Leaving into the wilderness for your first tour can be a pretty scary thing
so today we are on the backside of Mont Fort and we are going to see how to make a first tour
a pleasant experience.
Preparation is key, so to find the best tour
for you there are several ways. You can ask your friends, you can ask local guides, go
on internet websites you can search on your own with a map.
Now things have changed with
digital maps, they also offer all sorts of different filters, tell you the altitude the
vertical, the potential avalanche risk.
So today we are going to do a mix of lifts
and tour so there is going to be a lot of riding and a little bit of touring, which
in my mind is perfect for a first tour.
A quick overview of the gear for a day mission,
foldable poles, splitboard, skins, backpack if possible ABS and maybe a little emergency device.
Then I would go, like, all the avalanche gear; probe, shovel, transceiver.
A big pair of gloves, a small pair of gloves, crampon is always, ugh, ice axes and crampons is always a good
thing, at least the ice axe. Ugh, you want to take knives, I think it is really recommendable
and a GoreTex jacket that you will leave in your bag.
We're on top of Mont Fort and there is going to be some good snow.
So here are a few tips to make your first tour more manageable. Go with friends because
it is never a good idea to go alone in the backcountry and if possible ask a more experienced
friends to take you on your first tour and show you the ropes.
In the mountains, communication is key, so always tell people before you go on a tour,
where you are going to go, with who and at what time you are supposed to be back and
maybe I would recommend to always stay within cell reception, so if you have anything that
happens you can always call for rescue.
Going down to the valley bottom and then tour
a bit to this little ridge, have a couloir behind, then we see what happens.
The cool thing is that with skins you are flexible, you can go anywhere you like and you
can adapt to the conditions.
And you are free, you are alone. Yeehaaaa, this is the beauty of it.
So if you can avoid having anything above your head,
any avalanche danger or anything that could be threatening it is much better.
So choose either a wide open valley bottom or maybe a ridge which you will stay on top all the time
that way you don't have to worry about anything that is going to come from up there.
You should always have the possibility to get out a map
at anytime if you have any doubt of your position.
If anything happens, if the weather comes in, you break a binding, if we're cold or
anything we can just ski down all the way back to the resort.
It is really important to always have a back up plan.
In the mountains, nothing is set, things are changing a lot so if you know well your terrain,
if you know well your itinerary if you have the keys
with a good map to know where you're at, you can adapt yourself and
have a great time and be safe.