What is Ski Touring?

In recent years, ski touring has become an emerging winter sport. Ski touring, also referred to as skinning, involves uphill and downhill travel on skis or a splitboard with no lift assistance. Ski touring requires a free heel in a touring binding, allowing you to traverse and ascend on flat or steep terrain. Climbing skins, or friction aids, are used on the bottom of the skis to provide sufficient grip to the snow during ascent. The descent is similar to alpine skiing; however, the touring bindings are set to hold the boot heel firmly to the ski when going downhill.

Ski touring is commonly done outside of patrolled ski areas, but it can be done in designated uphill areas within ski resorts. It is important to note that before ski touring in the backcountry, individuals must be fully equipped and properly trained for avalanche assessment and rescue. As with any sport, there is risk of injury associated with ski touring. The majority of ski touring injuries are reported during the descent of the tour.

What Knee Injuries Occur While Ski Touring?

The ascent of ski touring has a low risk of injury. The descent is where most injuries occur. An ACL tear is the most common knee injury reported. The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is one of four main stabilizing ligaments in the knee. An ACL tear can occur when a skier lands on a bent knee, then twists or lands on an overextended knee.

When an ACL tear occurs individuals can experience immediate pain, swelling, and instability. Many patients report hearing or feeling a pop in the knee. This injury typically results in the inability to have normal use of the knee without experiencing giving way episodes. In many cases, a torn ACL will require surgical treatment.

What Shoulder Injuries Occur While Ski Touring?

The two most common shoulder injuries seen in ski touring are clavicle fractures and shoulder dislocations. These injuries are typically due to blunt force trauma directly to the shoulder, or clavicle area. A hard direct fall to the shoulder, or a fall on an outstretched arm can cause a shoulder dislocation. When this happens, the humerus or upper arm bone is forcefully pushed out and removed from its socket. Symptoms of a shoulder dislocation include, severe pain, swelling, and in severe cases visible extreme deformity of the shoulder. For young people (under the age of 30) who sustain a shoulder dislocation, there is a high likelihood that the shoulder will continue to dislocate in the future after one has sustained an initial dislocation. In these cases, surgery will be recommended.

Similarly, when trauma occurs to the clavicle area, a clavicle fracture, or break can occur. Most breaks occur in the middle section of the clavicle bone. Symptoms can include a painful lump that is visible over the top of the clavicle. One may also feel popping and cracking as well as increased pain with any movement of the arm. In many cases, a broken clavicle will require surgery to restore normal function to the arm.

How to Prevent Ski Touring Injuries

Many factors can lead to ski touring injuries, including: technique, equipment, and outdoor conditions. Having good conditioning and proper technique on the uphill and downhill section of the tour is important to reduce the risk of any acute, and/or overuse injuries:

1. Keep your chest up. When you bend over your skis, it will not only force you to use your arms, but you will also minimize your grip on the snow. This is especially true for slippery, spring conditions. When you keep your chest up, you will improve your grip on the snow as well as your striding efficiency.
2. Keep Your Body Weight Centered Over Your Skis On The Way down: Try to avoid skiing “in the back seat” as this can predispose to ACL tears or other knee injuries. Instead keep your center of gravity directly over your skis. This requires strong core musculature so work on this when not ski touring.
3. Consider Going Slower On The Way Down: Most people who ski tour do so for the cardiovascular exercise afforded by going uphill. By the time you reach the top, you are fatigued. Consider taking it a little slower for the downhill portion of your tour given the inherent muscle fatigue of going uphill. This may help you avoid a fall onto your shoulder which could lead to a clavicle fracture or shoulder dislocation.
4. Keep Opposing Muscle Groups Strong: Ski touring utilizes mainly the quadriceps and hip flexor musculature. As such, people become relatively weaker in the hamstring and gluteal musculature. These imbalances can cause pain around the kneecap and also predispose to ACL tears. Therefore, be sure to strengthen the gluteal and hamstring muscles and roll out your IT band on other days.

Ensuring your equipment is ready for a tour is important to help minimizing an acute injury, like a broken binding when skiing downhill. It is important to fully assess snow and weather conditions before going on a tour. It is also imperative that you are fully educated on snow conditions and are touring in low risk avalanche areas. If you have experienced a ski touring sports injury, give Dr. Cunningham a call today: 970-569-3240.