Activity Ski touring

Mountaineering with Touring Skis & Splitboard

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Ski and board through Winter Wonderland

Out into the winter landscape, the snow dampens all sounds, under the skis only the snow crunches. Between snow-covered trees, along wide slopes, high along steep couloirs and exposed ridges. Every ski tour is different, and everyone looks for different challenges on their tours - from the relaxing after-work tour to ambitious ski traverses lasting several days to technically demanding combined tours in alpine terrain.

Depending on the requirements of the chosen tour, different equipment is needed. Light aluminum crampons for the last steep summit push over the snow ridge to or ice tools for the demanding ascent over the north face!? Protection when travelling crevasse-rich glaciers or abseiling into the chute for the ski descent!?

Depending on the challenge, it is important to be well prepared. Choosing the proper equipment is an elementary part of the planning of a tour. Therefore, we want to answer a few frequently asked questions:

Which crampons do I need for which tours?

Depending! As diverse as the mountains are, so are the possibilities of mountaineering. Even a single mountain can hold many completely different routes with different technical requirements.
If you are on a ski tour and need crampons for a steep climb or a gully where you can't go any further with touring skis, it makes sense to switch to crampons early on. If you expect no or minimal rock contact and want to be as light as possible, ultralight crampons made of aluminum, such as our SHARK LITE, are a good choice. They are optimized for ski mountaineering and weigh significantly less than steel crampons. However, the softer aluminum wears out much faster when it comes into contact with rocks.

For combined tours, where you can skin up to the ridge on touring skis and then climb the rocky ridge to the summit, for example, the more robust steel crampons are therefore the best choice. If difficult and demanding climbing on rock and ice is required on the tour, it is also worthwhile to go for crampons with special frontal teeth (mono or duo points) such as our BEAST.


Good to know: With all our crampons, different binding options can be installed and combined. Thus, the crampon can be ideally adapted to the respective shoe, whether ski boot or mountaineering boot, whether semi-, soft or automatic binding.

NEMO LITE AUTO

One of the lightest fully-fledged crampons on the market. The ultralight NEMO LITE AUTO combines hardened aluminum (toe and heel units) with a textile bridge, weighs just 300 g, and can be folded up to an extremely compact size. The perfect choice for those who move quickly when ski mountaineering or mountain climbing and for whom every gram of gear counts.

  • Ultra-light aluminum design
  • Low weight and small pack size thanks to textile bridge
  • Simple size adjustment without tools
  • Suitable for use with crampon-compatible alpine and ski boots
See product

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    Which ropes can be used for glacier travelling?

    Basically, any single or half rope can be used for easy walking on the glacier. Under certain conditions, special accessory cords such as our RAP LINE PROTECT PRO DRY 6.0 MM can also be used, but one must be aware of the respective advantages and disadvantages of such a cord. The length of the rope is determined by the size of the rope team as well as the preferred technique of crevasse rescue (for example, you need significantly more rope for the single-pulley technique than for the rescue by block and tackle systems).

    A half rope has the advantage that it is much lighter. If, for example, rock passages must be overcome, a single rope is often the better choice. Either way, the rope should have a water-repellent treatment. This treatment is the only way to ensure that the rope does not soak up water when it comes into contact with snow, becoming heavy and frozen. For this, we use our PRO DRY technology as well as the PFC- and PFAS-free ECO DRY technology.

    RAPLINE PROTECT PRO DRY 6,0 MM

    The Rap Line is the first accessory cord with a dynamic safety reserve. We have revised it again and were able to increase the maximum tensile strength to more than 10 kN, while simultaneously reducing the weight to less than 30 g/m. The Rap Line can be used with all current rope clamps.

    • Withstands two required standard falls for dynamic twin rope tests according to EN 892
    • Suitable for hauling equipment or abseiling, thanks to the low elongation values
    • 3D lap coiling enables instant use without tangles
    • Special accessory cord made of a combination of high-strength polyamide and aramid
    • Increased cut resistance under load, e.g. over sharp edges
    • Long-lasting water-repellent and dirt-resistant
    See product

    How do ice axes differ?

    For most ski touring (with glacier contact), an ordinary ice axe will suffice. These are available in various lengths, as lightweight aluminum models (DRIFT) or for short technical passages our FIRN GUIDE. Ice axes usually have a shovel opposite the pick, with which you can clean holds or make steps.

    In steeper terrain, waterfall or mixed climbing, ice tools or steep ice tools (RAGE or RIOT HAMMER) are in demand. They have a much stronger effective curvature and can be used much better in a pull up motion.

    DRIFT

    Ultra-light, compact ice axe for ski and glacier tours.

    • Aluminum shaft for a very low overall weight
    • Stable 4 mm pick
    • Ergonomically shaped head section for good control
    • Sandblasted, anodized shaft for better grip
    • Shaft with a spike-like ‘tip’ in the lower section and an integrated cap to prevent the penetration of snow
    See product

    RAGE

    Extreme ice tool for demanding mixed and ice routes. The ergonomically shaped handle enables precise guidance and effective striking.

    • Aggressively curved shaft provides additional clearance, while the balanced construction ensures accurate placement and penetration on rock and ice
    • Modular construction can be adapted to suit all uses and conditions
    • Ergonomically-shaped handle with finger hole for a secure grip when swinging
    • Mixed pick with more teeth and profile as well as increased material thickness for good torsional strength
    • Accelerator that can be optionally mounted on the pick to increase impact force
    • Matching waterfall pick made of hardened steel with minimal blasting effect optionally available
    • Load-bearing spike (8 kN) made of steel with opening for attaching a carabiner
    • Supplied with allen key
    See product

    RIOT HAMMER

    All-round ice tool with hammer, specially designed for technical mountaineering and ice climbing.

    • Modular construction can be adapted to suit all uses and conditions
    • Curved shaft geometry for improved penetration and precise placement on ice and rock
    • Available with adze or hammer (both weigh exactly the same)
    • Hardened steel waterfall pick for minimal shattering
    • Accelerator that can be optionally mounted on the pick to increase impact force
    • Load-bearing spike (8 kN) made of steel with opening for attaching a carabiner
    • Finger rest and Allen key included in the scope of delivery
    See product

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    What do I need for crevasse rescues?

    There are different techniques for rescue from crevasses. They depend primarily on what techniques the rope team members have skills in, how the rope team is structured, what the fall terrain is like, and what material is on their harnesses. Before a tour on a glacier, the techniques should be learned and practiced; mountain schools and alpine clubs offer special courses for this purpose. The level of training within the rope team should also be discussed and coordinated before the tour.

    In addition to rope, ice axe, carabiners and rope lanyards, it is also worth considering the use of pulleys with or without a backstop in order to reduce rope friction and make the rescue as effective as possible.

    SPOC

    Ultra-light pulley with backstop. Designed for lifting loads, crevasse rescue operations, or as an emergency ascender.

    • The backstop can be fixed in the open position in order to use the device as a simple pulley
    • Diameter pulley: 20 mm
    • Suitable for ropes with a diameter of 7.0 to 11.0 mm as well as for the EDELRID Rap Line Protect Pro Dry
    • Ball bearing pulleys for high Efficiency (92%)
    • Cams for optimal grip on iced or muddy ropes
    See product
    • sports
      RIOT HAMMER
      Ice tool for technical mountaineering and ice climbing | with a hammer
      €220.00
    • sports
      RAGE
      Ice tool for demanding mixed and ice routes | precise and effective
      €240.00
    • sports
      RAP LINE PROTECT PRO DRY 6MM
      Accessory cord with a dynamic safety reserve | extremely light
      from  €150.00
    • sports professional
      SPOC
      Ultralight pulley with a backstop
      €70.00