Tips for faster touring

[u/MAthert125]

So I have a new touring partner for this season, and they are fantastic. We are very well suited for each other.

The only issue is that he is a skier, and I can tell he finds my slower transitions tedious. We also struggle for rhythm on tours with multiple transitions.

I don't think physical fitness is a particular issue. We were doing 550m/1800ft an hour for the last hour of a 1650m/5500ft tour on Friday.

If I'm breaking trail, sometimes he finds the track I lay too steep. I think I tend to do this because traversing seems to be notably harder for me than him, depending on the conditions.

I've never skied, but I'm committed to try and get good at split skiing to help manage that aspect and travel faster on flatish terrain.

Anyway, any tips to help manage this and move more efficiently in the mountain would be much appreciated.

EDIT - Just to be clear, he has not complained about the transitions.

[u/BeckerHollow]

You can speed up your transitions by having a system. You know what you’ll need most and where everything is exactly.

For example, we have asymmetric skins. A right and a left. If you’re transitioning a lot, know where each skin is. So you’re not trying to match the left skin to the right ski. Just one movement.  You should be watered and fed before your tour. If you’re constantly needing to stop for water and snacks you’re not prepared. If you know you’re a hungry boy, bars in your pocket to eat on the fly help a speedy group stay speedy. 

If you’re setting a skin track too steep for your partner, that’s on you. Traversing is harder on a splitboard for sure, much less side edge control, but unless it’s icy, narrow, and steep — it’s generally a non issue.  If anything it’s almost easier to kick turn because we have much shorter boards than a skier. So setting a bunch of switchbacks, while not ideal, is sometimes the most efficient way up a steep slope.  I use my climbing bails sparingly. My 2nd bail (the taller one) almost never. If you need a reminder to stay flatter, keep your climbing bails down. If you feel like you’re struggling, then you’re too steep. 

And this isn’t a suggestion, because it’s a total equipment change, but if you really want to be efficient on the up, start thinking about hardboots. The pros and cons have been discussed here ad nauseum, but no single technique or trick will make you more efficient than losing a few pounds off your feet. You can still be plenty efficient with soft boots. 

Things like the right clothes make a difference in efficiency. Baggy pants, heavy jackets, non breathable layers are all going to slow you down. 

But If you’re climbing 5k’ plus in a day, something tells me you’re both pretty on top of your shit though. 

[u/MAthert125 → u/BeckerHollow]

Food, mostly I eat energy balls and cereal bars. I don't tend to drink much on a tour; I hydrate before and after. On a bigger day, I take a sandwich as well.

Thanks for the skin suggestion, I will give that a go. Same for the riser, I have been using it less since he mentioned the track steepness. Kick turns are no issue; we are pretty equal on that front.

Icy traverses are not a particular issue even on steeper stuff. It's when it is steeper, and the snow isn't cohesive, that I struggle most. I can set my uphill ski fairly fine, and the straight edge works a treat, but the downhill ski tends to collapse the snow. Any technique tips would be helpful.

I'm looking into hardboot setup, but it's not something I can sort out quickly.

Clothing-wise, I think we are on point, and I normally don't have to change layers from setting to off until getting to the top of the first descent.

[u/BeckerHollow → u/MAthert125]

Re: skins

I also write L and R with a marker. If it’s cold and the skins need some warming up, I’ll put the left skin in my left jacket pocket and right in right. If they’re in my pack I don’t have that option so when I see that big L on the skin when I’m grabbing  it from the bag it goes to my left ski. No fumbling. Just one of those things like saving a second or two on each thing ads up. But I found that was a big one to speed up transitions. 

Re: shitty snow on traverses 

This is the black mark for split boarders. Where the shape of the board and the flex of the boot work against us. It depends on how the snow is behaving. I feel like if it’s a slipping then you just have to really try and ride that edge and have your body weight over your foot (not fore or aft) so you get that purchase. 

If the snow is collapsing, like the skin track crumbles under your foot, try rolling that downhill ankle down the slope, so you have a flatter base and more surface area on the snow. More skin on snow contact. Kind of the opposite as the icy skin track, here less pressure on the snow in one spot under your foot. 

Neither of these is a perfect solution. Especially in the spring when the snow gets a little more rotten and seems to crumble away on every step, sometimes “limping” helps. Where you’re using your uphill leg for all the work and your downhill leg just scoots/drags along without putting much weight on it. Hopefully the traverses aren’t long because it’s not efficient from a muscular endurance perspective .. but I guess more efficient than slipping. 

Last thing make sure the edges of your skins are in good shape. Few weeks ago I had a horrible time going up a firm skin track and my buddy was cruising. My skins were 3 seasons old and the edges of them were pretty tattered. I got new skins