A beginner’s guide to ski touring (and three great places to give it a go)

Ski touring is the perfect way to explore the mountains of the Austrian Tirol and get some exercise in at the same time. Touring newbie Mary Creighton reveals how to get started. Heliski is based in Panorama Mountain Resort. This incredible terrain comprised of 1,500 square kilometres / 930 square miles, has spectacular scenery, expansive glaciers and quality glade heli skiing Canada could offer to skiers and snowboarders the adventure of a lifetime!

If someone had told me five years ago that I’d spend my weekends climbing up mountains on skis I would have laughed them out of the room. Why would I waste my precious energy climbing uphill when I could just jump on a chairlift and lap piste after piste? But after moving to Tirol, something changed. I wasn’t happy just skiing resorts all day. I wanted a new challenge and touring, which combines my love of skiing with a dose of fresh air and a lot of calorie burning, ticked all the boxes. I decided to give it a go, and after my first ski tour, I was hooked. There’s something about the peacefulness, rhythm and closeness to nature of touring that you just don’t get with downhill skiing. However, as with any new sport, there’s a lot to consider when starting out, from what to wear to where to go. Here’s my guide to getting it right.

Uphill fitness

Fitness is probably the aspect of ski touring that scares people away more than any other. The idea of sliding up a mountain for several hours is quite a daunting one but you don’t have to be an ultra-marathon runner to give it a go. There are all sorts of routes for all different levels of fitness. The trick is to start small and build yourself up, just as you would with any other aerobic sport.

The other key element is pace. I’d say I have average fitness, and the first tour I tried left me rasping for breath. Then someone told me to just slow down and go at my own pace. As soon as I stopped trying to keep up with my fellow tourers, I settled into a rhythm that allowed me to skin for a couple of hours without a break.

Skiing skills

You don’t need to be a skiing pro to try touring either. Sure, some of the routes demand good technique and experience of tricky terrain, but there’s plenty of easier tours around the Austrian Tirol as well. If you can ski a red run comfortably then you’ll be able to handle any of the tours below. You can also try touring up a ski piste, which is allowed in a number of resorts around Tirol. Just make sure to stick to the rules and to respect your fellow skiers.

Get the Gear

Touring requires a whole lot of different gear. Unfortunately, standard skis and boots just won’t cut it. Your skis need a specific kind of binding that will lift at the heel for the skin up, but clip down for the ski down. Touring boots, meanwhile, tend to have a generous walk mode so that you have better movement on the way up. Both the skis and the boots tend to be lighter than alpine skis, to take the strain out of the hike. Lastly, you need a pair of skins to attach to the base of your skis so that they grip into the snow as you climb. Most ski shops have sets of touring boots, skis and skins available to hire.

Don’t make the mistake of touring up in your thick, insulated ski jacket. Touring is all about layers. I usually wear baselayers on my top and bottom, a thin pair of ski trousers and a light mid-layer on top. In my backpack, I carry a spare mid-layer and a shell jacket to change into at the top. Same goes for gloves: I keep a pair of normal ski gloves in my pack and tour in a pair of thin liners. Picking the right combination is a very personal thing, but this is a good place to start.

Safety First

As soon as you leave the safety of the ski piste, avalanche gear and knowledge are paramount. Everyone skiing or touring in the backcountry should be carrying a transceiver, shovel and probe. But they also need to know how to use them. If your avalanche knowledge needs some work, then take a course. SAAC, for example, offers free basic courses. Until then, stick to avalanche-safe ski tours on the piste.

Routes

Ready to get your ski tour on? Here are three routes perfect for beginners:

Rauthhütte, Leutasch

This is the ultimate beginner ski tour, following a former ski piste below the beautiful Hohe Munde mountain. It takes around an hour from top to bottom, and the slope never gets that steep, so you can concentrate on your skinning technique without worrying about slipping. On the ski down you can choose between an easy track or sections of off-piste.

Ranggerkopfl, Oberperfuss

Start by getting the gondola to Stiglreith. From there, it’s about 1.5 hours to Rösskogelhütte , near the top of the hill. It’s a very gentle tour, following the piste most of the way, but the final section winds through the trees offering amazing views over the Sellrain valley. The ski down is also on the piste, so you don’t need any avalanche gear or knowledge.

Birgitzer Alm, Axams

This is a beautiful tour through the trees up to Birgitzer Alm, taking about 1.5 hours. It’s not too steep, though anyone after more of a challenge can carry on up to Birgitzköpflhaus, an extra 30 minutes skinning. If you come here just after a snowfall, you’ll find some great powder lines in the top section.

8 Awesome Ways to Prepare for a Surf Trip

The countdown has started. In two months, I’m leaving on an overseas trip bring your mobile for a surf contest. How exciting. It’s going to be almost ten days of nothing but surfing, eating, and sleeping. My daily surf quota will rapidly ramp up from about an hour a day to about five hours a day, at least. I’m generally pretty fit, but five hours a day of surfing and not my usual diet usually takes a bit of getting used to. So, I’ll start my training regime to get myself surf trip fit before heading overseas. Here’s how you can get your office bones into top shape before your impending overseas surf trip:

1. SURF SURF SURF.
It’s a bit of a no brainer, but the best training for surfing is surfing. Even if it’s not the best of surf and it means getting up earlier, try to get into the water most days before you head off.

2. Hit the Pool.
Is the surf terrible? It’s no excuse to stay out of the water. Hit your local pool instead and swim a few laps. It keeps those paddle arms fit and gets your cardio fitness up, which will come in handy on those long paddles.

3. Work out your legs.
Soft sand laps. I’m not a big fan of running, so instead of going for a long run, I run a couple of soft sand laps. That means less running, but still excellent for cardio–and of course, it’s an excellent workout for your legs. And, because you’ll spend more time standing on your board on a quality overseas surfbreak than on your average local session, you’ll be grateful for that extra strength in your pins.

4. Surfercise.
I could pretend I’m going to the gym for some extra surf workout, but I’m not a gym person at all, so I won’t. Having said that, if you don’t mind the gym, you would definitely benefit from some surf workout.

5. Stretchy Time.
I personally probably prefer some yoga sessions for extra strength. Stretching will do wonders for you after all the surfing, swimming and running.

6. Prep the Belly.
Going overseas also means getting used to a different diet. The best tip I’ve ever been given before going to Indo is building up your digestive system with probiotics six weeks before you go overseas. I don’t have any scientific proof, but it certainly helped my belly to stay happy, even in Indo.

7. Chub Up.
While we’re on the subject of diet, now is the time to put on some extra pounds. You are very likely to drop quite a bit of weight on a surf trip with lots of daily surfing. So ditch the super foods and head to Maccas. Just kidding. I personally will indulge on those extra carbs, which is good news for pasta lovers.

8. Up the Stoke.
No doubt you’ll be super excited if you are planning on going on an overseas surf trip, so you might not need the extra stoke. Having said that, I love watching surf movies before I go overseas. You’ll soon be in the land of perfect waves where you can practice everything you’ve always wanted to try on long perfect waves, so you may as well get some inspiration from the pros.

The Basics of Pilates Exercise Method

Pilates is a form of exercise emphasizes the balanced development of the body through core strength, flexibility, and awareness to support efficient, graceful movement. It was developed by Joseph Pilates and is also known as the Pilates Method. KX Pilates dee why is a revolutionary, fast paced, high intensity, body-toning workout that fuses the core strengthening elements of traditional reformer pilates.

Who Can Benefit From Pilates?

It seems like everyone is either doing Pilates or is interested in starting a Pilates exercise program. Indeed, one of the best things about the Pilates method is that it works so well for a wide range of people. Athletes and dancers love it, as do ​seniors, women rebounding from pregnancy, and people who at various stages of physical rehabilitation.

The top benefits of Pilates include improved strength and posture. You’ll find that your body becomes more efficient at performing activities of daily living. Enthusiasts talk about getting in shape with Pilates and developing a Pilates body.

When Joseph Pilates developed this work, he did not talk about long, lean muscles, or flat abs as we see in Pilates body advertising these days. He was interested in the body as a total package of health and vitality, from which a pleasing external presentation—flat abs, better posture, balanced muscularity—is a natural result.

Pilates Is an Adaptable Method

Exercise modification is the key to Pilates success with a variety of populations. All exercises are developed with modifications that can make a workout safe and challenge a person at any level.8 Pilates Exercise Modification Tips

Core Strength

Core strength is the foundation of Pilates exercise.

The core muscles are the deep, internal muscles of the abdomen and back. When the core muscles are strong and healthy, they work in tandem with the superficial muscles of the trunk to support the spine through a wide range of movement.

As you develop your core strength you develop stability throughout your entire torso. This is one of the ways Pilates helps people overcome back pain. As the trunk is properly stabilized, pressure on the back is relieved and the body is able to move freely and efficiently. Pilates exercises are designed to make sure the spine is well-supported by the core muscles, and that there’s proper alignment of all the bones.

The flat abdominal muscles Pilates promotes are the natural result of a system of exercise that emphasizes core strength and flexibility by way of the harmonious coordination of muscles and skeletal alignment in the service of graceful, efficient activity. The abs are strengthened, but they are also trained to work together properly (an often overlooked key to getting flat instead of poofed abs) in the context of an integrated body that is relating at a high level to itself and its environment.

The Six Pilates Principles

There are six Pilates principles: centering, control, flow, breath, precision, and concentration. They are essential ingredients in a high-quality Pilates workout as well as being the philosophical foundations of Pilates.

The 6 Essential Principles of Pilates

The Pilates method has always emphasized quality over quantity, and you will find that, unlike many systems of exercise, Pilates exercises do not include a lot of repetitions for each move. Instead, doing each exercise fully, with precision, yields significant results in a shorter time than one would ever imagine.

Joseph Pilates said that, above all else, one should learn to breathe properly. Full breathing feeds and stimulates the circulatory system, which is a body cleansing process that detoxifies the blood and refreshes the cells. Here is the root of the vitality you need to enjoy life and exercise. When breathing and circulation are working well, the body also has a natural rhythm wherein the organs are toned and refreshed, and there is energy for daily life.

A Unique Method of Exercise

Core strength and torso stability, along with the six Pilates principles, set the Pilates method apart from many other types of exercise. Weight lifting, for example, can put a lot of attention on arm or leg strength without attending much to the fact that those parts are connected to the rest of the body. Even running or swimming can seem like all arms and legs, with either a floppy or overly tense core. Ultimately those who really succeed at their sport learn to use their core muscles, but in Pilates, this integrative approach is learned from the beginning.

How a body moves, not just in the studio or gym, but in daily life, is the most important aspect of Pilates training; it wasn’t developed just for looks. For Joseph Pilates, the point was to provide a method of training that would allow the body to do what is asked of it with grace, ease, and efficiency. Such a body has to be both strong and flexible, and it has certain qualities of movement, such as being centered and balanced, as well as flowing yet controlled. These qualities, or Pilates principles, are practiced consciously through Pilates exercises as the strength and flexibility that support them are developed.

What you see in an ideal Pilates body is uniform, function-appropriate, muscular development. In fact, strength without bulk is one of the aspects of Pilates that draws many people to the practice. Not only is uniform muscular development a pleasing visual, but it is also a natural result of training the body to move at a high level of harmony and efficiency.

An imbalanced body leads to all kinds of weaknesses and compensations in the body?

Mat Work and Equipment

Pilates exercises are done on either on a mat on the floor or on exercise equipment developed by Joseph Pilates. The Pilates workout equipment generally utilizes pulleys and resistance from the participant’s own body weight on the machine and graduated levels of springs. The reformer is probably the best-known piece of resistance equipment that you will encounter at a Pilates studio.

Joseph Pilates

The Pilates Method of the exercise was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. It was originally used as a rehabilitation program for prisoners of war and was later found to be of great benefit to anyone seeking a higher level of fitness. The work was kept alive over the years by a small group of Pilates’ devoted students until its popularity blossomed in the past couple of decades. Exercise science caught up with the principles that Pilates had been teaching all along, and now you can enjoy the rich evolution of the Pilates work available today.

Get Started in Pilates

Pilates is best learned through a combination of classes and home workouts. You can get started right away with a Pilates beginners program.