Recently – as we had huge amounts of snow in Switzerland – I spent a lot of time in the mountains. But what to take on a Skitour? Gear is quite heavy, and there is only so much space in a backpack. My go to backpack for most of the days out is the Shimoda Action X50. It is quite a large pack, but with the rolltop it is very easy to compress the space you do not need. For the camera and lens I usually do with one body and two lenses: 24-70mm and 70-200mm.

A telezoom lens like the 70-200 (and if needed the 2x converter) give the reach to capture action sports without having to get too close. I use the 24-70mm lens mostly for landscape pictures, or shots where I want to demonstrate the vastness of the mountains.

Having the possibilty to go down to 24mm also helps on ridgelines or peaks, where you can not just make a step back to get more into your frame.

As in every other outdoors environment the safety of your gear is key! The weather up in the mountains is not always sunny and dry, so bring enough protection for your camera and lenses. I use a hip-pack for my camera to stow it away when I am not shooting. Also think of your fingers: I always carry three pairs of gloves, so that i can always warm my hands.

As an addition to this setup I mostly carry a GoPro with a head and pole mount and my DJI mini 2 drone with me. The use of the drone can be very tricky though, as the wind is usually quite strong in the mountains.

I will be doing an extended video on this topic soon, to dive into the details a bit further. If you have any suggestions for that video, or a question that you would like to get answered, please let me know in the comments or on my social media!