At the top of the skin track and in the middle of your transition, one skin off and one boot tight, you figure out your other skins won’t fit in your pack. Oh, and you forgot puffy right as the wind picks up. Avoiding a bad day touring is easy; read the forecast, plan your route, and dial in your pack.
Depending on your preferred style of touring, whether it’s heading out the gate from the resort, finding the perfect backcountry tree run to lap all day, or attempting a big ski mountaineering objective, there are differences in the type of pack and the gear you bring for the tour.

ESSENTIALS NO MATTER THE TOUR

Beacon, probe, shovel—While it is good to approach each touring objective differently and think about what you need and what you can leave behind, every tour needs a beacon, probe, and shovel in your pack. When you are going for a big mountain objective, it’s easy to remember these avalanche safety tools, but you may try to convince yourself you don’t need them when you are at the resort heading out of the gates for a single lap. But the second you head out the gate past the sign that has ‘You Can Die, This is Your Decision’ in big letters, you are in the backcountry, even right next to the ski resort.

SIDECOUNTRY HOT LAPS

It’s the perfect dream: you ride up the lift, get a couple of warm-up laps in the resort, and then, when you're ready to find fresher snow, you take the lift to the top of the mountain and then head out the backcountry gate. Now you are at the top of an untouched line, and you didn’t even have to put your skins on.

The ease of sidecountry access means you don’t need a large pack; the Dawn Patrol 15 Backpack stores the essentials for hot laps just beyond the rope. Only 15L, it still has a separate snow safety pocket to store your avalanche gear, and features an insulated shoulder pocket that holds a hydration tube, soft flask, or radio.

In terms of gear, the Impulse Ti skis excel at carving early morning corduroy and then heading out beyond the resort to find fresh turns. If you plan on doing any touring outside the gate, the Traverse ski poles offer some adjustability for skinning but are durable enough to handle day-in, day-out resort laps.

Though you still have access to the après after leaving the resort and the option to hop into the lodge after turning back into the resort, you are still in the backcountry, and that means bringing a few key essentials. An extra puffy in your pack, the Deploy Down 1.0 Hoody is warm and packable, the perfect touring puffy. And a headlamp, like the Astro 300-R, is a reliable light source to have in case you are hitchhiking back to your car in the dark.

ALL-DAY BACKCOUNTRY TOURING

If you prefer to beat the ski resort traffic and relish being miles deep in the mountains, finding the perfect ski line and spending sun-up to sun-down touring, you will need more gear and a larger pack, optimized for life on the skin track.

Our Helio Carbon skis are purpose-built for backcountry touring. Paired with our Glidelite Tour skins and Expedition Ski poles, you have a dialed touring set-up that is lightweight, easy to cruise on the skin track, and rips the downhill.

Since you will be out all day, a larger pack is needed, but you don’t want something too big and avoid overpacking—you are just out all day, not an overnight yurt trip. The Dawn Patrol 32 or Cirque 25 are go-to options for all-day skinning. The Dawn Patrol 32 has the same setup as the smaller 15L or 25L, meaning if you like the feel of a freeride pack and backpanel access zip, the Dawn Patrol 32 will store everything you need to stay out until dusk. The Cirque 25 has a roll-top access and a more streamlined shoulder and hip straps. If your tours sometimes turn into alpine adventures where you need an ice axe or a rope, it is a better option than the Dawn Patrol 32. The roll-top on the Cirque also means it can pack down smaller if you are heading out for a shorter tour, making it a versatile all-season pack, ready for quick morning dawn patrols or pushes for bigger objectives.

BIG LINE SKI MOUNTAINEERING OBJECTIVE

If your tastes lean more towards the extreme, where you're booting 3000 feet up a couloir or rappelling into your line, a touring setup focused on big lines and ski mountaineering is needed.

Our Helio skis excel in deep powder and can handle the chunder and ice that come from skiing off a summit, plus, their carbon construction keeps them light when A-framed on your pack. If you want to leave an ice axe at home, but want extra security in icy conditions, the Expedition 3 Whippet is a great option and seamlessly combines with our Expedition 3 ski poles.

The Cirque Ultra 35 is built for big ski missions deep in the mountains. Made with extremely durable and lightweight Challenge Sailcloth UltraWeave™ 200d and 400d body fabrics, with a roll-top closure, and streamlined ice axe attachment points, this pack is our pinnacle option for touring missions focused on the summit. The larger capacity is helpful in case you need extra gear, like Neve Crampons or a Venom LT ice axe, in case of steep and icy conditions.

CONCLUSION

Every tour is a little different, and knowing the best gear to pack and what backpack to bring is an important step to having a successful tour. No matter your preferred touring style, whether it’s skiing the steepest line in your home range or finding a perfect pillow line outside the resort, our line-up of ski packs and gear has you covered.

Need to dive deeper into backcountry ski apparel? Check out our What to Wear Backcountry Skiing article.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. Always bring the essentials—Beacon, probe shovel—no matter how short or long your tour is.
    Sidecountry Hot Laps: small compact pack, Dawn Patrol 15, great for carrying the essentials, easy to take on the lift. The Impulse Ti skis are built for the resort and the backcountry.
  2. All-Day Touring: A larger 25L to 32L pack like the Dawn Patrol 32 for everyday touring or Cirque 25L if you want a pack that also excels on more technical tours. The Helio Carbon 104 Skis are built for touring and powder conditions
  3. Big Line Objective: Helio Carbon 96 skis are lightweight and can handle any condition, from powder to icy chunder. The Cirque Ultra 35 is extremely lightweight and durable, making it our best ski mountaineering pack, perfect for carrying extra gear like crampons, an ice axe, and a rope.
Molly climbs The Thumb on Lone Peak.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Molly is Black Diamond Equipment’s copywriter. Her expertise in outdoor apparel and equipment comes from a decade-long love affair with backcountry splitboarding and climbing. She likes low-angle powder laps on high-avy days and sending long desert splitters.