Plan your ski tour with the Münter method — the Swiss guides' standard for estimating touring times from distance and vertical.
When I'm planning a ski tour, this is the calculation I reach for. It's the Münter method — the timing system Swiss guides have trusted for decades — and I find it strikes the right balance: simple enough to run from a map in minutes, accurate enough to plan a mountain day around. I've turned my own planning spreadsheet into the calculator below so you can use it too. It's free — plug in your route, add sensible margins, and enjoy the mountains. Plan conservatively: the mountain doesn't care what the spreadsheet says.
— Tess
Enter each leg of your tour: horizontal distance, metres of ascent and metres of descent. Add legs as you need them.
The Münter method counts effort in units: 1 km of horizontal distance = 1 unit, 100 m of vertical = 1 unit. You travel at roughly 4 units/hour ascending, 10 units/hour on ski descents, and 6 units/hour on the flat. Breaks are added per full hour of movement, plus time for skins-on/skins-off transitions. Developed by legendary Swiss guide Werner Münter, it's the standard timing tool of alpine guiding — but it's guidance, not gospel: snow conditions, group fitness and avalanche decisions always come first.