Ski Tour Packing List: Kit, Layers and Safety Gear
A ski tour packing list has three jobs: get you up the hill, keep you safe and warm, and get you back down smiling. That means touring skis, skins and walk-mode boots, a transceiver, probe and shovel for every person in the group, a layering system with a spare warm layer, food, water, navigation, a first-aid kit and a few repair bits. Below, we walk through each of them, then add what changes for a hut trip and how to get the whole lot to the mountains without a baggage headache. ⛷️
TL;DR
Every member of the party carries a transceiver, a probe and a metal shovel, and knows how to use them. Carrying only one or two between you is not enough.
Dress as a system: a wicking base layer, an insulating midlayer, a weatherproof shell, and a spare insulating layer kept dry for the descent.
Pack for being out longer than planned: extra food and water, headlamp with spare batteries, map and compass, first-aid kit and an emergency shelter.
Hut trips add a hut sleeping bag, slippers, a wash bag and earplugs, and a bigger pack. Keep every extra gram honest.
Sort the airport-to-trailhead leg early. Skis, boots and a loaded pack are awkward in a taxi, and a private transfer takes the sting out.
Table of Contents
Start with the pack itself
The bag shapes everything else, so choose it first. The Ski Club of Great Britain suggests a 25 to 30 litre pack for a day tour, with ski straps, and a larger one for hut-to-hut tours. Parks Canada’s winter backcountry checklist points to a well-fitting 30 to 40 litre pack as the baseline. Both are saying the same thing: big enough for your safety kit and a spare layer, small enough that you are not hauling a wardrobe up the slope.
A few features are worth hunting for:
A dedicated pocket for the shovel and probe, so you can reach them in seconds.
Ski carry straps (diagonal and A-frame) for bootpacking sections.
A hip belt that stays comfortable under a shell and a midlayer.
Easy access to a snack and a water bottle without taking the pack off.
Weight is the quiet villain here. One mountain guiding company puts it bluntly: every extra kilo knocks about 10 percent off your enjoyment on descents. Treat that as a rule of thumb rather than science, but anyone who has skinned up with a bottle of wine in the pack knows the feeling. 😄
The technical kit: skis, skins, boots, poles
This is the part that makes ski touring different from a lift-served holiday.
Item | What to look for |
Touring skis and bindings | Light, with bindings that free the heel for the climb and lock down for the descent |
Climbing skins | Well fitting, mixed mohair and nylon is a common choice |
Boots | A touring or walk mode, so your ankle can move on the ascent |
Poles | Adjustable, with larger baskets for soft snow |
Ski crampons | Listed as mandatory for spring tours where the snow is firm or icy |
Boot crampons and ice axe | Only if the route includes steeper ski mountaineering sections |
If you are a splitboarder or snowshoer, Parks Canada’s list covers snowboards and snowshoes alongside skis, so the rest of this list still applies. The checks matter as much as the kit: skins that actually grip your skis, bindings you have adjusted at home, and boots you have worn in. Do not meet your new boots for the first time on a 1,000 metre climb.
If you are new to touring, hiring or borrowing a first set before buying is a perfectly sensible move. If you are bringing your own skis and boots, read our full ski packing list for a week on the slopes for the resort-holiday side of the luggage.
Avalanche safety kit: the non-negotiables
This section is the one to read twice. Avalanche Canada states that every member of a backcountry group must carry a transceiver, a shovel and a probe, and that carrying only one or two of them is insufficient. Owning the kit is only half of it: you must also be fluent in using it.
Transceiver
Choose a modern three-antenna digital model. Parks Canada’s checklist specifies one that has been serviced within the previous three years. Wear it under your outer layer, switched to transmit before you leave the car park or hut, and check with your partners that everyone’s is working. Pack spare batteries.
Shovel
Go for metal. Avalanche Canada notes that plastic shovels may break in cold temperatures or in hard avalanche debris. An extendable handle makes digging more efficient, as the Parks Canada list also notes.
Probe
The standard minimum length is 240 cm, which works for shallower snowpacks and most rescues. Avalanche Canada suggests considering 320 cm for deeper snowpacks. A collapsible probe packs flat and deploys quickly.
Training
Kit without skills is just weight. Avalanche Canada describes basic training, such as a minimum two-day Avalanche Skills Training 1 course, as a necessary first step for backcountry recreation, and recommends companion rescue refreshers for people who have already trained. The course is Canadian, but the principle travels: in the Alps, look for an avalanche course run by a qualified mountain guide or national alpine club, or hire a guide for your first tours. Avalanche Canada also advises you to keep reassessing weather and snow conditions as you travel, not just at the car park.
Some tourers also carry an avalanche airbag pack. That is a personal call, and one to talk through with a guide. Check the airline’s rules on compressed gas canisters well before you fly.
Clothing: layer like a pro
Skinning up makes you hot. Skiing down makes you cold. Your clothes have to handle both, which is why Parks Canada tells walkers to treat clothing as a system of pieces that complement one another. Winter mountain weather can swing from intense heat to cold wind, so flexibility wins.
The classic three-layer system goes like this:
Base layer: moisture-wicking, worn next to the skin.
Midlayer: insulating, taken off and put on as you warm up and cool down.
Outer layer: a weatherproof shell, jacket and trousers.
On fabrics, Mammut highlights merino for odour resistance and warmth even when damp, while synthetics such as polyester dry quickly. Many tourers mix the two: merino for the base, synthetic for anything that gets sweaty.
The spare layer
The same Mammut guide recommends packing a spare insulating layer, such as a light insulated jacket, for the descent or serious temperature drops. Keep it in a dry bag at the top of the pack. Putting it on at the summit, before you are shivering, is one of the best small habits in touring.
Hands, head and eyes
Gloves: a lighter pair for the climb, a warmer pair for the descent or freezing conditions, and mittens as an emergency backup.
Hat or buff: thin for the ascent, warmer for the descent.
Helmet: a touring-certified helmet is lighter than a resort lid.
Goggles and sunglasses: goggles for storms, sunglasses for the climb. Add a spare lens or a second pair if you have one.
Sun protection: high-factor sunscreen and lip balm. Snow reflects, and a ski tour is a long time in the sun.
Socks: two or three pairs of thin technical socks. Keep one dry pair for the summit or the hut.
One UK-specific note: British shops sell “salopettes” for resort skiing, but on a tour many people prefer a lighter trouser with side vents. Whatever you choose, make sure it breathes.
Food, water and the rest of the Ten Essentials
A tour day is long and the temperature drops fast if you stop. The MEC checklist advises extra food, water and a vacuum bottle, with hot tea doing wonders for morale at a windy col. Aim for snacks you can eat with gloves on: bars, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate. Keep a few of them in an outside pocket to eat on the move.
The Mountaineers’ Ten Essentials give a neat framework. They cover navigation, sun protection, insulation, illumination, first aid, fire, repair tools, extra nutrition, extra hydration and emergency shelter. The point is not comfort but whether your party can respond to an emergency or spend an unplanned night out if it has to.
Turned into a tour checklist:
Navigation: map and compass, plus GPS or a phone app with offline maps, and a route description. Know how to use the compass.
Light: a headlamp, with spare batteries. MEC says lithium batteries work best in the cold, and REI suggests keeping spares near your body for warmth.
First aid: a compact kit, plus any personal medication. Include blister treatment and a foil blanket.
Shelter: a bivvy bag, light tarp or survival blanket.
Communication: a charged phone in a warm pocket, and a note of the local mountain rescue number. In France and Switzerland, the pan-European emergency number 112 works from a mobile.
Fire: a lighter or waterproof matches.
The days around the tour matter too. Long travel days, early starts and hut dinners can leave you running on fumes, so it is worth planning meals before you go. Some practical ideas for eating well while travelling are in this guide to healthy eating on the road, which is handy if your accommodation has a kitchenette and you want to cook a proper breakfast before a big climb. 🥣
Repair kit and small spares
This is the bit that turns a broken binding from a disaster into a story. Repair kits are listed among the safety essentials on MEC’s ski touring checklist. A small bag of bits is all it takes. Typical contents, based on what most touring guides carry:
Duct tape, wrapped around a pole or bottle rather than carried as a bulky roll.
Strong cord and a few zip ties.
A multi-tool with screwdriver bits that fit your bindings.
Skin wax, for when snow clumps under the skins.
A spare strap or buckle for boots and the pack.
A spare pole basket.
That list is practical experience, not a regulation, so adapt it to your own gear. Check which screws and tools your own bindings use before you leave home.
Extra kit for hut-based and multi-day tours
Hut trips are some of the best days of your life: no lift queues, a long evening with new friends, and fresh snow at the door. They also change the packing list. The MEC checklist suggests hut booties or slippers and toiletries, and for winter camping extra fuel, a big pot for melting snow and a sleeping bag liner.
For huts specifically, Deuter’s multi-day list adds a hut sleeping bag and a wash bag with shower gel, toothbrush and paste, a small towel, handkerchiefs and earplugs. The earplugs are no joke in a dormitory. 😴
Other things to consider:
Cash: many huts do not take cards, and prices for dinner, breakfast and drinks add up.
Booking: huts fill up, so reserve well in advance and confirm what is provided.
Charging: a small power bank for your phone and headlamp.
Change of clothes: one clean base layer and dry socks for the evening.
Steve House of Uphill Athlete points out that multi-day gear needs fine-tuning to the exact objective, weather and conditions rather than a one-size-fits-all list. Ask your guide or hut warden what to bring, and cut what you will not use.
A simple packing method
Write everything on a list, then lay it out on the floor. Sort it into four piles, and pack in this order:
Bottom of the pack: spare layer, hut clothes and sleeping bag (in dry bags).
Middle: food, water bottle, repair kit, first aid.
Top: shell layer, gloves, hat, goggles, headlamp.
Fast access (outer or lid pockets): snacks, sunscreen, skins, compass, phone.
Shovel and probe: in their own pocket, always.
Weigh the loaded pack at home. If it is heavier than you can comfortably carry for several hours uphill, leave things behind. Then test it on a short walk with your boots on.
Perspective: what we see from the transfer seat
We drive skiers to the Alps every winter, and the touring crowd is one of our favourite groups: they arrive with long ski bags, big packs, a gleam in the eye and, now and then, a bag that is clearly one avalanche shovel over the weight limit. 😉 What we notice is that the trips that go smoothly begin before the first skin goes on the ski. The kit is packed in a logical order, the airport pickup is booked, and nobody is wrestling skis onto a crowded train after a long flight.
Our advice is simple. Pack your safety kit as carry-on or in a bag you can find fast, keep one set of warm layers handy for the journey, and tell your driver about oversized luggage when you book. Our drivers are professional and English-speaking, our vehicles are modern, and sports luggage and child seats are free with every booking. For the mountains themselves, always follow the guidance of qualified guides and official avalanche bulletins, not ours.
— Rolands
Getting your kit from the airport to the mountains
Here is the logistics bit that most packing lists skip. Touring gear is bulky: ski bag, boot bag, a loaded pack and perhaps a split board. Public transport with all that is a workout before you have even started. Shared shuttles add waiting time and detours, and your trailhead might not be on their route.
With ALPY’s private ski transfers, you book online, choose your pickup and drop-off, and add your passenger details. We monitor your flight, send automated reminders, and give you door-to-door service with all-inclusive pricing. We serve Geneva, Lyon, Grenoble and Chambéry airports, so you can pick whichever flight suits you best. If you are heading for the Trois Vallées, take a look at our Courchevel and Méribel transfer pages, or our Morzine page for the Portes du Soleil.
For more on what to look for in a vehicle, see why vehicle amenities matter on a ski trip. If you are travelling in peak weeks, booking your ski transfer early gives you the pick of vehicles and times.
Final check before you leave home
Transceiver batteries are fresh and the device passes a self-test.
Probe, shovel and skins are in the pack, not still in the garage.
Skin glue is clean and bindings are adjusted to your boots.
Headlamp works, with spare batteries.
You have read the avalanche bulletin for your area and told someone your route.
Hut bookings are confirmed and your transfer is booked.
Tick every box, and the only thing left is to enjoy the powder. 🏔️
FAQ
What is the most important thing on a ski tour packing list?
The avalanche trio: transceiver, probe and metal shovel, carried by every member of the group. Avalanche Canada says that carrying only one or two of them is not sufficient. Training in how to use them matters just as much as owning them.
How big should my ski touring backpack be?
For a day tour, 25 to 30 litres is a typical size, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain. For hut-to-hut trips you need a larger one. Choose the smallest pack that fits your safety kit, spare layer, food and water.
Do I need ski crampons?
Often, yes, especially in spring. One hut-touring gear list describes them as mandatory for spring tours, when the snow can be hard in the morning. Check the conditions and your route with a local guide, and make sure the crampons are the right width for your bindings.
What extras do I need for a hut trip?
Pack a hut sleeping bag, slippers, a wash bag, a small towel and earplugs, as Deuter’s multi-day packing list suggests. Take cash and a power bank as well. Ask your hut which items they provide.
Can ALPY carry touring skis and big bags?
Yes. Sports luggage is free with our private transfers, and you can tell us about oversized bags in the booking form so we send the right vehicle. Our safety standards guide explains what to check before you book any transfer.
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