How to Plan a Ski Tour: The 3x3 Method Explained
Good tours are planned on the sofa and corrected on the mountain. The 3x3 method: three checkpoints, three factors, plus the time formula guides use to work out how long a tour really takes.
Tour planning has exactly one job: spot the problems early enough to avoid them or be ready for them. Nobody plans a tour because they love spreadsheets. They plan so the surprise at 2,400 m is a good one.
The framework most guides in the Alps use is the 3x3: you look at three factors (conditions, terrain and people) at three moments (at home, at the trailhead and on the individual slope). Each stage zooms in closer, and each one is allowed to overrule the last.
The seven-step planning checklist
- Pick a realistic tour. Use maps, guidebooks and trusted websites, and ask local riders.
- Gather the facts: weather, snow and avalanche conditions, terrain difficulty and aspect, and the human side.
- Draw the route on a 1:25,000 topo map, on paper or in an app.
- Identify the cruxes and assess each one.
- Set decision points and plan alternatives for each.
- Estimate timings and fix a turnaround time.
- Review the whole plan and ask the uncomfortable question: what could go wrong?
Stage 1: Planning at home
A few days before, and again the evening before. The goal: a tour, a schedule and at least one alternative.
- Conditions: avalanche bulletin, weather forecast, time of day and season, and recent trip reports from the online community, taken with a pinch of salt.
- Terrain: route and alternatives on the topo map, ski touring guidebook and map, cruxes identified, local knowledge.
- People: who is coming and how many, who is responsible, what everyone wants and expects, skills and fitness of the group and the leader, equipment, timings.
Put it all together and answer one question: is this tour feasible for this group?
How long will the tour take? The guide's formula
Count 1 hour for every 300 m of ascent and 1 hour for every 4 km of distance. Take the bigger number, add half of the smaller one, and you have your ascent time.
Example: 1,500 m of climbing over 10 km. Vertical: 1,500 / 300 = 5 hours. Distance: 10 / 4 = 2.5 hours. Total: 5 + 1.25 = 6.25 hours, before breaks and the descent. Now you know when to set the alarm.
Stage 2: Local evaluation at the trailhead
Now you compare your beliefs with reality, and you keep doing it all day. If reality disagrees with the plan, reality wins.
- Conditions: alarm signs, current weather and its trend, visibility. Does what you see match the bulletin?
- Terrain: a look into the cruxes, possible critical areas, route choice and alternatives, existing tracks.
- People: transceiver check, equipment check, physical and mental state of everyone, realistic timings, who else is out there. Watch for heuristic traps and group dynamics, and make it normal for anyone to speak up.
Stage 3: The individual slope
The final call, made at the top of every slope that matters: do we ride it, how, or do we go around?
- Conditions: is there an avalanche problem on this slope and how serious is it, visibility, how often the slope is ridden, other dangers such as glaciers and cornices.
- Terrain: steepness, aspect and elevation, the shape and size of the slope, and the consequences if it goes: where would you end up? Terrain traps make small slides deadly.
- People: mental state, facts versus feelings, tactics (spacing out, riding one at a time, regrouping at safe spots), clear communication, leadership and discipline.
The alarm signs you never ignore
These are typical of danger level 3 (considerable) and above. The first three are the mountain shouting at you.
- Recent slab avalanches
- Whumpf sounds
- Shooting cracks when you step onto the snow
- New snow combined with wind
- Fresh deposits of wind-drifted snow
- Rain on a dry snowpack
- Marked warming towards 0°C, especially right after snowfall
Learn it on snow
A checklist is a start, not a qualification. Read up on avalanche basics and the danger scale, then come and plan real tours with us on the Intro to Ski Touring & Splitboarding camp, where route planning is part of every day.
Quick answers
What is the 3x3 method in ski touring?
A risk-assessment framework that checks three factors (conditions, terrain, people) at three stages: planning at home, evaluating on site, and deciding on each individual slope.
How do you calculate ski touring time?
One hour per 300 m of ascent and one hour per 4 km of distance. Add the larger value to half of the smaller one. Breaks and the descent come on top.