pass,[17]and theSierra Nevada.
Ski areas of New Zealand includeArthur's Pass National Park, CentralOtago,Fiordland,Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park,Mount Ruapehu, Nelson,Ōhau,Wānaka, and theArrowsmith Range.[18]
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