Ski touring in the Portes du Soleil
What is ski touring?
Ski touring is the combination of ascending and descending on skis or snowboards in the backcountry or off-piste areas. You’re able to easily travel to parts of the mountain that aren’t accessible by ski lifts. Using synthetic material (skins) that fit to the underside of your ski or board, and “touring” bindings that let you essentially walk or “skin” up the mountain. These skins are then removed and bindings set into descent mode for the enjoyable downhill.
Within a couple of hours of skinning you are in the remote backcountry, where you’ll be able to ski first tracks and perhaps even see some of the natural wildlife. Once you find your pace and rhythm the options on where to go are endless.
Can anyone go ski touring?
Yes — anyone can give it a go. The prerequisites are general fitness that lets you ski or ride all day, and the ability to descend red-run terrain comfortably and confidently.
Why hike up when you can take the lift?
It is truly amazing to walk through a snowy forest, a true winter wonderland. The reward you get from skinning up to a point where no one has been, with unbelievable views.
You clear your head from the world, your phone, internet, and focus on the one thing — one step at a time to the summit. Once you reach the top, you start changing your gear to descent mode and take a step back. Live in that moment.
What equipment do you need?
Here’s a run through of the kit we’d recommend for skiers:
Skis — You can use normal all-mountain skis, but a lot of ski tourers end up using a much lighter ski for the ease of hiking up.
Bindings — Two options. A frame touring binding is basically a normal alpine binding that pivots at the toe, so you can lift your heel and stride efficiently. A pin binding is much lighter — but your boots need to be compatible, and they can feel a little unstable if you’re used to heavy alpine bindings.
Boots — You can use normal alpine boots if you don’t have touring-specific ones. For best comfort and freedom of movement, a boot with walk mode is much nicer — it lets you flex forwards and backwards, making touring more enjoyable. Most touring boots have pin-binding technology and a grippy walking sole for any exposed rocky ridges.
Skins — Skins are like carpet you temporarily stick on the bottom of your skis. They’re made up of lots of fibrous hair that lets you slide forward as you stride and grip when you retract or halt. Surprisingly grippy.
Avalanche kit — Essentials: shovel, probe and transceiver. Shovel and probe stay in your backpack with quick access; transceiver goes on your body, ready to use.
Backpack — A good day pack — up to 30L — that fits nicely on your back is essential. In ours we carry spare clothing, sun cream, water, food, first aid kit, gaffa tape, multi-tool, navigation tools, head torch, and a few other bits to be prepared for any eventuality.
Clothing — At Peak Snowsports we wear a lightweight Gore-Tex shell jacket and pants with a merino base + mid layer system, and a down jacket for insulation. Weather changes fast, so gear that can stand blizzard conditions is important. Keeping it light makes the going-up much easier. Pack a spare top and gloves for the summit.
Do you run off-piste safety and avalanche awareness courses?
Yes. Ski touring is mostly enjoyed in remote areas, away from the patrolled ski area — rescue services take time to reach you if things go wrong. Deep knowledge matters: reading terrain, maps, the snowpack, weather systems, and knowing what to do in an avalanche or injury situation can be life-saving.
We run regular avalanche awareness and ski touring courses covering kit set-up, skinning technique, route planning, snowpack reading, descent routes, and accident protocol. If you can ski a red piste in variable snow, these courses could be perfect for you.
For more info: hello@peaksnowsports.com — or book a ski touring lesson through our mountain experiences page.
Our favourite tours in the Portes du Soleil
We’ve ski-toured a lot around the Portes du Soleil. A few local favourites — some harder than others, all achievable in a day with easier or harder routes down.
Col Ratti
The back side of Mont Chéry — a really nice starter tour. Achievable in a couple of hours for the full round trip. Amazing views of Mont Blanc from the top. On a sunny day it’s amazing. Full off-piste skiing all the way down.
Col du Cou
A longer, slightly harder tour — about 4 hours with a couple of breaks. You start from Morzine and tour all the way up to the French/Swiss border. From there, ski into Switzerland or back down to Morzine, where the beers are chilling. Full off-piste descent.
Pointe de Chalune
More of a full-day tour. Pretty mellow start, gets slightly steeper as you go up. Don’t be fooled by the fake summit. Full off-piste skiing all the way down. An amazing day out on a sunny day.
Col du Pic à Talon
A longer tour to an exposed summit. Give yourself a full day so you can take your time descending through the steeper narrow corridors. I’d recommend taking a guide for this one.
Lifts may be closed but we’re still out skinning — every day. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Team Peak
Follow @peaksnowsports for more tours.