Endurance requirements
Easy. Fitness for ascent and descent on foot/by ski up to approximately 5 hours a day. This corresponds to a difference in altitude of from 500 m to 800 m. Rate of climb approx. 250 m/hour.
Easy-Intermediate. Fitness for ascent and descent on foot/by ski up to approx. 6 hours a day. This corresponds to a difference in altitude of from 700 m to 1,100 m. Rate of climb approx. 300 m/hour
Intermediate. Touring experience and fitness for ascent and descent on foot/by ski up to approx. 8 hours a day. Traverses with heavy ruck- sack. This corresponds to a difference in altitude of from 1,000 m to 1,400 m. Rate of climb approx. 300 to 350 m/hour.
Intermediate-Challenging. Fitness for ascent and descent on foot/by ski up to approx. 10 hours a day. With heavy rucksack for high mountain traverses. This corresponds to a difference in altitude of up to 1,800 m. Rate of climb approx. 350 to 400 m/hour.
Summer technical requirements
No prior alpine technical knowledge required. Ascent and descent in easy, moderately steep terrain.
Knowledge of roped walking with crampons and flat-footing technique (normal walking) are an advantage on glacier tours with easy summit ascents. A head for heights and surefootedness are required to deal easily with short exposed passages.
Experience gained from basic courses or easy tours is required. Climbing experience up to grade III (with alpine boots and rucksack) is required as well as confident walking with crampons with front- pointing and flat-footing techniques. Exposed climbs of snow ridges and rock ridges are not uncommon.
Experience required of moderately difficult tours executed without mountain guide. Experience of walking and rock and ice climbing with crampons at grade III to V (UIAA scale) is required.
Winter technical requirements
No prior alpine technical knowledge required. Good technique for skiing a slope. Sound mastery of skiing parallel at all levels of difficulty.
Confident turning in easy and moderately steep terrain off-piste and with rucksack. Following confidently in the track of the mountain guide should not be a challenge.
Confident turning is required in all types of snow with heavy rucksack in moderately steep terrain and short steeper passages. Knowledge of kick turns. Roped ascents and ski runs may occur. Easy summit ascents on rock & ice with ice axe and crampons.
Very sound mastery of turns in all snow conditions off-piste. Long descents with steeper often glaciated passages and gullies. Roped ascents and descents. Kick turns in steeper terrain. Summit ascents up to grade III (UIAA scale) with ice axe and crampons. Experience of moderately difficult tours is required.