Ski Touring Training: Build Uphill Endurance Properly

Ski touring is not a winter sport with an occasional endurance component — it is an endurance sport with a winter sports add-on. A classic day tour with 1,000 vertical metres is comparable in duration to a half marathon, except you carry eight to ten kilograms of equipment and have to concentrate on the descent as well. Start training in October and you will stand relaxed in the car park in January. Pull the skis out of the cellar in December and you will pay with oxygen debt, calf cramps and a sore knee on the way down.

Why climbing is pure endurance work

On the way up you typically sit at 65 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate — a range you can hold for one to three hours if you train it. That is the point: heart rate stays moderate, but muscular work is high because of the added weight. An 80-kilogram skier with ten kilograms of pack and equipment is moving 90 kilograms uphill, step by step, often 1,500 to 2,500 times per hour.

The training logic follows directly: you need a broad aerobic base, accustomisation to strength-endurance in legs and calves, and the ability to move efficiently for hours. All three can be built in autumn without any snow — with running, cycling, stairs and a handful of gym exercises.

The three requirements at a glance

• Uphill endurance: aerobic base in the 60 to 90 minute continuous-effort range, several times per week. This is your foundation and the biggest lever.
• Leg strength-endurance: long series of small, steady steps under added load. Flat asphalt running trains this only partially.
• Downhill technique and stability: the descent costs most of your strength and most of your knees. Eccentric loading, balance and trunk stability therefore belong in the plan as fixed items.

A fourth point that is often forgotten: adaptation to altitude and cold. Most tours start between 800 and 1,500 metres and finish considerably higher — that stimulus can only be simulated to a limited extent, but it is the reason the first tour of winter always feels harder than the fourth.

The 8-week build: week by week

The plan below assumes you have done one or two endurance sessions per week throughout the year. It comprises three to four sessions per week totalling five to seven hours of training time.

• Weeks 1–2 (base): Two easy runs of 45–60 minutes in the base zone, one 20-minute stair session, one 30-minute strength session. Goal: find the rhythm.
• Weeks 3–4 (build): Long run of 75 minutes, one 40-minute continuous uphill run, one 30-minute stair session, strength. First longer continuous effort.
• Week 5 (recovery): Cut volume by 40 percent, keep intensity light. The body needs this step.
• Weeks 6–7 (specific): Long run or ride of 90–120 minutes, uphill intervals of 5 × 6 minutes, 40-minute stair session, strength. Now the added load comes in.
• Week 8 (tapering): Two short easy sessions, one session with 3 × 3 minutes uphill. Get fresh for the first real tour.

If you have no mountains on your doorstep, replace the uphill run with stair sessions in your building or with longer treadmill intervals at 8 to 10 percent incline. What matters is the steady continuous effort, not the steepness.

The key session: stair climbing

Stair sessions are the best ski touring simulation without snow. You walk or run upwards at a steady pace you can hold for 30 to 40 minutes, taking the steps as steps rather than jumps. This matches the muscular work of skinning very closely: small steps, high cadence, constant pressure on calves and glutes.

Start with 15 continuous minutes and add five minutes per week up to 40 minutes. If it becomes too easy, wear a pack with five to eight kilograms of water — that is roughly the weight of skis, boots, skins and pack on a day tour. Make sure you do not slip into a sprint rhythm: you want to be able to breathe without gasping.

Strength training for the climb and the descent

Twice a week for 25 to 35 minutes is enough. The exercises cover exactly the muscles that work during the climb and during braking on the descent.

• Climbing: Bulgarian split squats (3 × 8 per leg), step-ups onto a knee-high box (3 × 12 per leg), weighted calf raises (3 × 15), hip thrusts (3 × 12).
• Descending: Nordic hamstring curls (3 × 6, very slow), reverse lunges (3 × 10 per leg), squats with a three-second lowering phase.
• Stability: single-leg stance on an unstable surface (3 × 30 seconds per leg), banded trunk rotation, side plank (3 × 30 seconds per side).

The slow lowering — the eccentric phase — is the most important part. On the descent your quadriceps brake against gravity, and that braking strength decides whether you still ski cleanly after 800 vertical metres of descending or stand in the valley on shaking legs. More on this in the article on eccentric training.

Heart rate zones for climbing

The most common mistake among ski touring beginners: starting too fast. Because the climb is long, a high heart rate feels harmless at first but takes its revenge after 45 minutes. The following breakdown has proven itself in practice:

• 60–70 % HRmax: the endurance range for long climbs. You can hold a conversation and breathe through your nose. You spend 80 percent of your climbing time here.
• 70–80 % HRmax: steeper sections, short surges, technically demanding passages. You speak in short sentences.
• 80–90 % HRmax: training only, as uphill intervals — not during a tour climb. Here you accumulate lactate that you cannot clear while going uphill.

If you do not know your zones yet, the article on heart rate zones explains how to determine them without a lab test.

Skiing down: the underestimated performance factor

Most ski tourers train only for the climb and then wonder why they become uncertain on steep terrain in the afternoon. Downhill skiing is a combination of strength, balance and anticipation — and it can be prepared in autumn without standing on skis.

Three things help specifically: single-leg stance with eyes closed (trains the vestibular system), slow squats with a three-second lowering phase (trains eccentric braking strength) and downhill running on uneven ground, for example on a rooty forest trail. Start with ten minutes of downhill running and build slowly. The load peaks off-road are higher than on flat running, so the rule is: technique first, then speed.

Equipment and tour planning follow their own rules that have nothing to do with training — avalanche bulletin, conditions, group size. That does not replace training, but it decides at least as much about whether a day turns out well.

Typical mistakes in winter

• Starting in December. Eight weeks of base endurance cannot be compressed into four. Start in November and you have double the reserve in January.
• Treating every tour as training. Weekend tours are often long and demanding. Doing them on top of a full training plan accumulates fatigue without adaptation. Schedule the tour as your long session and drop another one for it.
• Ignoring the descent. Two thirds of all knee problems in ski tourers arise on the descent, not the climb. Eccentric strength is not a bonus, it is mandatory.
• Dressing too warm. Sweating on the climb and freezing during the break is the classic cycle. Layer up with ventilation, and keep the break short.
• Underestimating fuelling. A four-hour tour burns 2,500 to 3,500 kilocalories. Anyone carrying just one cereal bar will ski the last slope in a bonk.

How Peakora schedules winter training

Ski touring fits into the Peakora engine as its own sport: you log the tour with vertical metres and duration, the engine converts it via the load factor into your training stress score and shifts the following sessions accordingly. Because winter training runs parallel to running, cycling and strength work, the weekly view immediately shows whether a week is getting too full — and adaptive planning proposes a lighter week automatically instead of you having to do the maths.

For the autumn build, the best approach is to set a ski touring preparation goal with the date of your first planned tour. The plan then distributes stair sessions, uphill intervals and strength work so that load rises evenly across eight weeks and drops in the final week.

Frequently asked questions about ski touring training

How many vertical metres can I climb with a given training level?

A rough guide is 400 to 600 vertical metres per hour at a relaxed climbing pace. Anyone who runs or rides 60 to 90 minutes in the base zone several times a week in autumn will usually climb 300 to 400 metres without a break. Without that base, your legs are empty after 250 metres.

Is running enough to prepare for ski touring?

No. Running is the best base, but it does not cover the specific demand. Climbing is a long, steady strength-endurance effort with added weight. Add uphill intervals, stair climbing and twice-weekly strength work for legs and trunk.

How often should I train per week for ski touring?

Three to four sessions per week are enough: two aerobic sessions in the base zone, one intense uphill session and one short strength session. Keep at least one full rest day and schedule a lighter week every three to four weeks.

When should I start ski touring training?

Eight to twelve weeks before your first tour. If you have trained consistently through summer and autumn, six to eight weeks will do. Ambitious goals such as a long spring tour with 1,500 vertical metres require the full twelve-week build.

If you want to build on a broader foundation, the article on base training covers the underlying physiology, and the 16-week marathon training plan is a good follow-on goal once the snow melts.