have adopted these, or variations of them, for use in their guidebooks. Two widely used grading systems are the Blachère and Traynard scales, which are described below and have, more or less, been incorporated into this guidebook.
Blanchère Scale
On tours where skiing rather than Alpine climbing skills are required the adjectival grades in the first ‘Blanchère Scale’ box are used.
For ski-mountaineering objectives in high mountain and glaciated terrain where Alpine mountaineering skills are essential, the Blanchère scale uses the grades in the second ‘Blanchère Scale’ box.
The Blanchère scale has been used in this guidebook. Invariably this means that the equipment carried must include rope, crampons, ice axe and the means to ensure safety on steep terrain and glaciers. This roughly relates to mountaineering grades as: SAM = F (facile); BSA = PD (peu difficile); TBS = AD (assez difficile). The mountaineering grades of D (difficile), TD (très difficile) and ED (extrêment difficile) were not covered by the Blanchère scale and have traditionally been relegated to the realms of Extreme Skiing.
Traynard Scale
As the skier's ability to ascend and descend steep slopes has increased, the need has arisen for a more precise scale to highlight difficulty – the equivalent of the ‘numerical grading’ given to rock climbs. The Traynard scale (see box) offers a way of highlighting a section of steep skiing. This is most useful within a tour where the general standard is suitable for someone with moderate Alpine and skiing ability (SAM), but where there is, for example, a short section S3 difficulty. A ski party may be capable of skiing S3 terrain but would prefer a more relaxed tour where the overall grade is less challenging, yet are prepared to ski a few steep sections. This scale allows for that specific difficulty to be recognised and highlighted.
Traversing the summit ridge of the Breithorn during a round of the Zermatt and Saas Fee 4000ers
Using tensioned skis to provide a secure belay during a steep descent
It is essential to apply common sense when using this numerical scale, which quite reasonably is based on ideal snow conditions. On a good surface with stable conditions an S3 slope, 300m high, sounds inviting. However, the same slope in icy conditions is far less appealing, feels a lot steeper and can be quite daunting! Similarly a pitch or two of 40° skiing in a confined couloir can feel intimidating. My advice is, when using this scale, to consider the conditions and terrain and imagine how they will affect the slope and your skiing.
For pure climbing difficulty the established Alpine grading system using the following symbols has been adopted: F = easy; PD = not very difficult; AD = quite difficult; D = difficult; TD = very difficult; and ED = extremely difficult. This can be distinguished further by adding a + or – sign to the grade, giving PD+, AD-, etc. This grading system takes into account both the technical difficulty and overall seriousness of a climb and will be familiar to users of mountaineering guidebooks.
Thus a ski tour may be given a grade of: BSA. With the option of an AD+ ascent and involve sections of S3 steepness. Combined, these gradings hopefully provide the skier with a lot of useful information about the difficulty and demands of the route prior to setting out on tour.
Equipment List
This is the equipment list I use for my own ski tours. It is not a definitive list, but in my experience it covers the essentials for a hut-based, multi-day tour.
Given that you are not self-catering, your packed sack for a week-long ski tour, including your share of group equipment, should weigh between 8 and 12 kilos. Obviously there will be some variation in the weight and warmth of the clothing depending on whether you are touring early or late season and on anticipated weather conditions. If your sack weighs much more than indicated above, you need to take a close look at what you are carrying.
Personal Kit List
The Three Essentials
Shovel – ideally a large metal-bladed shovel suitable for digging in hard snow.
Transceiver – to be worn at all times when skiing. All transceivers should be a single-frequency 457kHz model. Some earlier models had a different frequency: avoid these. Take spare batteries.
Probe – 2 metre minimum.
Clothing
Base layers (x2) – one to wear and one spare. These should ‘wick’ moisture from your skin. Cotton is not a good base layer, since it absorbs moisture like a sponge and feels cold and clammy after a rest. Longjohns are a useful option early season.
Mid-layer – Shirt or roll neck top. Ideally this should also be lightweight and wicking.
Fleece jacket or sweater – I use a Mountain Equipment Windstopper fleece. Highly versatile, it allows me to ventilate well but also offers protection in windy conditions when a shell jacket may not be appropriate. Some skiers prefer to carry two lightweight fleece pullovers.
Touring pants – touring pants in a windproof stretch fabric are ideal. Available from a number of good Swiss manufacturers, or try Mountain Equipment's G2 pants or Stretchlite pants in the UK. They should be warm, and wind and snow proof. Some people are happy using stretch fleece pants under a light shell.
Shell jacket – lightweight gore-tex is ideal, offering protection against the elements. For touring I like a fully functional attached hood that provides both protection and good visibility and I use a Mountain Equipment Paclite Jacket.
Shell pants – either lightweight gore-tex or another breathable fabric. If you opt not to use touring pants but instead prefer technical shell pants worn over fleece pants, then I would opt for full-zip zipped gore-tex pants with braces. These can then be zipped on and off even over skis. Because I use touring pants I carry only very lightweight full side-zipped shell pants (Mountain Equipment Drilite Pants) for emergency use only.
Socks (x2) – one pair to wear and one pair spare. With well-fitting ski mountaineering boots you need only wear one pair of socks.
Ski gloves (x2) – I carry one pair technical ski gloves plus a lighter windproof fleece pair. Make sure gloves are not too tight fitting. Hands tend to swell when skiing, and when wet they are difficult to push inside tight gloves. Loose linings are also a bad idea, as they generally pull out when you take the gloves off and are difficult to refit.
Sun hat – ideally with neck protection – this is particularly important later in the season when the sun's strength can be enervating.
Warm hat – ideally this should protect ears and side of face, and stay on in windy conditions.
Neck/ear band.
Lightweight down vest or jacket – (optional). These are ideal for sitting around cold huts or simply to pull on during a rest or lunch break. They weigh little,
