Tour planning for style, fun, and safety

Chris Burk, AMGA/IFMGA Mountain Guide

Developer of the GuidePace App

December 2020

Style is essential in ski and splitboard touring. I’m not talking about your big goggles or broken in ‘work’ gloves. I’m talking about executing a tour with style.

A well-executed tour starts with a plan that is right for the conditions and right for your team. As a guide, I think about this a lot. My job is to help my guests achieve their personal goals while staying safe. Sometimes they are hoping to make a big descent, sometimes they want to run powder laps, and sometimes they just want to see what it’s like to skin quietly through the backcountry. 

In many ways we are all in this situation. We all want to make the most of the limited time we have in the mountains. We want to find quality snow and steer clear of dangerous situations. We want to avoid sidestepping through alders or post-holing through corn snow. We want to perform cool linkups and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a day well-executed. Wherever your objectives take you, preparation is the key to having a safe and successful day in the mountains. Consistent, deliberate tour planning is one of the most reliable ways to make these goals a reality.

The spectrum of tour planning

Every time I take my skis out, I do some form of tour planning. This doesn’t necessarily mean I break out my notebook, ruler, and compass though. If the avalanche hazard is low, the skies are blue, and I’m just going out for a quick workout in an area that I know well, I might simply plot the route on my phone and then go through a checklist of gear, weather, snow conditions, timing, and rescue communications.  As the situation gets more complicated though, I get more formal and detailed. If I were preparing for white-out conditions above tree line, for example, I would have detailed navigation instructions with GPS coordinates and compass bearings written in a notebook to carry with me.

Avalanche hazard, complexity of the terrain, and my familiarity with the area are among the most important factors that I normally consider. Below are a few more variables to keep in mind. In this context, being ‘More formal & detailed’ means doing more research, writing down your results, or both. If you want to get dialed at planning, try to err on the side of being more formal and detailed. 

The tour planning process

No matter how formal and detailed you decide to be, tour planning is an iterative process that looks something like this:

Collecting information

I have a friend who likes to say that ski touring is like surfing – the conditions decide where you go. So, before choosing a tour, you need to understand the conditions and the characteristics of your group. During winter in the Sierras, the typical factors to consider are avalanche hazard, weather, snow conditions, ability of the group, and goals of the group.

Avalanches are often the biggest safety concern while touring in the winter. Studying the local avalanche forecast will help you decide which types of terrain to avoid. I will often designate types of terrain as off limits (or ‘red flag’ it) based on aspect, elevation, and angle. For example, I might decide to avoid traveling in or under any northerly facing terrain that is above tree line and steeper than 30 degrees. Or I might flag certain types of terrain features to avoid, like ‘steep wind-loaded slopes below ridge crests’.

The weather forecast and expected snow conditions will further inform my terrain choices. If I will be out in a big storm, I might plan to stay below tree line for visibility. If we just had a few stormy days followed by some sun, I might want to stay on shadier slopes to avoid sun crusts.

Lastly, the ability level and goals of the group will inform how fast and far I can expect us to travel.

Proposing a tour

Next, I will come up with an idea for a tour that fits my constraints from the last step. I almost always plot my tours on a topographic map using an app like Gaia or a website like Caltopo or HillMap. This quickly tells me the aspects, elevations, and slope angles I will encounter, and it also gives me the distance and elevation gain/loss. If these all look reasonable considering the conditions and my group, then I will go on to more detailed planning. If not, then I would modify the tour or choose a different one and start over.

Planning the tour

If I decide to continue with a more detailed plan, I will divide the tour into ‘legs’ of similar character that are separated by ‘waypoints’. I put waypoints at places like transitions (up/down, booting/skinning, etc.) or at places where I need guidance ( a fork in the trail, a ridge crest, a certain elevation, etc.)

I consider each leg separately, asking myself questions like:

To estimate the total time for the tour, I sum the time estimates for each leg and then add a little extra for breaks. Depending on the situation, I might make a table summarizing this information and keep it with me in the field, either in a notebook or on my phone. 

At this point, I will take a step back and consider some more general questions like:

• Does it make sense to establish turn-around times at any of the waypoints? What are some alternatives if the plan doesn’t work out?

• Do I expect to have cell phone service during the whole tour? What kind emergency communication should I bring? Personal locator beacon? Radio?

• What observations should I make while in the field?

• What gear will we need in addition to the normal kit? 

• Does the tour as a whole fit the constraints I established in the information-gathering stage?

• If my phone battery dies in the cold, will I still know where to go?

Putting the tour plan to use

That’s the end of the planning. The next step is to put it to use! 

When I get out in the field, I pay close attention to any observations that don’t fit my expectations, especially if they indicate a safety concern. For example, if the forecast called for six inches of snow by noon and instead I am seeing fourteen, I might decide to bail on that steep line in favor of something more conservative. 

I also take note of how I might do the tour better next time. How can I link those glades just right? Should I bypass this steep section of the ridge on the right or the left? 

Closing thoughts and next steps

Tour planning relies on numerous other skills that I only glossed over, like navigation, weather, avalanche hazards, and mountain travel. A good avalanche course can give you the foundation. Or, next time you hire a guide, ask them if they would talk you through their tour planning process. 

Tour planning is integral to backcountry skiing and riding. It takes time, but it will give you a better, safer experience. Also, with practice, you’ll need to spend less time doing it. Here’s to touring with style!

Resources

• Books that discuss tour planning (and more):

  • Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering (Volken/Schell/Wheeler)

  • The Ski Guide Manual (Coppolillo)

• Online mapping, slope angles/shading, route plotting, satellite

  • CalTopo

  • HillMap

  • FatMap

  • Google Earth

• Topographic mapping apps

  • Gaia

  • CalTopo

• Other apps

  • GuidePace – For estimating travel time in the mountains

• Other resources

  • AIARE’s ‘Backcountry Decision-Making Guide Field Book’ (Provides a helpful framework for collecting information and planning) 

About the author

Chris Burk is an IFMGA/AMGA Certified Mountain Guide living in Reno. He developed the iOS/Android app GuidePace for helping guides estimate travel time in backcountry terrain. All proceeds from the app are currently going to the Sierra Avalanche Center. In the north Lake Tahoe area, Chris works through Alpenglow Expeditions.

https://www.appliedalpinism.com/guide-pace