Ski touring holidays in Spring

Get set for ski touring

Off-piste skiing and ski touring traditionally take place in the Spring with longer warmer days allowing you to venture further a field and enjoy better snow conditions. As ski resorts are coping with the final crowds of the season why not look at trying a different form of skiing, not only will these methods keep you away from the energy guzzling ski-lifts but also allow you a moment of calm to make the most of the nature around you. With a number of providers now offering multi-day ski tours, from beginner to advanced level, there is no reason not to try it out. (Above: Off piste on a ski touring holiday. Photo: Robert Farquharson/Ski Club of Great Britain)

How to tour?
First you need to decide what type of skiing/touring you would like to undertake; snow-shoeing, cross-country skiing, Nordic skiing or ski mountaineering. All require different equipment and different levels of commitment to the mountain. Snow-shoeing can be anything from a gentle stroll along fairly clear paths to hiking high into the mountains, the difference here is that you have to walk back down! Cross-country skiing is the national sport of Norway but tracks can be found across Europe and offer a great alternative to alpine skiing for those who prefer to travel along rather than up and down. Nordic skiing uses similar equipment to cross-country skiing with narrow skies and lifting soft boots but the skies are hardier and designed to take you off the beaten track and on longer multi-day tours. If you want to explore the high peaks then ski mountaineering is for you. With hard boots you have a greater level of control on your descent and the skins you use on the base of the skies allow you to climb steeper slopes.

All over Europe and further a field you will find fantastic destinations to explore off the beaten track. Several winters ago I spent 4 days touring hut to hut in Norway and had a fantastic time. Norway is perfectly set up to tour, having routes marked out by tree branches and welcoming huts (or rather luxurious cabins) along the way. Below I have listed a number of different organisations and companies to help you get started.

Spring is a great time to go ski touring in the AlpsThe majority of the listed organisations will run training courses for touring beginners, as well as run tours for more experienced skiers and almost all offer a variety of touring options.

Edinburgh Ski Touring Club supports the local active population, both at home and abroad. They ski in Scotland, Norway, the Alps and beyond, from traditional cross country skiing and telemark skiing to ski mountaineering and Alpine skiing. They organise weekends away, day trips and several holidays each year.

Plays-y-Brenin, the National Mountain Centre of England, is where British Mountain Guides learn their trade, so what better people to take you skiing. They run touring courses and holidays across Europe and offer specialist training in Skiing Navigation and even offer a Ski Touring Skills weekend on their very own dry slope in Wales. 

Glenmore Lodge is the Scottish Mountain Centre. Based in the heart of the Cairngorms it has over 60 years of experience in inspiring people in, and coaching, skiing. They run training courses and holidays both in Scotland and abroad. The skiing in the UK has been fantastic this year so why not book a course to get your touring legs into shape. The Cairngorms are easily accessible by sleeper from London so it’s the perfect weekend touring trip. 

The International School of Mountaineering is an organisation dedicated to sharing the skills, enjoyment and adventure of mountaineering in all its aspects. They run particularly good value ski touring and off-piste courses.

Mountain HutThe Eagle Ski Club is the UK's largest and most active ski touring and ski mountaineering club, with over 800 members. It organises up to 40 ski trips a year, ranging from hotel and chalet-based day tours to ski expeditions in the Arctic and the Greater Ranges. Some are led by members of the club and others by professional guides. The tours vary in standard, but for most of them you should be fit and a good intermediate skier.

Mountain Tracks are award winning experts in mountain guided adventure. They offer tours and training all over the world, from the Dolomites to Kashmir. They can also run bespoke weekend or week long tours should you have a group of friends looking for an adventure together. 

The Ski Club of Great Britain run a series of courses and tours for a range of abilities through their Fresh Tracks programme. 

Ski and Sail Something that seems to have become particularly popular recently is ski-sail. What better way to visit the mountains than sail up to their base, hike to the top and ski back down the other side to have the boat meet you there. The Lyngen Peninsular in Norway is the place for this with a number of companies offering varying packages. Norway has strict rules of no helicopters, no (big) lifts, and no sleds on the Lyngen Peninsula (unless you are a local reindeer farmer or similar) which keeps most of the crowds away and ensures the preservation of the environment for future generations. Below are two companies offering this service:

Mountain Spirit Guides
Arctic Mountain Guides

Hut to Hut in Norway The Telemark Ski Company offer snow-shoeing and Nordic skiing tours with highly qualified guides. They also have an excellent description of the Norwegian mountain hut network, DNT, which is the key to touring in Norway. Become a member and you can visit any of them on your adventures.

And a few additional pointers…

Stay Safe
Skiing is an inherently risky sport and particularly so when you begin to leave the beaten track so ensure you have effective travel insurance for the activities you will be undertaking and consider completing an avalanche awareness course. Many of the companies mentioned above will include some kind of avalanche training into their programmes. You may also like to join Henry at one of his talks across the UK and French Alps. Henry is a passionate skier and avalanche expert. He has been running avalanche awareness talks and courses for a number of years and has teamed up with Snow and Rock and the Ski Club of Great Britain to run talks across the UK: http://www.henrysavalanchetalk.com

Get kitted up before leaving home
Travelling by train means you don’t have to worry about baggage restrictions, as long as you can carry it, you can generally take it. Equipment hire can often be costly in resort so you might want to take a look at these two organisations offering full touring kit hire within the UK at very reasonable prices:

Braemar Mountain Sports can supply pretty much everything you need and will send it to you in advance.

Edinburgh Ski Touring Club offer a range of equipment to members and non-members but you will need to collect it from Edinburgh.

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