Ski touring is a special kind of winter sports on skis off-piste. It involves climbing a mountain on skis before skiing down into the valley. In principle, anyone can learn this sport - but it is important to have good stamina and strong leg muscles. And of course, the right equipment for it must not be missing.

 

Packing list

Proper equipment for the tours is a question that is very difficult to answer! It depends on the season and weather, as well as the type and duration of the tour. Basically: as little as possible, as much as necessary!

Here is the link to our suggestion.

 

Skitouring scale

For the skitouring scale, we at SimplyTourit use the SAC difficulty scale for skitours.

The SAC difficulty scale for ski tours is used to rate ski tours and was introduced in 2002 by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC).

  1. The overall rating (grade) of ski tours corresponds to the peak value of the main criteria.
  2. If auxiliary criteria were included, the degree of difficulty was increased by one third (e.g. from WS+ to ZS-).
  3. A minus (-) indicates lower difficulty than the indicated difficulty level. A plus (+) indicates a higher difficulty.
  4. The difficulty ratings are approximate values under good snow, weather and visibility conditions.
  5. The evaluation refers exclusively to the skiing part of the tours. Alpine technical difficulties are described separately in the description header (rating: UIAA scale for climbing sections, plus word description for the foot ascent).
Degree Steep Exposure

Terrain
Ascent and descent

Bottlenecks
In the departure

 Examples
from Bernese Alps West,
from Bernese Alps East
L
easy
(+)		 up to 30° no danger of slipping soft, hilly, smooth surface No bottlenecks
  • Niderhorn von Boltigen
  • Steghorn von Lämmerenhütte
  • Faulhorn von Süden
  • Grünhornlücke
WS
little difficult (−/+)		 from 30° Shorter slide paths, softly running out Mainly open slopes with short steep steps. Obstacles with dodging possibilities (hairpin bends necessary). Bottlenecks short and little steep
  • Bunderspitz
  • Arpelistock von Geltenhütte
  • Sattelhorn (Kandertal)
  • Sattelhorn (Driest)
ZS
quite difficult (−/+)		 from 35° longer slipping paths with braking possibilities (risk of injury) short steep steps without evasive possibilities, obstacles in moderately steep terrain require good reaction (safe hairpin turns necessary) Bottlenecks short but steep
  • Männliflue von Süden
  • Rinderhorn Normalweg
  • Bundstock von Kandersteg
  • Grosshorn von Süden
S
difficult
(−/+)		 from 40° long slippery paths, partly breaking off in steep steps (danger to life) Steep slopes with no opportunities to take evasive action. Many obstacles require a mature and safe driving technique Bottlenecks long and steep. Short swing for experts still possible
  • Winterhore N-Flanke
  • Vorder Lohner SW-Flanke
  • Altels NW-Flanke
  • Dreispitz
  • Wyssi Frau NW-Rücken
SS
very difficult (−/+)		 from 45° Slipping paths in steep steps breaking off (danger to life) generally very persistent steep terrain. Often interspersed with rocky steps. Many obstacles in short succession Bottlenecks long and very steep. Slipping and cross jumps necessary
  • Märe N-Couloir
  • Balmhorn N-Wand direkt
  • Dündenhorn S-Seite
  • Lauteraarhorn
  • Mönch S-Wand
AS
extraordinarily difficult (−/+)		 from 50° Extremely exposed extremely steep flanks or couloirs. No possibility of recovery in the descent Bottlenecks long and very steep, interspersed with steps, only cross jumps and slipping possible
  • Mönch NE-Wand
EX
extremely difficult		 from 55° Extremely exposed extreme steep walls and couloirs rappelling over rock steps may be necessary
  • Eiger NE-Wand

 

Help criteria

  • Difficult orientation in ascent and descent
  • Route course not visible
  • Route errors are hardly or no longer correctable

 

SimplyTourIt assumes no liability for this information.   

References

[1] SAC Schwierigkeitsskala für Skitouren. September 2012