What is the best way of starting skiing for eventually touring in wilderness areas?
For Nordic mountain tours you can start with the trip in the Rondane, the Troll Trail or the Geilo & Finse: Pistes, Trails and Tours trip and then if you decide you like the activity, you will need more skills input both in Nordic travel techniques and Nordic downhill. To get good enough to ski mountaineer in alpine terrain, you would need to put in time on ski areas to get to the standard. The piste is made consistent so it is easier. Any alpine off-piste or alpine mountain touring will have all sorts of snow and steep slopes. You need to be able to keep moving once on tour so while you can pick up tips, this is not the place for basic learning. The pistes are the place to learn and develop skills. Next would be off-piste using ski lifts. This gives the mileage you need to improve. Finally, you can move on to ski touring! Whether you take the Nordic or ‘ski area’ route, all the stages are fun in themselves and not just a means to an end: from beginning, to improving and consolidating
