Ski touring that combines alpine hiking and skiing is one of very popular kinds of sport in the High Tatras.
For beginners, groomed ski pistes are ideal to start with. More experienced ski tourers can find endless possibilities in the High Tatras. Valleys with unforgettable downhill in powder snow, ascents to peaks with breathtaking views. Trips like this run usually outside of marked trails and require the company of a professional mountain guide.
The ski touring season lasts in the High Tatras from 15th December to 15th April if the snow conditions are good and if there is no avalanche danger announced. However, every ski tourer must follow certain rules to stay safe, to ensure safety for others and to protect nature.
Ski touring combines alpine hiking with skiing and can be practiced on several levels in the High Tatras:
SKI FITNESS (beginners): If you like skiing and want to try something new, ski fitness is the ideal way how to begin with ski touring. It is meant for beginners who want to acquaint themselves with ski touring. Groomed pistes where rules for tourists on ski pistes must be followed are very good for ski fitness.
Suggestions for beginners (ski fitness)
- Ski tours along pistes in Tatranská Lomnica and Štrbské Pleso
- Ski touring times in the Tatranská Lomnica resort: 1:00pm – 4:00pm, in the Štrbské Pleso resort: 8:30 – 4:00pm
- Ski touring ascent trails are marked yellow on resort maps.
SKI TOURING (advanced): It is the ideal winter hiking on skis. If you are a good skier and love off-piste terrain, ski touring is tailored for you! The name suggests that there is nothing extreme about it – neither up the hill, nor down the hill. Ascents are not very difficult and anybody who is in a certain form can master them. The same applies to descents. It is truly beautiful to ski down in untouched powder snow. Ski touring is performed outside of pistes so ski tourers have to respect walking tourists who have the right of way on tourist trails.
Suggestions for advanced ski tourers (ski touring)
- Popular tours include the trails to Hrebienok, Popradské pleso (tarn), Sliezsky dom mountain hotel and the Chalet at Zelené pleso (tarn).
ALPINE TOURING (alpine terrain): Alpine tourers cross more difficult terrain where one needs more experience and has to pay more attention to safety. Alpine touring fans surmount mountain summits and use avalanche and climbing equipment. For experienced alpine tourers, the High Tatras offer designated trails in alpine terrain such as saddles: Baranie sedlo, Priečne sedlo and Soliskové sedlo. Alpine tours can be made only together with certified mountain guides or mountain leaders. Choose a mountain guide to hike with you in alpine terrain and don’t forget to take out mountain insurance that covers potential help if the Mountain Rescue Service and must include extreme sports.
Suggestions for advanced alpine tourers
- From Zbojnícka chalet across the kettle of Sivé plesá (tarns) to Priečne sedlo (saddle) and from there to Téry’s chalet in Malá Studená dolina (valley)
- From Téry’s chalet below Mt Mačacia veža to Baranie sedlo (saddle) and across Veľká Zmrzlá dolina (valley) to Chalet at Zelené pleso (tarn)
- In Mlynická dolina (valley) from the Skok waterfall to Soliskové sedlo (saddle) and from there to the piste next to the Chalet below Mt Solisko
Avalanche protection
If you want to make a ski tour in alpine terrain, you should be well informed about the avalanche issues and know how to use avalanche equipment (transceiver, probe, shovel, airbag) and check the conditions and warnings on the websites of the Mountain Rescue Service on www.hzs.sk or in Tatra information centres. If you don’t have experience, make an avalanche or ski touring course or use the services of a mountain guide.
There are several checkpoints in the terrain where ski and alpine tourers can check their avalanche transceivers if they are all right or not.
How does it work?
Come close to the checkpoint together with your avalanche transceiver (any brand, not only Pieps) and press the CHECK button. One of three lights comes on to inform about the diagnostics result:
Red: STOP – The transceiver is faulty! (low battery, malfunction etc.)
Orange: The checkpoint cannot evaluate the received signal. There is probably somebody too close to you and your frequencies get mixed (other people must be at least 5 metres away from the checkpoint). / If there is nobody else nearby, your technology is probably obsolete.
Green: Everything is all right, feel free to continue.
4 tips for ski touring from Robo Gálfy
- Sharpened edges – I recommend taking care of skis even during the season – have sharpened edges, tuned ski bases
- Ski Crampons – in hard, icy terrain they save a lot of energy and help to avoid problems
- Impregnation for ski skins – little can disgust a hike like a pile of snow wrapped under skis.
- Ligntness = speed – choose light equipment, grams are kilograms and why carry an unnecessary load.
