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Ski touring

Free moving heels during the ascent are a defining characteristic of ski touring. After reaching the mountain top or other destination, the heel portions of the special touring bindings are fixated such that the skis behave like normal alpine skis on the typically long ride downhill.
Marked ascent track of a previous ski tour to the Wildspitze (3.768 m) in Tyrolia in Austria. The route leads over the glacier Taschachferner, whereby the mountaineers made a detour around an area with open crevasses (middle).
A descent from a mountain in Switzerland under nearly perfect conditions, meaning powder snow and sun. In contradiction, depending e.g. on the local weather history, mountaineers may also have to struggle with previously melted and re-frozen deep snow, which can be very tiring especially for lesser skilled skiers.

Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the use of a ski lift or transport.

Ski touring combines elements of Nordic and alpine skiing and embraces such sub-disciplines as Telemark and randonnée. A defining characteristic is that the skier's heels are "free" – i.e. not bound to the skis – in order to allow a natural gliding motion while traversing and ascending terrain which may range from perfectly flat to extremely steep.

Ski touring has been adopted by skiers seeking new snow, by alpinists, and by those wishing to avoid the high costs of traditional alpine skiing at resorts.[1] Touring requires independent navigation skills and may involve route-finding through potential avalanche terrain. It has parallels with hiking and wilderness backpacking. Ski mountaineering is a form of ski touring which variously combines the sports of Telemark, alpine, and backcountry skiing with that of mountaineering.

  1. ^ Volken, Martin; Schnell, Scott; Wheeler, Margaret (2007). Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering. Mountaineers Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-1594850387.

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