One quick-reference guide to packing to rule them all

Wylark Mountaineering Ski Touring Packing List

Note! This article is printer-friendly and can easily be made into a PDF. Just open the “Print” dialog in your browser and find the “Save to PDF” option.
Note! You can check off items as-you-go by clicking/tapping on the checkbox.

Table of Contents (click to jump ahead)

  1. Implications of Forgetting Something Important
  2. Packing List
  3. Training
  4. Leave No Trace Considerations
  5. First Aid & Repair Kit Contents

Implications of Forgetting Something Important

Make a list (or use ours) and check it twice

Most of the time, when you forget something important while touring, it's not a big deal. Maybe the day gets ended early but without harm or incident. Like it is so often in the world of Low Frequency, High Consequence recreating, however, if you forget the “right” thing at the wrong time, you may end up putting yourself or your group into serious jeopardy.

Packing List

Pack Contents

These go into the pack itself. For most people, 35L is a good minimum for a day trip. 40-45L will allow you to pack more layers, food, and water. A dedicated pocket for avalanche rescue tools is highly recommended.

  • Food (enough for at least one extra day out)
  • Snacks (yes, more than your baseline food; readily-accessible)
  • Water (1L per 4 hours of activity)
  • Layers (mid-layer and waterproof - no cotton)
  • Gloves (three pairs total, including the ones you start out with)
  • Extra insulation (a synthetic puffy is ideal here but not mandatory)
  • Sun protection (sunscreen, sunglasses, SPF lip balm)
  • First Aid Kit (see below)
  • Repair Kit (see below)
  • Cell phone with cached maps

Avalanche Rescue Tools

Good place to stop and consider purchasing an airbag pack. Risk homeostasis conversation aside, the consensus is that they do save lives. Better than airbag pack, however, is conservative decision-making.

  • Avalanche Transceiver (a modern, digital, 3-antenna model with harness)
  • Avalanche Shovel (aluminum and designed for avalanche rescue - not plastic)
  • Avalanche Probe (at least 260cm)

Ski/Splitboard Stuff

  • Skis/splitboard with appropriately configured touring bindings
  • Touring boots that are sized to your bindings
  • Skins
  • Poles (collapsible poles if you are a splitboarder)
  • Helmet
  • Leashes (if you have brakeless bindings)
  • Repair Kit (3x Voile straps, hose clamps, extra pole basket and tail clip, multi-tool)

Nice-to-haves (in order of cost, least to most)

Cost is a barrier to many people accessing the outdoors. None of these items is essential but they are nice to have.

  • Radios (drastically improve communication within your group)
  • Hand warmers (cheap insurance against cold hands/feet)
  • Ski scraper (readily accessible in a pants or pack pocket)
  • Hat with a bill/visor (good for sunny days and pow days alike)
  • Beanie (for added head warmth)
  • Rite in the Rain or AIARE field notebook and a pencil
  • Extra batteries in the car (for your transceiver)
  • Thermos with hot coffee/tea/water
  • Skin wax (nice for days with extremes in snow surface temps)
  • Tarp (for shelter construction)
  • Wrist watch with altimeter
  • Satelite SMS communication
  • Car puffy (wear it in the parking lot then leave it behind)
  • Blue bag a.k.a. wag bag for packing out solid waste (poop)

Training

Fluency with your gear is important and working with a pro to understand how to use everything is a smart move and money well spent. We offer a one-day Backcountry Skills Course which will help set you up for success as a ski or splitboard tourer. Imagine if you learn, for example, how to transition efficiently early in your touring career and how many extra laps that will add up to over 5, 10, or 15 years of touring!

Beyond your gear, it is vitally important to have an understanding of avalanches. You should understand how to plan a trip that gets you skiing/riding the best available terrain with the lowest risk of an avalanche involvement. The AIARE 1 is the classic starting point for understanding avalanches and learning how to manage your risk in avalanche terrain.

First Aid & Repair Kit Contents

Your guide or instructor will carry a substantial version of these two kits, but if you're putting together your own, here is a starting point.

First Aid Kit

  • ACE wrap x2
  • Ibuprofen
  • Bandages of varying sizes
  • Cravats x3 (triangle "bandages" for sling/swath/wound-packing)
  • Tampons x3 (for wound packing or sanitary emergencies)
  • Syringe (high PSI water for wound-cleaning - can't improvise effectively in the field)
  • Pocket mask for CPR
  • Small tweezers (stinger/tick removal, wound debris removal)
  • Tourniquet (for stopping massive, life-threatening bleeding)

Repair Kit

  • Voile straps x4
  • Hose clamps (quick fix for a broken pole)
  • Spare pole basket
  • Spare tail clip for skins
  • Skin wax (to lessen gloppage in mixed temp/sun conditions)
  • Multi-tool (with many different head types)
  • Spacer for DIN-safe binding adjustments
  • Lubricant (good for fussy bindings)

Leave No Trace Considerations

There comes a time when the snowpack melts and all of the things folks dropped or lost in the snow are exposed in glaring contrast. Here are some things to pack or consider from a Leave No Trace perspective.

Part of planning ahead and preparing for ski touring, from a Leave No Trace perspective, is ensuring adequate snowpack depth to protect the underlying vegetation. Leave No Trace generally recommends at least 18 inches of snow to protect vegetation and soils. For winter camping, you should add even more buffer. Mt. Rainier National Park, for example, requires 5 feet of standing snow in order to snow camp at Paradise.

Referenced in the nice-to-haves checklist above, blue bags are a critical piece of gear from an LNT perspective. Most folks tend to manage their bowel movements well on a day trip and are able to wait until they're near a restroom, but one time “feeling the heat” and you will pack a blue bag for life.

Skin savers are the plastic sheets to which new skins are adhered in the packaging. Taking this material into the field adds time and faff to your transitions and creates opportunities to leave litter behind in the backcountry. If you hang onto the skin savers, only use them for summer skin storage. Better yet, store them in your freezer.

When you ski with waxed skis, you deposit traces of wax constantly. There's no way around it. To limit the harmful effects on the environment and watershed, consider using an eco wax. The tech has advanced and these days eco waxes are comparable to more harmful waxes. If you get this service done at a shop, tell them that you would prefer an eco wax. Other ways to limit the amount of wax you put into the environment is to use an infrared waxer (which enables you to use much less wax) and using Phantom, a waxless base glide application.

Final Tips

Consider pre-hydrating at the car before your day begins. Aim to drink a full liter before you start touring. Keep some snacks readily accessible so that you can eat on the move – if you have to stop to eat, you will eat less often. Some people like to keep a soft .5L water flask on them for the same reason. Have a plan for when things go wrong such as your skins refusing to stick to your bases or you finding yourself unexpectedly benighted.

This article was written & posted on December 23, 2024. Updated most recently on June 17, 2025.