An Intro to Ski Touring with Noah Dines

Ski touring strips the concept of skiing down to its essentials. You earn every turn. You move uphill under your own power. You spend more time listening than talking. And if you stick with it long enough, it changes how you think about winter.

Few people understand this better than Noah Dines, a professional skier and world record holder for skiing the most human-powered vertical feet in a single year. 3.5 million to be exact. To give perspective, that’s like skiing up Mt. Everest 120 times.

This isn’t a guide to breaking records. It’s an introduction to ski touring: what it is, why we do it, and how you can get started. And there’s arguably no one better to provide pro tips than Noah, who has built his career around moving efficiently through the mountains — one step, one skin track, one day’s work at a time. 

We caught up with Noah to chat about the basics and his love of the sport:

“I love the freedom ski touring affords me. I can start and end whenever I please and move through mountains and forests to my heart’s content.”

What Is Ski Touring?

At its core, ski touring is simple: it combines human-powered uphill travel with downhill skiing. Touring bindings allow your heel to lift from the ski while climbing, and skins attach to the base of your skis to provide traction. When you reach the top, skins rip off, heels lock down, and you ski.

What separates touring from resort skiing isn’t just the gear — it’s the mindset. There’s no lift line, no set schedule, no conditions report. The reward comes from effort, patience, and paying attention to the mountains around you.

There are many parallels between hiking or trail running and ski touring. If you appreciate those activities, ski touring may be for you.

Ski Touring Basics

Gear

You don’t need the lightest or most expensive setup to get started. You need reliable gear that keeps you comfortable and functional over long days. At a high level, touring gear includes: 

• Touring skis, bindings, and boots designed for uphill travel
• Climbing skins
• Adjustable poles
• A backpack to carry layers, nutrition/hydration, and safety equipment 

Safety

Ski touring comes with responsibility. Avalanches are real, and weather can change fast. Every tourer should understand the safety basics:

• Carry avalanche safety equipment (beacon, shovel, probe)
• Know how to use it (take an avalanche education course)
• Travel with partners
  
• Always carry a navigational device — Garmin InReach are reliable and compact. Apps like onX can be downloaded to your phone.
• If you’re relying on your phone to navigate, bring an external battery pack.

Touring rewards preparation and patience. There’s no shame in turning around. The mountains will still be there tomorrow.

Layering

Then there’s what you wear. Layering matters more in touring than almost any other type of skiing. You’re generating heat on the uphill and cooling off fast on the descent – akin to what winter hikers experience. Managing temperature and moisture, especially in your feet, can make or break a day.

Our testing ground for layering resides on the backcountry routes of the (not so) Green Mountains. In a typical winter, it’s common for Vermont temperatures to plummet to single digits and wind chills, making it feel well below zero.

In conditions like these, socks aren’t an afterthought. They’re an integral part of your system. 

“When I build out my setup for ski touring, it starts from the foot out. I’ve skied in Darn Tough socks for half a decade or so and love the wicking of the wool, helping draw moisture away before it freezes my feet. The fact that they also are super reliable is really key for me as well! After that comes really, really good boot fitting to match my funky feet.”

We caught up with Noah unpacking his backcountry kit. Here's what he brings on non-avalanche backcountry excursions.

Merino Wool

The uphill is where touring lives. It’s where most of your time is spent, and where small discomforts compound into big problems. Sweaty feet lead to cold, wet feet. Friction leads to hot spots and blisters.

Socks that bunch, slip, or trap moisture don’t just feel bad — they slow you down and cut days short. Don’t underestimate the power of a good sock when traveling out in winter conditions. It could make or break your day. 

Merino Wool earns its place in touring because it regulates temperature, manages moisture, and stays comfortable over hours of steady movement. Unlike cotton, if Merino Wool gets wet (say, from sweaty feet on the way uphill), it maintains its ability to regulate your body’s temperature.

Durability matters, too (and is another reason we love Merino). When you’re logging long days and big vertical, gear needs to hold up without thinking about it. Reliable gear makes the process that much more enjoyable and gives your peace of mind to focus on the journey ahead.

“Long days are the most fun when you are ready. Going from skiing one hour a day to skiing 10 isn’t very fun, it just hurts; so build your skills and endurance over time and then launch. Make sure you have all your supplies, and that foot pain won’t slow you down. And always bring a second pair of socks!” 

Advice for First-Time Ski Tourers

Ask ten tourers for advice and you’ll get ten answers. But some themes come up again and again.

• Start small and stay consistent: Many ski resorts have uphill policies. Before you head out to the backcountry, start uphill skiing at resorts. This is a great entry point to understanding your gear, layering, and how your equipment functions. It is better to learn how to use your equipment at home, rather than in the elements at the summit.
• Focus on efficiency, not speed: It’s easy to get caught up in reaching the summit, but if you focus on your form and steady progress, you won’t exert as much effort. When you reach step terrain, take it slow and controlled.
• Pay attention to how your body feels: While layering is important, it’s equally as important to listen to your body. If you feel like you’re overheating, de-layer or slow the pace. If you’re cold, add an extra layer or rip skins early and transition to ski down the mountain. Learn when to push, when to pivot, and when to turn around without ego.
• Learn from every outing: The mountain is always in charge. We are travelers, traversing among the snowy winterscape. Ski touring is slow, and it’s that way for a reason. Take that time to immerse yourself in the surrounding environment—you’ll learn a lot about the mountain, the environment, and yourself. 

Touring isn’t about perfection. It’s about small continuous progress and observation. And that’s why we love the sport.

“First and foremost, try your gear out at home. It’s way easier to figure out how your bindings and boots work in your warm living room than on a frigid mountain at night. And second of all start small, think of it as exercise and a nice walk and then build into radder skiing!”

Why We Ski Tour

For many people, ski touring becomes less about skiing and more about how it makes them feel. The quiet. The rhythm. The sense that you’ve earned your place in the landscape. There’s a deep sense of belonging and immersion you feel when you’re out on the skin track that keeps you coming back.

Even for someone who’s skied millions of vertical feet under their own power, the appeal doesn’t fade. It deepens. Just take it from Noah…

“When I click into my bindings, I feel calm. I am back on home turf. And it means soon I’ll feel the wind in my hair as I descend, the ultimate thrill.”