UKC

Hi,

I’m a competent skier but have only recently got into ski-touring. I would love to do a multi-day (ideally hut to hut) ski-touring trip soon (also ideally in the mountains) next year with my friend who also has recently got into this aspect of the sport. Our problem lies in that we don’t feel confident (yet) in gauging avalanche safety without a guide (budgets don’t allow). So I am asking if there are any areas / routes that people could recommend with fairly consistently low avalanche risk (even if the skiing is less exciting and steep)? 

In advance, thank you for your thoughts/ wisdoms!

Yours,

an aspirational ski-tourer

https://avalanche.ca/glossary/terms/slope-angle

The problem is most slopes you can ski down are potential avalanche slopes, you can't really get away from it so you have to learn to be able to have some idea of which slopes are stable and which are not. 

Some thoughts: 

Think of joining the Eagle Ski Club (UK ski equivalent of Alpine Club)

They run, reasonable at cost, intro to ski touring courses. Membership is reasonable and web, FB, WhatsApp and Discourse communication for members throughout UK and continental Europe.

Buy 'Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain's by Bruce Tremper. Read and then read again.

Ski Touring Ed 2 Bruce Goodlad is a good intro and there's an updated ski touring instructional book from Mountaineer Press coming out in March 2025.

Read the avalanche bulletin and weather reports for at least two weeks before you go to your destination to get a feel for the current situation when you arrive.

Invest in a good mapping app with slope angle and aspect. Terrain remains unchanged, unlike conditions. 

Since Strava killed FATMAP the consensus is falling between Outmap and Outdoor Active IMHO.

Should go without saying, never go beyond the piste markers without transceiver, shovel and probe and the knowledge and practice to use them.

I'm sure others will have constructive comments.

I'd just add to have an alternative plan even before the slog up to the hut, and be prepared to change or outright abandon any plans if the forecast or conditions seem to be bad. Not going out if not 100% sure (or changing the route) is usually the only winning move – too many people fall into heuristic traps every year, as the very nice avalanche victim symbolic cemetery in the Slovak Tatras attests to (quite ironically situated quite close to a few historical avalanche paths, and actually closed for most of the winter season due to avalanche danger, IIRC).

IIRC, FATMAP was pretty shite anyway.

If you really want to get serious about slope angles, use the particular country's official government maps.

Almost all of the Alpine (and some of the Tatra's) countries have more or less recently opened their über-precise government LiDAR elevation data to the public, with much better precision compared to all the older commercial or OSM maps relying on outdated and imprecise DEM data.

Slovakian Tatras maps even show all their historical avalanche paths coloured by frequency in addition to the slope angles, and Swiss Topo maps are probably the most precise free DEM slope maps in the world as of now (well, apart from the few Easter Eggs in there, but those don't actually show up in the slope maps, only in their hand‑drawn contour maps).

Outdoor Active used to be pretty nice for offering the rather nice (paid) ÖEAV Alpine maps, but nowadays the OA app itself is IMHO just another victim of the current digital enshittification.

Worth doing an avalanche awareness training course if you can get to the alps. I've been on the avi geeks level 1 and lots of friends have done level 1 and 2. Good interesting course with a good mix of learning and skiing. Basically helping you find good snow safely. If you can do it with your friend who you intend to ski tour with any better - then you'll be on the same page for decision making which is key to staying safe.

I did a one day (maybe a weekend, can't remember) course at Glenmore Lodge many years ago, maybe they still run such courses? or maybe someone else somewhere in the UK?

Also worth practising using your avalanche beacon well ahead of any trip to the Alps or other snowy mountains - I remember spending ages on the last metre of searching for a beacon hidden in a cavity wall

Glenmore Lodge still run avalanche awareness courses. They all seem to be 2 days now: https://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk/winter-mountain/avalanche-education/

Mountaineering Scotland do one day courses: https://www.mountaineering.scot/members/courses-and-events

Falkirk Outdoors also do a 1 day course but it's a mixture of navigation and avalanche awareness so maybe less ideal if you want the avalanche stuff: https://www.falkirkleisureandculture.org/whats-on/winter-navigation-avalanc...

I think that it's definitely worth you getting some training, someone above mentioned the avalanche geeks - I would also heartily recommend them having done a couple of their courses (on foot in UK rather than on ski in alps). 

https://avalanchegeeks.com/

A couple of days training will likely be cheaper than hiring a guide for a week touring.  

Glenmore lodge do a 2 day course for tourers as well - definitely worth a look.

https://www.glenmorelodge.org.uk/backcountry-skiing/backcountryskiing/avala...

A few days training is definitely worth the investment.

When you're out, also be sure to talk to hut custodians and any guides in the hut.  In my experience either/both will be happy to discuss the risk with you and also will have invaluable local knowledge on what the snow/weather has been doing, terrain features / areas to watch out for etc that you won't get from bulletins.

I'd echo the advice above on drilling with your transceiver - if it all goes to shitcand you need to use it in anger the more second nature  / slick it's use the better!

Suggestion of eagle ski club is also good - it will give an opportunity to make new ski buddies and also learn informally from more experienced people (normal caveats apply to quality of what you might learn - not a dig but any club will have a spread of the good, the bad and the ugly).

Anyway, good luck getting out and enjoy when you do!

Plenty of fjellski routes in Norway with negligible avalanche risk, although you wouldn't want to do those with traditional touring skis. There's a lot of routes that primarily follow valleys, or go over high plateaus. The routes are often bashed with by a scooter, which also stabilises the snow a bit more. Jotunheimen is the natural place to look at. I would have thought it was good to have a basic understanding of avalanche risk though. You'd still need to be able to understand the potential impact of heavy fresh snow, for example, or recognise localised avalanche risk.

Thanks! And yeah I thought this might be the case unfortunately :/

Thank you, I’ll definitely be reading up on that. I have my transceiver, shovel and probe but feel still in my experience it would be foolish to go off too much without enough awareness of the snow. This was very helpful thanks

Thank you - will check this out 

Thanks!

Thank you this is very useful advice!

Thank you I’ll look into this!

Just one other thing - the Austrian Alpine Club also run both courses run by guides, and guided trips in Austria - these are significantly subsidised for members so well worth investigating. We're off at the end of Feb for a week with a qualified leader for c£550 all in (Ie. Full board and lodging, plus the leader's expenses) - it's not hut to hut but the days are spent touring as well as learning avalanche risk and snow assessment, use of transceivers etc..