SKI TOURING GLOSSARY

When conditions start to change, your body is forced to adjust: this is acclimatisation. In the mountains, you will need to adjust to the altitude, primarily to compensate for the lack of oxygen and avoid problems linked to hypoxia (a very significant lack of oxygen that can lead to nausea, vomiting and even swelling).

Height of a place above sea level, which is the reference level at 0m. You can consider yourself to be at altitude anywhere above 1500m in height. To give you an idea, ski resorts are generally between 1000m and 3800m above sea level.

Mass of snow that separates and descends until it is stopped by an obstacle or by the terrain. It can be natural or provoked in order to secure the places frequented (ski slopes, roads)

Avalanche transceiver or avalanche beacon, essential for off-piste skiing and inseparable from the shovel and the probe. It emits radio signals in order to be found or to search for other activated devices in the event of an avalanche.

The difference in altitude between two points in the mountains, indicated in metres. Mountaineers and hikers generally calculate their runs in metres of positive and negative elevation gain, indicating the physical difficulty of the route taken.

The section of the ski tour that consists of climbing the slope using skis fitted with skins.

Putting your skins on your skis.

The thermoforming of ski boot liners, through the application of heat to the material of the liner, making it more malleable and thereby moulding it to the morphology of your foot.

Boot crampons are like ski crampons, but for your boots. They fit to the shoe a bit like a protective slipper made up of metal teeth to provide optimal grip on hard, frozen snow, or even ice. It can be useful to have them in your bag on certain touring routes on which you may encounter areas where you have to take off your skis.

Bindings with inserts, also known as low-tech bindings, are ski touring bindings with a front stop comprising two small lugs that fit into a hole on either side of the front part of your ski boot. A very lightweight and comfortable binding for climbs, but often less efficient and stable on the way down. In addition, the foot is only released from the rear in the event of a fall, which compromises the safety of this type of binding.

The ability of the boot to flex during uphill movements. The more it bends, the greater your range of motion, for easier climbing when ski touring.

This is an emergency route that you should prepare in case there is a problem: a deterioration in weather conditions, injury, original route blocked, etc.

A bag with two straps that is worn on the back. Backpacks are very practical in the mountains and have been used for hiking for a long time. They now come in styles that are specifically designed for skiing, featuring various pockets for your shovel, probe, water bottle, and so on, and with fastening systems on the outside to carry your skis.

The camber is the way your ski arcs upward when you place it on a flat surface. There are different shapes depending on the skiing activity: some will have a "camel"shape, raised in the centre with a contact point on each end, while others will have a"banana"shape, with a fairly long contact point in the centre. To see the camber, look at the profile of your ski.

The camber is the way your ski arcs upward when you place it on a flat surface.

Low point on a ridge, between two peaks. See also Pass*.

A cornice is an overhanging snowpack formed by the wind on a ridge or crest of a mountain. Cornices are unstable by nature.

A narrow section between two mountain sides, with slopes of varying steepness, on which skiers like to climb and then enjoy sliding down.

A deep wedge-shaped opening in the ground, either in mountain rock or in the ice of a glacier. Crevasses in glaciers are particularly dangerous because they are often covered with snow, especially in winter, and are therefore undetectable to the naked eye.

These are alpine ski bindings that be converted to ski touring mode thanks to a detachable heel. Once the binding has been detached, your heel comes off and you can add a climbing block, all you have to do is de-skin*. These bindings are extremely versatile, performing downhill like normal alpine bindings, but remaining very heavy on the climb.

Travelling on foot with your ski equipment in your bag.

Duck walking is a technique that lets you walk up hills without having to take your skis off, by making a V-shape with your skis, tips open at the front.

The moment when you ski down the mountain after climbing in ski touring. The reward for all your hard work!

The action of switching your boot to walk mode to increase your travel and climb more easily when ski touring, or detaching your ski binding to switch from ski mountaineering to ski touring mode.

Taking off your skins from your skis.

The difference in altitude between two points, indicating a difference in topographic levels.

The exposure of a route relates to the risk of falls that it entails. The more serious the fall, the more exposed the route.

In skiing, this means lifting the tip of the ski out of the snow in order to be able to ski and manoeuvre more easily in powder snow.

Index for ski boot stiffness. The greater the flex index, the more rigid the boot. A high flex index will be preferred by expert skiers who are looking for greater performance precision.

Essential ski accessories to keep your hands warm by protecting them from the outside elements. For ski touring, it is preferable to wear thin, lightweight gloves, mainly to protect the hands from the wind, even if it means taking a second pair in your bag for the descent.

Global Positioning System: a satellite-based global positioning system that has made it possible to develop precise navigation systems. Can be used on a device equipped with the necessary software so you can find out your position and calculate a route or several routes to travel from one point to another.

GPS eXchange or GPX, an XML type file format that has become THE format exchanging GPS files. It is recognised by all current GPS systems, and you can now create a GPX using any related software.

The rear part of the binding on a touring ski that allows the foot to remain elevated, so as not to end up completely flat during the ascent. Used when the slope is medium to steep.

Though slightly heavier than a low-tech binding, hybrid low-tech bindings have the advantage of including a rotating front stop, whose DIN (safety index for release force settings) can be adjusted, thereby offering the same security as an alpine binding. It's the ideal compromise between lightness and safety in the event of a fall.

The rear part of the ski binding that you click the back of your ski boot into. Fitted with a heel lift system for ski touring bindings, and convertible for hybrid alpine-touring bindings.

The arched middle portion of the foot that joins the joint of the foot and the leg.

This is the ratio between the length of a slope and its difference in elevation, for example a 2 km-long slope that goes down 200m (corresponding to the difference between the highest and lowest point of the slope) would be 10%.

These are the two points positioned at the front stop of low-tech bindings (also known as bindings with inserts).

A mountain accessory comprised of a handle - often with a point at its end - and a head, placed perpendicularly on the handle. The head is designed to enable you to dig, hang in rock or ice, and even sometimes drive in a piton, to act as an anchor in places in the mountains where it is impossible to hang on with a rope, but where you need an additional attachment point.

In ski touring, a kick turn is the most efficient way to change direction on a climb.

A touring route* that makes a full turn, a loop, taking you back to the starting point without taking the same path, unlike a return route.

Another name for bindings with inserts, given by Fritz Barthel, the designer of these bindings, originally invented for the company Dynafit and whose patent was released into the public domain in 2004. The Low Tech binding was born in 1984, and turned 30 in 2014!

Synonymous with ski mountaineering, mountain skiing is generally practised on very steep slopes, sometimes including stages on foot while carrying your skis.

A pass is a col, which means the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two slopes or peaks. Cols often serve to connect two valleys, and some are especially well known thanks to cycling races such as the Tour de France.

Powder, fresh snow.

The probe is an essential element of the trio when you go off-piste (shovel-probe-ARVA) and which makes it possible to probe the layer of snow which can cover an avalanche victim in order to precisely locate the latter before shovelling the snow to release it.

A ridge is the summit formed by the two sides (or faces) of a mountain. It extends across the entire length of the mountain, unlike a peak, which is only a tip. It is prominent, usually very narrow, and often extremely windy, hence the recurring formation of snow ledges in this location in winter. Ridges are the preferred routes for mountain lovers and mountaineering fans.

A reverse camber is the opposite of a traditional camber, which has an upward curve at its centre with a contact point (with the ground) at the tip and another at the tail. A ski has reverse camber when, laid flat, it touches the ground only at its waist, at its centre, and the tip and tail are off the ground.

The path you take to go from one place to another. In the mountains, a route can be a return trip or a loop*.

Walks or races in the mountains over several days, travelling from one point to another in several stages.

On a ski, rocker is the extension of the tip towards the waist. Basically, when your ski is placed on a flat surface, the tip no longer touches the ground, the point of contact is closer to the binding. The rocker makes it easier to pivot during a turn. Skis with rocker are particularly popular for soft snow. In other words, the rocker is to skis what power steering is to the car!

A rundown is a summary that describes the route in detail.

An abbreviation of ski mountaineering,a skiing discipline that involves using very light and thin touring skis optimised* for mountain climbs.

Ski boots specifically designed for touring. Generally more flexible and lighter than traditional ski boots, they are also equipped with specific touring accessories: tightening systems on the liner, a loop to attach your ski leash, a walking position for a greater range of motion (you can spread your legs further apart, and climb faster), and a grip system under the sole. Furthermore, if you are using touring-specific bindings with inserts, your touring boots will have two small holes at the front part of the shoe section so that the binding pins can slot into them, which do not exist on classic ski boots.

Crampons are metal pieces that are fitted to the ski at the waist, between the two parts of the binding, to offer additional grip when climbing on hard or frozen snow, when the skins are longer sufficient, to avoid slipping.

A technique that consists of sliding your ski perpendicular to the slope by combining two factors: a force exerted on the ski (pressure from the skier, steep incline of the slope) and a weak edge grip. This technique allows you to control your speed, but also to brake or ski through places that are quite difficult to access.

Snow packed together as a result of the wind. It makes a characteristic muffled noise when you ski on it.

Climbing skins are strips of special fabric that are backed with adhesive to stick to your skis, and covered with tiny hairs, like a carpet, on the underside, to prevent the ski from sliding backwards or slipping when climbing uphill. Skins are now made from synthetic materials but were traditionally made from seal skin, hence the name.

A shovel is an important piece of safety kit for ski touring, it is used to dig out possible avalanche victims. Ski shovels come in two parts, with a removable handle so they can be easily carried in a backpack. The handle of the shovel can also be telescopic.

Snow bridges are extremely dangerous. They can easily break, potentially causing a fall into the crevasse. For added safety, it is sometimes recommended to rope up on a glacier. 

Synonymous with ski touring, this is the name given by competitors and the federation to their discipline, practised at professional level on slopes that range from steep to very steep.

A skiing discipline practised in a natural environment, on ungroomed snow, usually on unmarked routes that fall outside of the specific facilities for ski areas, using skis fitted with convertible bindings and skins, for travelling uphill on skis before skiing down the slopes. Tends to be practised on small or medium slopes.

No successful ski touring trip is complete without a focus on safety: do not go alone, if possible take a professional mountain guide, equip yourself properly (safety equipment, suitable clothing, first aid kit, snacks), prepare your outing, check the weather forecast, and choose an itinerary suitable for your level. With a focus on safety, you can explore the mountains with complete peace of mind.

Tuning makes the edges of your skis sharper, like the blade of a knife, thereby ensuring a better grip on hard or icy snow.

Skiing or hiking poles comprised of two tubes that slot into each other, and a tightening system to adjust the length of the pole. It means you can shorten your poles on the way up, or lengthen them for skiing on steeper slopes. They're extremely useful when hiking and mountaineering, for adapting to the terrain, and they're also easier to carry, since they take up less space at their shortest length.

A map that uses detailed cartographic information to show the topography of a site, that is to say the areas of elevation, slopes, peaks, ridges, summits, and more. Particularly useful in the mountains, these maps allow you to prepare and follow routes.

This is your maximum range of motion when stepping one of your legs forward, before bringing the other up. The more travel you can achieve, the further you can move your leg forward, the faster you will climb and the less tired you will be.

The track left in the snow by the passage of a downhill skier or an uphill ski hiker. In ski touring, breaking a trail means going up first, allowing subsequent hikers to climb an already groomed trail when the snow is fresh. And downhill, it's the honour of enjoying fresh virgin snow without any track.

A low area of land between two mountain ridges, a hollow part, often concave, where snow falls in abundance. Unlike corridors, valleys are wider and often more vast. Very popular with freeride enthusiasts.

An accumulation of snow deposited by the wind during snowfall, or in the event of fresh and volatile snow in a particular location, particularly unstable and very dangerous, especially just after heavy snowfall. Wind slabs are the source of many avalanches, and start either naturally, because of their great instability and changes in climatic conditions (warming), or after being disturbed by a skier.

The mode on a ski touring boot that allows the cuff, the upper part of the boot, to tilt backwards, allowing a greater range of motion, or travel* thereby making it easier to climb uphill on your skis as well as when walking. Usually unlocked by a hook that's released at the back of the boot, on the cuff.

A climbing method in ski touring, crossing the slope at an angle in one direction, then doing the same in the other direction, until you reach the top, thereby forming a zig-zag.