Clothing for ski touring

On a ski tour, staying dry and warm is a matter of safety. Your clothing has to work when you are pulling a pulk, crossing windswept open fells and camping in freezing conditions. Merino wool is the warm foundation of a ski tourer's layers: it keeps you warm even when damp and does not easily start to smell, even on a long trip.

This guide focuses on multi-day ski tours in the fells and wilderness, travelling mainly on skis with a pulk. You will find practical tips on choosing when and where to go, safety, layering, and packing accessories and changes of clothes. The guide suits first-timers as well as experienced ski tourers revisiting the basics: a clear plan and routines tested in advance make ski touring smoother and safer.

When to go ski touring and how to time your trip

You can go ski touring throughout the winter season, but late winter is usually the easiest time for your first longer trip. The timing directly affects what gear you need and how thick your layers should be.

In midwinter (January–February), days are short, frosts are hard and the snow is often soft. This calls for your warmest base layers, a powerful light and experience.

In late winter (March–April), there is more daylight and the snow crust holds well, especially in the mornings. The spring sun warms you, but nights are still cold, so your layering has to stretch from one extreme to the other within the same day.

The ski holiday weeks and Easter bring lots of other travellers to popular routes and wilderness huts. If you want peace and quiet, go outside the peak season or tour routes without ready-made hut networks. You cannot book a place in an open wilderness hut. Hut etiquette says that those who arrived earlier and have already rested should make room for late arrivals when needed. A hut can still fill up, so take a tent or other emergency shelter with you on hut routes too. The only way to be sure of a bed is a reservable or rental hut.

Keep these in mind when planning your dates and timing:

• Make the most of the morning crust and set off early, when the overnight frost has firmed up the snow. The afternoon sun can soften the snow and make progress hard work. Remember too that in winter, and even in late winter, it gets dark fairly early, so plan the day's route so that you arrive before dusk.
• Estimate travel time realistically and match daily distances to your own experience and fitness, and to the pace of the slowest person in the group. Ski touring with a pulk or a heavy rucksack is harder work than ordinary cross-country skiing. Do not plan daily distances by kilometres alone: weather, terrain and snow quality affect your progress, and headwinds and deep untracked snow slow you down considerably. Leave enough time and energy for the unexpected.
• Be prepared for sudden changes in the weather. In the fells, the weather changes quickly. Even in spring, you may get hard frost, snowfall or a whiteout that makes navigation difficult. Be ready to change your route, cut the trip short or stay in shelter if conditions get worse.
• Protect yourself from the sun. UV radiation reflected from spring snow is already strong in March, and the symptoms of snow blindness only appear hours later, so sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen are essential.
• Build some slack into your schedule: allow 1–2 extra days for storms or delays, so you do not have to ski in extreme conditions on the last day to get home in time.

When is a technical base layer enough on its own?

If ski touring is physically demanding or you sweat a lot, an Airbase mesh set and a windproof shell may be enough while you are moving, with a merino layer going on when the pace slows. On long climbs or in milder weather, merino can feel too warm unless it is a lightweight version.

Cotton absorbs moisture and dries slowly. On a ski tour, that is a dangerous combination: a cotton shirt soaked with sweat turns ice-cold as soon as you stop, and you are bound to get cold. Wet clothing is also hard to dry out in the field. You can usually only dry it in the evening at camp, for example in the warmth of a wilderness hut. In the middle of the skiing day, on a climb or during a break, a wet shirt stays wet and there is nothing you can do about it. That is why cotton is best left out of the layers you wear next to your skin. Always choose a moisture-wicking layer next to your skin, such as Svala's Airbase mesh set.

Don't forget key accessories – protect your head, neck, fingers and feet

On a ski tour, your head and extremities need special attention, as the wind on open fells is relentless and heat escapes most easily from the extremities. Fingers, toes, cheeks, ears and nose are the first to get frostbite, and wet clothing and wind increase the risk. Layering works for accessories too: a thin layer against your skin and a warmer or windproof one over it.

• Head. Bring a thin merino beanie for skiing, a thicker wool beanie for camp and a balaclava that protects your face and neck in a snowstorm.
• Neck. A merino neck tube is a ski tourer's multi-tool: it works as a neck warmer or as a face cover in blowing snow. Pack at least two, as one is almost always drying.
• Fingers. Your hands take the wind head-on, so layering pays off here too: a thin merino liner glove against your skin moves moisture away and keeps your fingers dry. Over it go wind- and waterproof outer gloves. Bring several pairs of gloves, as wet gloves dry slowly in the field.
• Feet. Use the two-sock system in your ski boots: a thin merino wool liner sock underneath and a fairly thick merino sock over it. This helps prevent blisters and keeps your feet warm. Check at home that your boots have room for two socks, as a tight boot makes your feet cold. Also pack completely dry socks for camp and the night. Always put on clean, dry socks before you sleep, as dry feet are one of the most important ways to avoid getting cold.

Why is a thin technical base layer alone not enough when you stop?

Synthetic material dries quickly, but after heavy sweating, standing still in a cold wind makes a thin technical fabric feel ice-cold against your skin. It is exactly this combination of sweating and sudden cooling that is dangerous in the fells: a thin technical base layer moves moisture away but does not keep you warm itself, so your body cools quickly as soon as you stop moving if you are not wearing a warming layer. Merino wool is the safer choice, as it keeps you warm even when damp and does not turn ice-cold when you stop.

Airbase, however, works on a different principle from other technical base layers: it does not absorb moisture but moves sweat away from your skin. The air pockets in the mesh structure add a little insulation that ordinary flat technical fabric lacks. Above all, Airbase is not worn on its own as a warming layer but, on a ski tour, under merino wool: the mesh knit moves sweat away before it can cool against your skin, and the merino provides the warmth. In fact, Airbase reduces exactly the risk described above.