Kick turns past 25 degrees, switching to ski crampons and bootpacking: the technique that separates casual tourers from real pros.
Welcome to the terrain where your basic skinning no longer cuts it. Steep terrain in splitboarding starts where skins lose grip and a single misstep has immediate consequences — usually around 25 to 30 degrees of slope angle. This is where casual tourers and competent backcountry riders part ways.
The kick turn is the base technique, but in steep terrain it becomes an exercise in precision: when planting the new, downhill-pointing ski/board half, the rule is as close to 90 degrees across the fall line as possible. Every degree you drift from that right angle costs you stability at the exact moment of the turn — right where a slip is most costly.
At skinning angles around 20 degrees, even good skins start to slip; past about 25 degrees, pure skinning becomes inefficient to impossible. From here the consequence is: bootpacking — board on your pack, continue on foot, crampons if needed. Stubbornly continuing to skin instead of switching wastes energy and risks a slip at the steepest point of the tour.
For icy or hard-frozen traverses there are ski crampons: extra spikes under the binding that still give you grip where skins would already be sliding. They belong in the steep-terrain kit, not the "nice to have" category.
Welcome to the elite — here it's no longer about whether you make the climb, it's about whether you make it with reserve and control.
Plant the new downhill-pointing ski half as close as possible to 90 degrees to the fall line. Use your poles as a brace, shift weight in a controlled way, and execute the turn in one flowing, unhurried motion.
Notice your skins slipping slightly on every step? That's your signal — not the moment you're completely stuck. Ski crampons under the binding, continue with far more safety margin.
Past about 25 degrees, pure skinning noticeably loses efficiency. Once the track gets so steep you're sliding more than progressing, bootpacking is the better call — even if it feels slower short-term.
Strap the board securely to your pack, step deliberately into existing steps or set your own. Use poles for balance, keep a constant pace instead of rushing — steep terrain punishes haste fastest.
Steep terrain is almost automatically ATES "challenging" or "complex" — tie every technical decision here back to the question from the avalanche science guide: does the slope angle even match the current danger level?
Steep-terrain technique doesn't belong in beginner hands — practice kick turns and switch points first on moderate terrain with retreat options. Use bootpacking and ski crampons on exposed sections only with group backup, never alone and never without prior terrain assessment via ATES and the reduction method.
Deliberately train the kick turn on both sides — most riders have a clearly preferred turning direction and get unsteady on their weaker side at the critical moment. In steep terrain, exactly this two-sidedness decides whether you stay fluid or start to hesitate.
Around 20 degrees even good skins start to slip; past about 25 degrees pure skinning becomes inefficient to impossible. From that point, switching to ski crampons or bootpacking is the better choice.
The new, downhill-pointing ski half should sit as close as possible to 90 degrees to the fall line. The less accurate that angle, the more unstable the turning moment becomes — exactly where stability matters most.
As soon as you're noticeably slipping on every step instead of progressing, usually around 25 degrees. Continuing to skin then costs more energy than it's worth — board on the pack and continuing on foot is more efficient.
They give extra grip on icy or hard-frozen traverses where skins are already slipping. They're an intermediate step between normal skinning and full bootpacking and belong in every steep-terrain setup.
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