Ski Tour Fitness & Grading
The following scales are used to provide our clients with a clear idea of the fitness, skiing ability and experience required for each of the different ski tours.
To assist you in your choice of ski tours, each ski tour is classified in three ways and given an appropriate grade for Fitness, Skiing Ability and Mountaineering Experience.
Level of Fitness and Effort required:
| Fitness Level 1 | Fitness Level 2 | Fitness Level 3 | Fitness Level 4 |
| Easy Ski-Tour or Off-Piste | Medium to difficult daily ski tour and Easy Hut to Hut Tour | Medium hut to hut Tour | Arduous hut to hut tour |
|
Off piste skiing and Daily ski touring with up to 900 meters ascent with light backpack (6-8 kg). Multi days ski touring up to 800 meters (250-300 meters/hour), with light backpack (6-8 kg). |
Daily ski touring with over 900m ascent with light backpack (6-8 kg) Hut to hut ski touring with 800m to 1000m daily ascent (300 meters/hour) with 10 kg backpack (including technical climbing equipment: harness, crampons and ice axe) |
Hut to hut ski touring with 1000m to 1300 m ascent (300meters or more/hour) with 10 kg backpack (including technical climbing equipment: harness, crampons and ice axe) |
Hut to hut ski touring with more than 1300 m ascent (400 meters/hour) with a heavy backpack (including technical climbing equipment and bivouac equipment: extra food, stove, etc....) |
| 5/6 hours effort/day | 5/6 hours effort/day | 7/8 hours effort/day | 8/10 hours effort day |
Level of Skiing Ability and Technique required:
| Skiing Level 1 | Skiing Level 2 | Skiing Level 3 | Skiing Level 4 |
| Beginner off-piste Skier |
Intermediate off-piste Skier | Experienced off-piste Skier | Advanced off-piste Skier |
| Confident piste skier (black runs), but only just beginning to venture off-piste on slopes up to 30° | Used to skiing off-piste with a backpack and able to cope with difficult conditions by a combination of side-slipping, traverses and turning with snow-plough technique following a previous ski-track). Able to cope with short sections up to 35°. | Able to link turns continuously in powder snow and to control speed and follow a precise line in crevasses or confined spaces. Able to link turns on longer slopes up to 35° in good snow. |
Able to ski the fall-line in most conditions (powder snow, crust snow) and rarely falls. Confident on steep slopes up to 40° using jump turns or short swings in couloirs. |
| Touring Experience |
Touring Experience |
Touring Experience |
Touring Experience |
| No previous experience in the use of skins, ski touring equipment and kick turns, with the help of your guide you will learn and develop these skills during the tour. | Competent with the use of ski touring equipment, skins and previous experience in performing kick turns. | Proficient in the use of ski touring equipment and able to do solid reliable kick turns on steepening terrain. | Experienced ski tourer with solid ability in all ski touring techniques in steep terrain. |
Level of Mountaineering ability and experience required:
| Mountaineering Level 1 |
Mountaineering Level 2 |
Mountaineering Level 3 |
Mountaineering Level 4 |
| No Mountaineering Experience Required | Limited Mountaineering Experience Required | Intermediate Mountaineer | Experienced Mountaineer |
| No use of ice-axe, crampons or ropes. | Previous experience of ice-axe and crampons is useful but not necessary.. With the help of your guide you may overcome ascents and descents of short snow slopes (up to 40°) where skis need to be carried; or mixed snow and rock ridges where hands may be needed. | Proficient with ice-axe and crampons and able to take in coils on the rope. Tour may include exposed pitches where the rope is needed, and where a fall would have serious consequences. Crevassed areas may be unavoidable, so knowledge of crevasse rescue techniques is desirable. | Tour may include pitched climbing or abseils. Confident moving un-roped on steep snow (up to 50° the normal limit for a single axe), ice or rock but able to deploy the rope quickly and efficiently when it is needed. Tour may have serious crevasse hazard, familiarity with crevasse rescue techniques is essential. |