Snowboarding
Ready for those sunny spring days, awesome views and unforgettable untracked runs? Go on a ski touring adventure with your friends – we show you how.
Are you ready to jump on the latest back-to-the-roots, back-into-the-backcountry trend? For the last two years, freeride legend Xavier De Le Rue and his wife Beanie have been on a DIY tour throughout Europe and all the way to Canada and some remote islands in Russian waters. All of their tours have adhered to one principle: each line had to be reached without helicopter and the filming done without professional help.
The results were as astonishing as they were convincing – check their 'The Big Crack' edit as a great example. Naturally, that included a whole bunch of backcountry camps and, of course, lots and lots of splitboard touring to access their chosen lines.
See some of the best shots from Xavier De Le Rue's touring adventures:
In the edit above, Xavier De Le Rue shares his best tips on how to plan your first tour and make it a pleasant experience:
1. Preparation is key
Find the best tour for you by asking your friends, local guides, study touring books and topgraphic or 3D maps.
2. Gear check
- Telescopic poles
- Splitboard or touring/approach skis
- Skins
- Backpack (ideally an avalanche ABS backpack)
- Full avalanche gear (avalanche beacon, probe, shovel)
- A big pair of gloves
- A small pair of gloves or liner gloves
- Ice axe and crampons
- Knives
- A Gore-Tex shell jacket (that stays in your backpack at the beginning)
- Spare cell-phone batteries
- Sunscreen
- Water
3. Never go alone
Go with friends or ask a more experienced friend to take you on your first tour.
4. In the mountains, communication is key
- Tell people at home where you're going and when you’re supposed to be back.
- For your first tours, stay within cell reception zones, so in a worst-case scenario you can call for rescue. Save the rescue number before you set out!
- Tell your fellow touring buddies which line you intend to ride.
5. Avoid zones with avalanche exposure
Choose a wide, open valley bottom, or a ridge for your approach.
6. Always have a backup/back-out plan:
Keep a map handy at all times – either detailed topographic maps or, for fast access, 3D maps that you've downloaded onto your phone via mapping apps like FATMAP. If anything goes wrong, you can always ski back to the resort.
In our previous Xavier De Le Rue Shred Hacks videos, we've learned how to splitboard, got tips on how to scope a line, how to use ice axes while riding and how to avoid avalanche danger when dropping in. To learn more about how to drop a cliff and other essential backcountry tips, watch this space every Wednesday for new episodes.
Enjoy the ride!
Watch previous episodes of Shred Hacks here:
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