Ski touring in Australia is one of the most enjoyable alpine days to submerge yourself in. These helpful hints from Falls Creek Guides could be the difference between a dream trip and a disaster!
Top Clothing Tips
With touring particularly in Australia, the temperature and sudden weather changes are incredible. The concept of multi layers is crucial not only for your body, but having a light and heavy glove, sun hat, woollen hat, spare pair of sunglasses, spare pair of socks, a buff and goggles are all essentials for your kit. The spare pair of sunglasses is just in case you lose a pair or someone else in party forgets or loses them. In the unfortunate event of a wet foot from a river crossing, a spare pair of socks can be a life saver. The neck buff is perhaps the most versatile piece of equipment. It can be used for warmth, sun protection and even a makeshift bandage or torniquet.
Essential Clothing check list
- Two sunglasses / one ski goggles
- Two gloves – a heavy and light pair
- Sun hat and winter hat
- Sunscreen
- Two pairs of socks
- Waterproof and wind proof clothing
- Thermal layer top and bottom
- Mid layer
- Down outer layer
- Wind proof waterproof external layer
Don’t forget about your feet
The equipment we take is essential to our enjoyment and safety. Perhaps the most overlooked piece of equipment is your touring boots. They should be tested and trusted to perform not so much for the downhill but ensure that they fit and work well for walking great distances. The only way to really test this is to get out there and tour. Try a practice trip close to the resort, with a good emphasis on skinning rather than skiing. Travelling with blister band aids is an essential part of the medical kit and can once again mean the difference between a ski touring heaven or foot hell.
Handy hint:
Consider a foot bed made by a certified boot fitter. This is a key part of your touring equipment that makes a major difference to your boots comfort.
The wish I had list for ski touring
The block of wax and scraper can be a great assistance as the skins can often dry and slow the surface of your skis. You’ll be happy that you brought a block of wax and scrapper for a quick touch up to get you sliding with ease again.
The screwdriver and tape are for any fixes that you may need like din settings or loose parts or frozen parts sometimes a screwdriver is needed, to clear the toe piece of frozen snow to make the binding fit and function correctly.
Make sure you think hard about how much food and water you’ll need. This will depend on the distance, but as a reference you will need to eat between 2,500 to 4,500 calories per day or about 1.1 kilo of food for a day trip. With water, you’ll need about 1L for every 2 hours you’re out there. Bear in mind the alpine area can be extremely dehydrating. and you’ll be exerting a lot of energy so if in doubt… pack more water! Generally, carry two litres minimum, and in some cases, boiling extra water or topping up in a fast-flowing stream through the day can be necessary.
The gear and supplies
- First aid kit with blister, energy glucose, bivvy / shelter, and air mat.
- Screwdriver, tape, and small wax block
- Fitted boots
- Backpack at least 45lt but up to 80lt for overnight adventures.
- Map or GPS equivalent
- Matches waterproof/burner
- Water bottle
- Food
Hints for moving up and down when ski touring
The Down
If you are not used to ski touring with a backpack, we recommend finding your groove with a light pack before progressing to a 15-kilo overnight pack. It is good practise for when you starting your turns with a pack to do slow strong movements in a stem christie then build as you become confident higher speed parallel turns through your descent.
The Up
When climbing, you want to conserve as much energy as possible. Keep your skis sliding and avoid lifting them off the ground. First look for a gentle line gentle line across the hill on accent and change direction by making an AVA shape with your skis. For most parts of the ski areas surrounding Falls Creek a kick turn for accent is not really required but can be learned on tour.
Selecting the lifters at the rear of you binding is based on the track you choose. A good reference is if the knees hurt as you climb the lifter is too high and if the calves are being stretched the lifter is too low. Personally, I try to aim for never needing the highest level unless due to necessity there is a need to go straight up the slope. Mainly this will occur due to heavy fresh snow, where going across could cause break ways or if in a narrow chute where directly up is the only way out
Take a Breath
Remember to breathe. Try to always be able to breathe comfortably and feel that each step is slow and firm. Like the tortoise and the hair tale, the tortoise in ski touring is the one that always wins the race. A good way to conserve energy as you climb is trying to use your legs more than the arms. To ensure you don’t need to work that hard with the arms look to take the easiest and safest low line on the way up, that way while you may take a few extra minutes, you’ll be the one with the energy to ski strongly down and enjoy the mountain that you have worked for.
Movement Keys for ski touring
- Move slow to go fast
- Slide skis rather than lift
- Use your legs more than your arms
- Breathe as you move so that you can still talk
- Follow contours to climb
- Stem Christie with a backpack as a starting point
The final tip is to have fun and enjoy the mountain.
Take your time and enjoy the going up as much as the going down.
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