Staying safe on ski tours
Lake Achensee boasts a huge range of designated ski touring routes. For your safety and the safety of other skiers, be sure to plan your outdoor activities carefully, especially when heading into the backcountry. Get the knowledge and follow the rules to minimize your exposure to risk.
The ski touring routes in the Achensee region are rated advanced, difficult, and extremely difficult. Visit maps.achensee.com to view all routes complete with difficulty level, length, and duration.
- Plan your ski tours carefully: Select tours based on your ability and experience. Consider route length and elevation profile. Reading mountain weather is a vital skill for anyone who ventures into open terrain. Checking the current wind and weather forecasts, snow conditions, and avalanche bulletins is crucial.
- Gear up with the following standard essentials: snacks and drinks, helmet, avalanche safety gear (transceiver, shovel and probe), first aid kit, bivvy bag, and mobile phone. Avalanche airbags improve your chance of survival.
- Read the forecast bulletin of the Tirolean avalanche service to assess the current risk of avalanches.
- Stay on designated routes in alpine terrain. Leaving those routes can increase your exposure to risk exponentially.
- Stick to smaller group sizes. This facilitates communication and increases everyone’s safety in case of emergency.
- Ski touring is an endurance-based sport! Make sure you are in good physical shape and honestly assess your skills.
- Take breaks and orient yourself. Regular breaks are important to refuel and conserve your energy and concentration.
- Due to a higher possibility of falls, avoid extreme skiing techniques and risk-taking when skiing in open terrain.
In case of an emergency
- Emergency numbers: 144 (ambulance), 140 (emergency number for alpine accidents in Austria), 112 (European emergency number)
- Emergency app „SOS EU Alp“: This app shares your GPS coordinates with local emergency response teams, reducing the time between alert and rescue considerably. The app is a valuable addition to the official alpine emergency number 140.
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