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Dachstein - ski touring

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
So, my crazy mate who lives in Austria has decided that, when I visit him in March, he wants to take me on the 26km one-way Dachstein itinerary.

This will mean hiring some skis with touring bindings and skins etc. which will be a new experience for me.

Have any of you guys done this one day yomp? Sounds fun but how fit do I need to be if I want to in any way keep up with the guide?

Cheers

Zammo
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
if he's a good guide he'll adjust his pace so that he doesn't tire you out. 26km sounds like a long way but the biggest factor is probably the amount of height gain you'll be doing
have fun!
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Arno, gotcha. I think a lot of it is on the flat at the top of the ridge so it will be highly weather-dependent.

Myself and the guide will probably be the only skiers but we will be accompanied by 4 snowboarders who will be hiring snow shoes. Are they likely to be quicker than me on skins?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
I'd be interested in hearing how you get on with the tour. Thinking of relocating to schladming for the winter months, not this season. I've heard the touring is very good off the dachstein. You mention snowboarders in your group using snow-shoes, found this from piste to powder website

"Ascent skis which are very short aluminium skis designed for snowboarders to wish to skin and access that hidden terrain. Well if there are any snowboarders reading this, these skis are the ticket. You skin as a skier would then strap them to your rucksack and board down."
http://www.skimountaineering.com/main%20todays%20off%20piste.htm

might be worth a google.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
zammo, no way - skis and skins are miles better than any of the contraptions snowboarders use for uphill. those snowboarders better put some training in
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
zammo wrote:
I think a lot of it is on the flat...

...and aren't the boarders going to love that too Toofy Grin .

Does sound quite a big day for a first taste. You should have fun though provided the weather is half decent. Getting away from the lift system into unspoilt scenery is such a huge buzz - and the occasional fresh track doesn't go amiss either (although if it's a popular route don't get too hung up on that).

Do you know how much uphill you're letting yourself in for yet? 500-600m would be a good bite at the cherry, 1000 would be seriously keen Shocked .

DB may be your fount of knowledge on this - he lives in Austria and has got fairly keen on touring the last couple of years too.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
GrahamN, thanks Graham. I've done some uphill but only ever with skis strapped to back and steps so it's been limited, but you're right, heading out of bounds (as long as you're with a guide) opens up a whole new world and I fancy a bit more of it.

I will ask about the vertical up and put a few more miles on my running schedule!

Slightly O/T, but obviously I will have to rent touring boots - do you think putting my own footbeds in rented boots would be helpful in any way - SZK, any comment??
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
zammo wrote:
obviously I will have to rent touring boots

Well, actually, it's not obvious, unless you get skis with highly specialised lightweight (Dynafit) bindings - which you won't. Touring boots are not really necessary, unless you're going to be doing a large amount of skis-off walking (like a long walk out at the bottom) or do any rock-climbing to summit, when the vibram sole is useful for grip. Touring boots are lighter, which is an advantage if you're doing a long tour with lots of up, and more flexible, which is an advantage for the skinning - although you can achieve a not too dissimilar effect just by undoing your upper buckles and power strap. For a day tour though, the disadvantage of having less well fitting rental boots which don't behave as you expect (they will probably be shorter on the shin and softer, giving less fore/aft stability) for the skiing probably outweighs these advantages. If you have only a short walk out, you'd probably do fine with your regular boots, possibly with some cat-tracks as well. At present, though, as my touring boots fit better (thanks CEM) than my alpine boots, I'm the complete opposite and I actually use my touring boots for pretty much everything on snow (except racing), but for higher performance skiing I'd probably do better with conventional alpine boots.

As said/implied by Arno, uphill on skins is an order of magnitude easier than walking uphill through snow in ski-boots.

As for the original question, I use the same footbeds in both my touring and alpine boots.
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