Splittie of the Week | Terrain Choice

Route planning

Yes, who doesn't know the cat tracks? It can be found in almost every ski resort and always costs snowboarders who have run out of speed a lot of energy and enjoyment. It also exists in open snow sports terrain and you should bear in mind that officially designated ski touring routes are not always continuously downhill. They are just SKI touring routes.

So a cat track in open terrain, in deep, soft, hard, sticky snow after a few hundred metres of ascent and a long day of touring, just before the bus stop, so to speak. Not so great.

Remember: not every blue line on the map is suitable for snowboarding, so look carefully!

Here is an example:

The ski route to the Röbispitzen in Prättigau leads from Weberlisch Höli via Plasseggahütta and Misthöf. At first glance, you follow the blue line and would think that you will get down there. Let's switch off the blue line and look at the contour lines. They are really very far apart. This means that the terrain is very flat. You can also see that the contour lines behind Misthöf are no longer parallel, but run in opposite directions. Such patterns indicate a kind of hilly terrain with small valleys and hills. The same pattern can also be found south of Plasseggahütta.

I was there recently (more or less voluntarily) and know that in this case you can get round the Misthöf with a little speed, but at the latest at the Hütta you have to walk a bit. This is very strenuous in deep snow.

Therefore, make sure that the contour lines do not meander in flat passages, otherwise you will have to reckon with hills along the ski route. Favour flat terrain with parallel contour lines, as at the end of all tours in the Chilei. The route to Fieldrich becomes flatter and flatter, but the contour lines remain parallel. There are no hills to be expected, it's easy to get out of there.

If it cannot be avoided

A popular statement from skiers is that splitboarders can't get out of the long "Talhatscher" at the end of a tour quickly and easily. This often refers to long and flat hiking trails, like here on the way back from the Hanauer Hütte to the car in Bschlabs/Boden. Observe the path on the map. At first it drops and changes from one contour line to the next, lower line. But then it follows the contour line exactly for a long stretch and is as flat as the Baltic Sea. Pushing is the order of the day.

Or skate! Experienced splitboarders like to convert at such points, go without skins on the two individual parts of the splitboard and skate or even ski a little. To do this, you have to lock your heel to the binding. Most interfaces have small technical solutions for this. For the hardboot fraction, a skistrap is sufficient if you either have the Rocket Riser from Phantom or have made yourself a suitable mount, like me.

How do you do it? What do you look for when choosing your splitboard routes? We look forward to your comments!