Ski Touring Cheat Sheet

The key takeaways for beginners – kick-turn uphill technique, avalanche rescue gear and staying safe on the slope.

Equipment

Item	Priority	Tip
Bindings	High	Pin bindings often weigh just 250–500 g – as a beginner, reliability matters more than every saved gram.
Skins	Medium	A mohair/nylon mix (often 70:30) is the best compromise between glide and grip.
Touring boots	High	Need a real walk mode – test a few steps in the shop, don't just stand in them.
Transceiver set	High	A transceiver, probe and shovel are your only real window of time in a burial.

What makes ski touring different

Climbing under your own power: No lift, no ski patrol – you climb with skins and descend through unsecured backcountry terrain.
Course or partner first: A basic course with an alpine club or an experienced touring partner is the safest start – mistakes cost nothing there.
Start small: First tours with 500–1,000 m of climbing on known routes, a realistic 200–300 vertical metres per hour.

The 3 golden technique rules

Factor 1: Kick turns from 30 degrees

Concept: A straight track gets too steep to walk at around 30 degrees of slope – push straight up stubbornly and you burn strength and lose grip. Tip: Zigzag up with kick turns: shift your weight fully onto the downhill ski, then swing the uphill ski 180 degrees like a windshield wiper.

Factor 2: Plan backwards from the corn window

Concept: Steep east-, southeast- and south-facing slopes can turn slushy in under an hour in spring – start late and you miss the safe window. Tip: Work your start time backwards from the corn-snow window (usually late morning to early afternoon) – in spring, start in the dark with a headlamp if needed.

Factor 3: Spacing is avalanche protection

Concept: Almost 95% of avalanche accidents happen on slopes of about 30 degrees or more – spacing out unloads the snowpack, bunching up loads it. Tip: Ascent: 10 metres of spacing from 30 degrees. Descent: 30 metres under 35 degrees, one at a time from 35 degrees up.

The transceiver rescue chain

Step	Core rule
Transceiver	Always on your body under the jacket, never in the pack – that can be ripped off by the slide.
Time window	Survival odds stay above 90% in the first minutes, then drop sharply after 15 minutes.
Search phases	Signal, coarse, fine, pinpoint search – systematic, not frantic, 20–60 m range.
Shovelling	Start about 1.5 times the burial depth downhill, dig a V-shaped channel, don't just scoop.

The human factor

Take warning signs seriously: Over 73% of studied avalanche accidents had recognisable warning signs – knowing isn't enough, acting on it is what counts.
Say it when something feels wrong: Group decisions are often riskier than individual ones – a bad feeling spoken out loud always counts.
Set turnaround criteria in advance: Fix a concrete danger level, time or wind speed before the tour – not under summit pressure out in the terrain.
Assign roles clearly: Split navigation, snowpack observation and time management across different people in the group.

Pro tip: The safest tour is the one where you decide your turnaround point beforehand – not the one where you feel it out in the terrain. Set your danger level, time and wind limits in the car park, not on the summit ridge.