Why climbing with skins demands more oxygen than jogging, how VO2max determines performance, and how to build base endurance for it.
Is regular running training enough so you don't hit the wall on a ski tour? Honest answer: partially — but climbing with skins and a pack is a different load than jogging on flat ground. Walking uphill on skis demands considerably more oxygen per movement than on flat terrain: in comparable ski sports, uphill oxygen uptake sits at 110 to 160 percent of your VO2peak — your individual maximum oxygen utilization — while on flat ground it stays at 100 percent at most. In other words: uphill, you're regularly working above your actual aerobic limit.
How much base endurance matters is shown by performance comparisons in ski mountaineering: elite athletes reach a VO2max of roughly 71 ml per minute per kilogram of body weight, sub-elite athletes come in around 62 — a 14 percent difference that decides long, hours-long climbs. You don't have to become an elite athlete, but the same principle applies to you: base endurance is the foundation every other ski touring skill is built on.
The good news: you don't need to book altitude training or a performance-diagnostics lab for this. You build base endurance with simple means you can work into your routine year-round — the effect then shows up concretely in your vertical meters per hour on the mountain.
Running, cycling or cross-country skiing at an easy, conversational pace — two to three sessions a week through the summer and fall months. That's the foundation specific uphill training actually works on top of.
Steep stairs, stair-climber machines or hiking with a pack come closer to the real load than flat endurance training. If possible, train with similar weight to your actual tour — your body adapts to exactly the load it will later carry.
200 to 300 vertical meters per hour is the guideline for beginners. If that number rises across several tours, you'll see directly that your base endurance training is working — a simple, honest feedback signal.
Energy expenditure on the climb depends measurably on your setup's total weight — every kilo you don't carry in skis, bindings and pack saves you energy you need for endurance. That's another reason lighter touring gear (see the gear guide) means real performance, not just comfort.
Short, more intense climbs in training (e.g. 5–8 minutes brisk, then easy recovery) improve your ability to work briefly above VO2peak — but only once base endurance is established as a foundation. Intervals without a base achieve little and mainly raise injury risk.
Overestimated fitness is an underrated safety risk: someone who reaches the summit at their absolute limit has little energy reserve left for a controlled descent on variable terrain — and fatigue raises fall risk exactly where falls are already the most common cause of accidents. Plan your tour so you can still think clearly and ski technically clean at the summit, not just barely make it there.
Train deliberately with your actual touring pack, not just light running gear. The extra, often asymmetrically distributed weight of emergency gear and clothing noticeably changes posture and load — if you've never simulated that, you'll feel the difference painfully for the first time on the mountain.
As a base, yes, but add specific uphill training. Climbing on skis with a pack demands considerably more oxygen per movement than running on flat ground — your body needs the specific adaptation.
Significantly: elite athletes have a roughly 14 percent higher VO2max than sub-elite athletes — over hours-long climbs, that difference becomes clearly noticeable.
Yes, measurably: energy expenditure on the climb depends directly on your setup's total weight. Lighter skis, bindings and boots save energy you'd otherwise need for endurance.
That's individual, but realistically over several weeks to months of regular training — not from single tours. Use your vertical meters per hour as a simple progress signal.
Ski Touring: Partners & Group Management — the Human Factor