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Course Prep

Can I Use My Alpine Ski Setup Touring?

Can you use an alpine ski setup for touring? MSAA explains ski suitability, boot walk modes, touring bindings and compatibility checks.

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Video Transcript

Hey, it’s Jonathan from Mountain Skills Academy and Adventures, here with a bit of an extended tech talk on whether you can use your alpine setup for touring.

It’s a slightly complicated answer. Can you? Yes, technically. Should you? Probably not.

To me, it’s like asking whether you can drive a Porsche 911 up a forest service road. Can you? I guess so. Should you? It’s probably not going to be a good time.

But why? Let’s talk about the three different components.

Skis are probably the part that makes the least difference. I’m not talking about race skis or narrow carving skis, but an all-mountain ski around 96 mm wide or wider can probably be used for touring.

There are specialized touring skis at one end of the spectrum and heavy all-mountain skis at the other, but we’re not going to get into the weeds here. The ski industry has really blurred the lines between 50/50, all-mountain and dedicated touring skis.

If you have a nice, wide all-mountain ski, chances are you can probably use it for touring.

What about the bindings? This is where we start to run into a problem.

An alpine binding, like this one, has a fixed toe that doesn’t pivot for walking and a heel piece that locks your heel in place.

When you’re touring, you want to make a walking motion as you skin uphill. Your heel needs to lift, and your foot needs to pivot at the toe. This binding doesn’t allow that.

Can you use a standard alpine binding for touring on its own? Absolutely not.

There are adapters available that let you make that movement while using an alpine binding. There’s the older-style Alpine Trekker, which you can still find on the second-hand market, although I’d argue that those generally belong in the garbage.

There are newer options, like these Daymaker adapters. They have toe and heel welts that clip into an alpine binding, plus a separate attachment that holds your boot. The adapter then pivots, allowing your heel to rise.

These aren’t inexpensive. They’re heavy, they take up space in your pack, and they put you quite high above the ski, which can feel unstable.

There’s another reason I wouldn’t recommend this approach, and it has to do with the boot. This next point is less about compatibility and more about what the boot is designed to do.

What’s the difference between an alpine boot and a touring boot?

Here’s an alpine boot. This one doesn’t have tech inserts at the toe for a pin binding. It has a toe welt that clips into an alpine binding, and it doesn’t have the metal heel fitting used by a touring pin binding.

Most importantly, this boot doesn’t have a walk mode.

It’s designed to hold your foot and lower leg in a skiing position so you can drive forward and control the ski. It isn’t designed to let the cuff move freely forwards and backwards for walking.

Can you make a walking motion in an alpine boot? Of course. Are you going to want to do that for thousands of steps or hundreds of metres of climbing? Probably not. You won’t be very efficient, you’ll get tired, and your feet may become very sore.

Now, what does a touring boot look like?

This one looks similar, but it has tech inserts at the toe for a pin binding and a fitting at the heel for a compatible touring heel piece.

Most importantly, it has a walk mechanism.

When the mechanism is locked, it connects the cuff to the lower shell of the boot, allowing you to drive forward and control the ski. When you release it, the cuff can move relative to the lower shell, creating a walking motion that works well for skinning.

So, what’s the problem with using an adapter like this?

In my view, you really want a touring-style boot for touring. Trying to spend a full day touring in an alpine boot is likely to be uncomfortable.

You get a boot with an articulating cuff and a walk mechanism. I guarantee 99% of boots with that kind of walk mechanism also have these toe fittings.

If you’re buying a boot with a walk mechanism and tech inserts, why pair it with something bulky and heavy like the adapter shown here, which uses an alpine-style boot interface?

If you’re getting the boot—which I’d consider a necessity—you may as well consider a binding designed for touring, with a toe that pivots naturally.

Are there other options? Absolutely.

There are hybrid bindings, such as the Salomon SHIFT. There are also systems like this CAST setup, which incorporates a Look Pivot binding. It allows the alpine toe piece used for descending to be replaced with a touring toe piece for climbing.

These systems retain an alpine-style connection and release mechanism for descending while allowing your heel to lift and your foot to pivot for the climb.

You can also use a dedicated touring binding like this one.

It has a pin toe that connects to the fittings in the front of the boot and allows your foot to pivot. At the back, a different mechanism connects to the boot’s heel fitting for skiing.

On this binding, the heel piece can be rotated out of the way for touring, leaving your heel free to lift as you walk uphill.

That’s a very long answer to a short question: can I use my alpine setup for touring?

No, not really.

Instructor Tutorial: Can I Use My Alpine Ski Setup for Touring?

In this tutorial, Jonathan from Mountain Skills Academy and Adventures explains how alpine skis, boots and bindings differ from equipment designed for backcountry touring.

Some parts of an alpine setup may be suitable for touring, particularly the skis. The complete setup also needs to support uphill movement, comfortable walking and the correct downhill configuration. Jonathan’s main recommendation is to assess the skis, boots and bindings together before heading into the backcountry.

Step 1: Assess Whether Your Skis Are Suitable

Jonathan explains that suitable all-mountain skis can form part of a touring setup.

In the video, he uses wider all-mountain skis as his example and discusses the overlap between resort skis, 50/50 skis and dedicated touring skis.

Consider the ski’s overall suitability for your intended use, including its weight, dimensions and the terrain you expect to ski. His reference to 96 mm is an example from the discussion, rather than a universal minimum width for touring.

Step 2: Understand Why Touring Requires a Different Binding Function

A conventional alpine binding holds the boot in a fixed downhill skiing position.

For skinning uphill, the system needs to let your heel rise while your foot pivots near the toe. Touring bindings provide that movement through a dedicated uphill configuration.

Jonathan demonstrates how this differs from a standard alpine binding and why an unchanged alpine binding cannot provide the walking motion on its own.

Step 3: Look for Comfortable Uphill Movement in Your Boots

Jonathan highlights the boot’s walk mechanism as a major factor in touring comfort.

A walk mode releases the cuff so it can move relative to the lower shell during the uphill stride. The mechanism is then returned to its skiing position for the descent.

Check the boot’s binding compatibility separately. A walk-mode lever does not establish whether the boot has the correct tech fittings, heel interface or sole type for a particular binding.

Choose boots that fit well, suit your intended touring and are confirmed compatible with the binding system you plan to use.

Step 4: Understand the Role of Touring Adapters

Touring adapters can add an uphill pivot to some alpine ski setups.

Jonathan demonstrates an adapter that clips into an alpine binding and holds the boot above it. His concerns include the additional weight, pack space, height above the ski and the discomfort of walking in a boot with limited cuff movement.

Adapter designs and compatibility requirements vary. Check the exact adapter, boot and binding combination before assuming that a particular setup will work.

Jonathan’s preference is to use boots and bindings designed together for touring rather than rely on the adapter arrangement shown.

Step 5: Compare Hybrid and Dedicated Touring Systems

The video introduces several ways to combine uphill movement with a downhill skiing configuration.

System discussedHow it works
Salomon SHIFTChanges between a pin-based touring mode and an alpine-style downhill mode.
CAST / Look PivotUses a touring toe piece for the ascent and an interchangeable Pivot alpine toe piece for the descent.
Dedicated pin binding shownUses a pin toe and compatible heel fitting, with an uphill configuration that lets the heel lift freely.

Each system has its own boot requirements, adjustment procedures and transition sequence. Follow the instructions for the exact model you are using.

Jonathan demonstrates a rotating heel on one touring binding. Other models may change modes differently, so practice with your own equipment before your field day.

Final Check

Before using the setup for touring, confirm that:

  • The skis are suitable for your intended touring day.
  • The boots fit comfortably and provide appropriate movement for skinning.
  • The boots have the fittings and sole type required by the bindings.
  • Any adapter is approved for the exact boot and binding combination.
  • You understand how to change fully between uphill and downhill configurations.
  • The bindings have been mounted, adjusted and checked appropriately with your boots.
  • The complete setup meets your course or trip’s equipment requirements.

Safety Note

Have a qualified ski technician confirm the compatibility and adjustment of the complete ski–boot–binding system, including any adapter.

Follow the manufacturers’ instructions for uphill travel, transitions and downhill use. Practice those changes before your course and ask your guide about any equipment you are unsure of.