Ski touring is a sport that gets more and more popular year after year. It combines efforts, pleasure and feel perfectly. Efforts through the uphill bits of your tour, pleasure when you look at the beautiful landscapes that surround you, and feel when you surf on the untouched powder on the downhill.
And to make things even better, you can practice anytime anywhere as soon as the first flakes fall. Forget about the expensive lift pass, the crowded pistes and the busy resorts. With touring skis, you will re-discover the mountain and see it under a new light. You will learn how to enjoy the sound of the snow, the smell of the trees and meet with the mountain’s animals.
Ski touring is an adventure, it’s going off piste and rely on your legs and your mind. In theory, all you need is a pair of light skis with touring skins fitted with a pair of touring bindings, a pair of ski poles, a backpack and technical clothes that will help keep your body at the right temperature. On Glisshop, you will find a broad range of men’s touring skis and women’s touring skis suited for all kinds of use. From short tours with the family to long high-alpine races. There is also a large selection of touring ski packages with bindings fitted and ready to use.
Let’s go over a few basics first. Ski touring will take you off piste, far away from groomed snow and secured trails. Untracked snow can be powdery but it can be rock hard too. This is why it is important to have crampons in your bag. You’ll put them under your bindings to keep grip on icy terrains. You can also take with you a pickaxe and boot crampons in case you’re planning to climb a very steep slope. Whatever you do, remember that the safety rescue team is nowhere near when you’re in the mountain and you need to prepare your tour very carefully. If you ski on a slope that is 30° steep or more, the avalanche risk is on. Always make sure you’re equipped with an ARVA-Shovel-Probe package. This is the minimum required if you want to be able to find and be found in case of an avalanche.
In theory, you can tour anywhere you like as long as there is snow, but certain spots stand out by their wild look, the amount of snow or the splendid sceneries they offer. This is the case for the notorious Chamonix-Zermatt tour which takes about 6 days and will blow your mind. More recently, we can see more and more tourers hitting the mountains near Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse or in the Maurienne valley or in the Pyrenees. In other words, there is no right or wrong spot to practice. As long as you are being careful and enjoying what you do, then you’re in the best spot!
