You may have noticed a strange breed of skier, the one with peculiar bindings and ice axe laden backpack?

You’ll need to become familiar with all that equipment yourself in order to stray from the pistes. Here’s a checklist to get you started:

Skis

Look for something relatively lightweight, between 80 to 100mm under foot. We recommend the Dynafit Manaslu Women Ski.

Splitboard

You can buy a Voile kit and make one yourself from an old board if you’re a DIY kinda gal. Alternatively, the Jones Women’s Solution is at the other end of the spectrum. Their splitboards are the best on the market.

Ski Boots

There’s a huge variety of alpine touring boots available, depending on whether you want to focus more on the downhill or the uphill. Take a look at weight and walk modes.

Ski Bindings

Again there is a big choice here. Those that ski more like downhill bindings will be heavier (like Marker Duke or Salomon Guardians)

As the technology moves forward, the tech bindings, like those originally from Dynafit, and many other brands like Tyrolia or Diamir, are creating bindings that are just as good downhill as they are uphill.

It just depends how much you want to spend.

Splitboard Bindings

There are several options from Voile, Dynafit, Spark R&D or Karakoram, all of which integrate a slider piece into the base of the binding, which gives a solid board feel for the descent.

Poles

Check out adjustable ones that you can shrink to fit on a backpack .

Skins

Make sure you get skins cut to cover the whole base of the skis/board but leave the edges uncovered for better grip.

Backpack

Find a pack around 30 litres with sturdy straps to attach skis/board if hiking. We like this Women’s Pro II from Dakine.

Transceiver

Look for digital, don’t just reach for the cheapest one on the market. Your life is worth spending some money on.

Shovel

Find one with a metal spade and a retractable handle.

Probe

Avoid short and flimsy looking probes.