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Ski mountaineering is a sport that combines the techniques of skiing (often ski touring) with those of mountaineering. The goal of the ski mountaineer may be to climb a beautiful mountain by a worthy route and then ski the mountain down an elegant line, preferably from the summit.

But ski mountaineering is really distinguished from ski touring by a willingness and desire to travel over any part of the mountain, not just those areas with sheltered powder snow fields or other nice descending conditions. This may include significant rock, ice or broken glacier sections, as well as traverses and enchainements rather than just single peak ascents.

While using skiing techniques for much of the time, ski mountaineers climb otherwise inaccessible or dangerous slopes on foot using a range of mountaineering equipment - typically crampons, ice axes and ropes - while skis are carried strapped to their backpack. This either permits access to extreme slopes, or more often allows transit through otherwise impassable terrain in order to continue beyond on skis, where normal ski touring equipment such as skins and harscheisen (ski crampons - also called couteau or cortelli) are used.

History

The use of skis for over-snow travel and winter mountain access only recently divided into sub-categories like "ski-mountaineering", "alpine skiing" and "cross-country skiing". See the history of skiing for a time-line of early development.

Perhaps the earliest and certainly one of the most prolific ski mountaineers was John "Snowshoe" Thompson, who used skis to deliver the mail at least twice a month up and over the steep eastern scarp of the Sierra Nevada to remote California mining camps and settlements. His deliveries began in 1855 and continued for at least 20 years. Thompson's route of 90 miles (140 km) took 3 days in and 48 hours back out with a pack that eventually exceeded 100 pounds of mail.

One of the earliest European inspirations for the sport was the Englishman Cecil Slingsby, who crossed the 1,550 m high (5,800 ft) Keiser Pass, Norway, on skis in 1880.

However, the "father" of the sport is generally regarded as the German Wilhelm von Arlt (1853-1944), who made the first ski ascent of over 3,000 m, when he climbed the Rauris Sonnblick (3,103 m / 10,180 feet high) in 1894.

The first ski tour in the Alps took place near Davos when the Branger brothers teamed up with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for a tour from Frauenkirch to Arosa in 1894.

The iconic winter Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt is finally linked together in 1911.

In 1929, Orland Bartholomew skied alone over 300 miles (480 km) of California's High Sierras from Cottonwood Creek to Yosemite National Park roughly following the line of the summer route that is now known as the John Muir Trail. This included the first winter ascent of the highest peak in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. Bartholomew was self-supported using food caches placed over the summer.

Locations and areas

Expedition ski mountaineering on the North Inylchek glacier, Tien Shan, Kazakhstan

Ski mountaineering as a sport is particularly popular in the European Alps, where people will commonly do a hut-to-hut tour through the mountains, often crossing difficult passes where mountaineering techniques are required. Day trips from valley bases to make ascents and descents of peaks are also popular.

Ski mountaineering is also popular in other European ranges, such as the Tatra, Pyrenees,in Norway, the Troll Peninsula in Northern Iceland and to a lesser extent in New Zealand and the Andes of South America.

Mountain ranges in North America also offer ski-mountaineering opportunities. Popular US options include the Sierra Nevada, Wasatch, Tetons and Pacific Rim volcanoes like Mount Rainier, Mount Shasta, and Lassen Peak. Mexico's volcanoes, including Pico de Orizaba, Popocatpetl and Iztacchuatl are very popular when not erupting. Canada has numerous wild, remote mountains appropriate to ski mountaineering.

Expeditionary ski mountaineering takes place in such places as the Andes, Alaska, Himalayas and Greenland. In these areas, access and weather conditions can be so difficult that extensive, extended base camping is required.

Equipment

Crampons on a Ski Boot

Ski mountaineering equipment normally includes skis fitted with a binding that allows the heel to lift for easy ascents. The equipment used is similar to cross country skiing equipment but is generally much more robust, with a plastic boot like an Alpine Ski boot used. In Alpine ski mountaineering equipment this can be clamped down for downhill sections to allow skiing much like on a piste at a ski resort. In Telemark skiing equipment the heel is not normally clamped down and telemark turns can be executed, as well as parallel turns.

Both Alpine and telemark ski mountaineers use skins attached to the base of the ski to make uphill progress. Originally made from animal pelts, these skins are now made from nylon or mohair. They clip over the tip of the ski and are then fixed to the base with a reusable glue, allowing the ski to slide forward, yet grip before sliding backward. They are taken off for descents.

Also used are poles (sometimes collapsable) and items of safety equipment in case of avalanches including transceivers, snow shovels and probes.

Depending on the terrain to be encountered traditional mountaineering equipment will also be carried, including boot crampons, ice-axes and perhaps ropes and harnesses.

Ski mountaineers typically use a backpack to carry their equipment, food and supplies, lashing their skis and poles to the pack for stretches requiring the use of crampons and ice ax. For longer expeditions, ski mountaineers may tow a sled packed with their gear instead of, or in addition to, carrying a backpack. Some ski mountaineers on long expeditions have also recently begun to use kites to tow themselves and their sleds over extended smooth terrain like frozen sea ice.

For more details on the equipment used in ski mountaineering and the different types of skiing see ski touring.

Ski mountaineering (randonne) racing

A Ski Mountaineering race is a timed event that follows an established trail through challenging winter alpine terrain while passing through a series of checkpoints. Racers climb and descend under their own power using backcountry skiing equipment and techniques.

SSMA

Start of a German Reichswehr military training patrol team in the Giant Mountains, 1932.

Competition ski mountaineering has military origins, the so-called military patrols, intended to test abilities of soldiers. The first civilian races took part in the 1920s. Better known were the Austrian "Mairennen" (May race) in Gosau or the "Geierlauf" (vulture run) in the Wattentaler Lizum. Combined ski mountaineering and shooting was an official event of the 1924 Winter Olympics, followed by demonstration events in 1928, 1936 and 1948. The participants of military patrol teams, that consisted of an officer an NCO and two further runners, had to be on military duty during the games. But due to want of games observers' interest, it was declared to a demonstration event by the International Olympic Committee in 1926. These military patrol races are considered as predecessors of today's biathlon. It is planned by the Union Internationale des Associations dlpinisme (UIAA), to make ski mountaineering by itself part of the 2018 Olympic Games..

After World War II, some alpine countries organized ski mountaineering competitions, especially in the 1990s France, Italy, Slovakia,Andorra and Switzerland, that founded also the Comit International du Ski-Alpinisme de Comptition (CISAC). Besides the Italian Mezzalama Trophy and the Swiss Patrouille des Glaciers with roots in the 1930s and 1940s, a third race was created in the 1980s, that belongs to the "big three of ski mountaineering" of today, called the Pierra Menta, carried out in France. The first European Cup was carried out in 1992 as well as the first European Championship. Organization of international competition ski mountaineering events have been organized amongst the International Council for Ski Mountaineering Competitions (ISCM) of the UIAAsince 1999, the follow-on institution of the CISAC. The first official World Championships of the ISCM was carried out in 2002, but prior the 1975 Trofeo Mezzalama was held as a "World Championship of Ski Mountaineering" with the classes "Civilians", "Soldiers" and "Mountain guides". Ascents have to be mastered with affixed ski fells, that have to be removed for the descents and refixed for the following ascents. If courses include climbing tours or sections, that could only be mastered on foot, the racers have to carry their skis in their rucksacks. Currently, ski mountaineering competitions include individual, team and relay as well as vertical races, sometimes also long-distance races.

People and pioneers

Adolfo Kind

Ottorino Mezzalama

Paul Ramer

Patrick Vallenant

See also

Skiing and Skiing topics

History of skiing

Ski touring

Haute Route

List of climbing topics

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ski mountaineering

TetonAT Ski mountaineering website

The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA - Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme)

Skimountaineering.org: ski mountaineering competitions

British Mountaineering Council - Ski Mountaineering

United States Ski Mountaineering Association

Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada

Mountain Storm - Ski Mountaineering Race

John "Snowshoe" Thompson

Piste-Off Ski mountaineering website

References

^ Die Sportart Skibergsteigen in Dachstein Xtreme 2008: Streckennderungen beschlossen (German), mountains2b.com, March of 2008.

^ Trofeo Mezzalama 2007: 16. Auflage des Klassikers am 29. April (German), M2b, April 26, 2007.

^ Claude Dfago: Die Geschichte des Skialpinismus (German).

^ Rolf Majcen: Weltmeisterschaften im Skibergsteigen (German), February, 2004.

Categories: Ski mountaineering

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