Intro Ski Touring - 2 days
#Ski Mountaineering
Our 2 day introduction to ski touring course is aimed at backcountry beginners with existing piste ski skills. You will learn essential techniques and knowledge to get you touring off piste safely. We will always do as much skiing as possible but the mountain ski conditions in Scotland can be changeable at short notice. Due to this, the course content may vary with more emphasis on winter mountain skills and mountan safety.
What's covered
- What equipment you need and how ski touring equipment works
- Understanding weather and avalanche forecasts
- Skinning uphill, kick turns & ski cramponing
- Off-piste ski coaching
- Winter navigation on skis and route planning
- Basic avalanche transceiver training
- Techniques & tactics for mountain journeying
This is a practical course, suited to those who have some ski experience on piste and are looking to venture into the mountains away from resorts. We recommended you have experience skiing red runs on piste or have previous off piste experience.
Typical itinerary
Day One
Introduction to equipment (skis, bindings, skins etc.) and weather and avalanche forecasts. Once you're happy with your personal equipment and ski set-up we take a ski tour where we'll coach skinning uphill, kick turns and adapting your downhill ski technique to the backcountry. We’ll also begin to develop your route planning and navigation skills, as well as introducing avalanche awareness ‘Be Aware’ principles.
Day Two
We plan a ski tour based on the mountain and weather conditions. This is a great opportunity to learn how to plan a safe and fun ski tour. We’ll also consolidate the skills developed on day 1 and refine transitions between ascent and descent. By the end of day 2 you’ll have a good understanding of how to develop your ski touring skills for future trips.
If the snow line is high up the hill we will need to hike up to start skiing. If conditions allow we may use the ski tows at Cairngorm to access the snow by purchasing their single uplift ski touring passes fo £14. This would be decided on the day and this cost would be in addition to the course fee.
The cost does not include ski touring equipment, but equipment is available for hire from Tisos or Ellis Brighams in Aviemore.
We use the Aviemore youth hostel as our base during winter. It's also a great place to stay, but here are some alternative local accommodation options.
If the proposed dates don't suit you, we may be able to offer alternative dates, so please get in touch.
Level > Moderate