Ski touring pace chart: Munter units and vertical per hour
The Munter method: units equal distance in kilometres plus gain in metres divided by 100, and hours equal units divided by a rate of 4 skinning uphill, 6 on rolling terrain, 10 descending and 2 breaking trail. In practice an average fit party climbs about 1,000 vertical feet an hour on a set track and about 500 breaking trail in deep snow.
The printable version of the touring time calculator. Two tables, because the same route is a comfortable outing on a set track and a genuinely committing day if you are the first party in after a storm, and the difference is the number most trip plans leave out.
Uphill time on an existing skin track
Munter rate 4. Elevation gain down the side, distance across the top.
| Gain | 3 km | 6 km | 9 km | 12 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 m
984 ft
| 1 hr 30 min | 2 hr 15 min | 3 hr | 3 hr 45 min |
| 500 m
1,640 ft
| 2 hr | 2 hr 45 min | 3 hr 30 min | 4 hr 15 min |
| 800 m
2,625 ft
| 2 hr 45 min | 3 hr 30 min | 4 hr 15 min | 5 hr |
| 1000 m
3,281 ft
| 3 hr 15 min | 4 hr | 4 hr 45 min | 5 hr 30 min |
| 1200 m
3,937 ft
| 3 hr 45 min | 4 hr 30 min | 5 hr 15 min | 6 hr |
| 1500 m
4,921 ft
| 4 hr 30 min | 5 hr 15 min | 6 hr | 6 hr 45 min |
| 1800 m
5,906 ft
| 5 hr 15 min | 6 hr | 6 hr 45 min | 7 hr 30 min |
The same routes, breaking trail
Munter rate 2. This is a realistic figure rather than a pessimistic one.
| Gain | 3 km | 6 km | 9 km | 12 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 m | 3 hr | 4 hr 30 min | 6 hr | 7 hr 30 min |
| 500 m | 4 hr | 5 hr 30 min | 7 hr | 8 hr 30 min |
| 800 m | 5 hr 30 min | 7 hr | 8 hr 30 min | 10 hr |
| 1000 m | 6 hr 30 min | 8 hr | 9 hr 30 min | 11 hr |
| 1200 m | 7 hr 30 min | 9 hr | 10 hr 30 min | 12 hr |
| 1500 m | 9 hr | 10 hr 30 min | 12 hr | 13 hr 30 min |
| 1800 m | 10 hr 30 min | 12 hr | 13 hr 30 min | 15 hr |
Compare the two tables at 1,200 metres and 12 kilometres: about six hours on a set track, about twelve breaking trail. Nothing about the terrain changed. The plan has to, and a plan that does not is how parties end up finishing in the dark with headlamps they may or may not have packed.
The rates
| Travel | Rate | What it assumes |
|---|---|---|
| Skinning uphill | 4 | A fit party on an existing track. |
| Flat or rolling | 6 | Approach roads, valley floors, traverses. |
| Skiing down | 10 | The descent, at a touring pace with regrouping. |
| Breaking trail | 2 | Deep unconsolidated snow, no track. Half the uphill rate, and it is not a pessimistic figure. |
Vertical feet per hour
| Party and conditions | Vertical ft per hour | 3,000 ft takes |
|---|---|---|
| First tour of the season | 700 | 4 hr 17 min |
| Average fit party, set track | 1,000 | 3 hr |
| Strong party, set track | 1,400 | 2 hr 9 min |
| Breaking trail, deep snow | 500 | 6 hr |
These figures include stopping, regrouping, layer changes and transitions, which is why they look slower than a number derived from a fitness test. A party moves at the pace of its slowest member on the day, and everybody has a slow day eventually. Planning around your best day is planning to be late.
What the arithmetic does not see
- Transitions. Five to fifteen minutes each. A multi-lap day can easily lose an hour to them.
- Party size. Four people are meaningfully slower than two, because everybody waits for everybody at every transition and every regroup.
- Route finding. Unfamiliar terrain costs time that is genuinely hard to predict, especially in trees or flat light.
- Equipment problems. A skin that stops sticking, an iced binding, a boot problem. This is why a repair kit is a planning item.
- Snow quality changes. A track that was supportable in the morning can be breakable crust by afternoon, which changes the descent rate as well as the climb.
Add at least 25 percent to any estimate for a route you have not skied. If the day does not fit in daylight with that contingency, the answer is a different objective rather than an earlier start, because a dawn start on unfamiliar terrain brings its own problems.
Turnaround time
Decide before you leave the car what time you will turn around regardless of where you are, and say it out loud to the party. The decision made in the car park by a rested person with no summit in view is far better than the one made three hours later by a tired person who can see the top.
Turnaround time is also a hazard decision, not just a logistics one. Solar warming on an east or south aspect can take a slope from supportable to dangerous within an hour, and a spring tour that was safe at seven in the morning is a wet-slide problem by eleven. Time of day is an input to the avalanche question as much as to the daylight question.
Related
Run your own route through the touring time calculator, and read how to plan a ski tour for the full sequence from forecast to turnaround. How to skin uphill covers the technique that changes these numbers more than any equipment does, and the danger scale covers the other half of a trip plan.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to skin 1,000 vertical feet?
Roughly an hour for an average fit party on an existing skin track, including transitions and regrouping. A strong party moves closer to 1,400 feet an hour, a party on their first tour of the season closer to 700, and a party breaking trail in deep unconsolidated snow closer to 500.
What is the Munter method?
Units equal distance in kilometres plus elevation gain in metres divided by 100. Hours equal units divided by a rate. The published rates are 4 for skinning uphill on a set track, 6 for flat or rolling terrain, 10 for the ski descent, and 2 for breaking trail in deep snow.
Why halve the rate for breaking trail?
Because breaking trail in deep unconsolidated snow genuinely costs about that much. It is not a pessimistic figure and it is the single most common omission in a trip plan. Applying a set-track rate on a day with fresh snow is why parties finish tours in the dark.
How much time should I add for transitions?
Five to fifteen minutes each depending on how organised the party is, and a party of four is slower than a party of two by more than the arithmetic suggests, because everybody waits for everybody. Two transitions on a standard tour is realistic; a multi-lap day can easily involve six.
Should I add contingency to a Munter estimate?
At least 25 percent for a route you have not skied before. Route finding in unfamiliar terrain, a boot problem, a skin that stops sticking or a party member having a slow day all cost time the arithmetic does not see. If the route does not fit in daylight with that contingency, choose a different objective.
Does a time estimate make a tour safer?
It makes benightment less likely, which matters because being caught out after dark turns a manageable situation into an emergency. It says nothing about whether the slopes on the route are safe today, which comes from the regional avalanche forecast, formal training and the party in the terrain.
How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, published certification standards and verified owner reviews across retailers. We do not test equipment in person, and every figure quoted here is the manufacturer's published number unless we say otherwise. This is researched buying guidance and not professional instruction: binding release values are set by a certified technician on a calibrated jig, and avalanche terrain requires formal training and a current regional forecast that no article can replace.
