Have you ever wanted to ski outside of a ski resort? Or ski all summer long? Here's a quick guide to getting into the exciting sport of alpine touring.
Steps
1
Get in shape. Alpine touring involves a lot of climbing, often at high altitudes. Before beginning alpine touring, you should be at least a strong intermediate skier (comfortable on black diamond slopes) and in very good physical fitness.
2
Ensure every member of the party has functioning avalanche gear, a map and compass (or GPS), a whistle or radio, and an understanding of the plan.
3
Attach skins to the bottom of your skis. Most skin systems have a loop which goes over the tip of the ski, and a latching mechanism to lock onto the tail. The skin should be taut. The sticky "glue" side of the skin should press firmly against the ski, with the "hairy" side touching the snow.
4
Put on your skis, and place them in tour mode. Your heel should move freely while your toe remains firmly attached to the ski.
5
Walk by dragging your toes forward across the snow. The ski should not lift off the ground. At the end of the stride snap your leg straight, putting your heel down and putting your weight on the forward ski.
6
On gentle terrain you can turn by lifting the skis and rotating them. On steep terrain, you need to execute a kick turn. Rotate your uphill ski as far as you can, so that you are facing up the mountain with a ski pointing each direction. Put your weight on the uphill ski, then rotate the downhill ski to match it.
7
At the top of your ascent, remove your skis. Remove the skins, folding them in half so that the glue surface only touches other glue surfaces. Put your skis back on, using downhill mode, and enjoy the descent!
