Tag: skinning
How to Skin Argenta
… in 3,246 not so easy steps. I think I enjoy skinning up Argenta almost as much as skiing down as it’s a fun challenge and a very efficient way to gain vertical. With the track shown below, I start out with no climbing pegs, immediately go to high peg, stay that way for a [...]
Working the Skin Pocket
In XC/Nordic skiing, the term \”wax pocket\” denotes a certain zone on the ski where applying wax is going to give you the optimal blend of both grip and glide. A similar concept applies to climbing skins, although the \”skin pocket\” is fixed as you can\’t adjust it fore/aft each day like you can by [...]
Skinning the Sliver
Between warm temps, rain, sun, fog, flat light and crazy winds, it is getting hard to find good quality snow in the Wasatch lately. Thinking that The Sliver in upper Hogum Fork was probably no worse than anywhere else, we made the long trek in just for the hell of it the other day.
Keep\’er Steeper Skinning
The other day I was out skiing with a woman I didn\’t know very well and she mentioned something about \”macho assholes who set steep skin tracks.\” Good thing it wasn\’t a first date as she was most likely talking about me. I love steep skin tracks in the same way that I love steep, [...]
Skinning Over Timber
I tend to do a lot of skinning over timber. Why, I\’m not sure as it is not really that much fun, but I suppose it is better than traversing way around a fallen tree, then backtracking. Timber skinning is especially common early in the season or when it is a low snow year, such [...]
Steep Skinning – Mindset
Having the right mindset is almost as important as the right gear and technique when it comes to steep skinning. You have to be into it. I was out touring with a friend from Switzerland in the Wasatch Mountains a few years ago and he refused to follow any of the existing skin tracks, which [...]
Steep Skinning – Technique
The technique for steep skinning is just the opposite of skiing, which makes sense as you are going up, not down. One of the harder things to get the hang of is the idea of leaning back, not forward. Because touring bindings have a pivoting toe, it is hard, if not impossible to pressure the tip [...]
Steep Skinning – Gear Adjustment
You don\’t need any special gear to lay down a steep skin track, but there are a few adjustments you can make to your existing set-up which will help. Heel lifters are absolutely essential and should be turned to their highest setting. Don\’t be bashful. Certified guides dislike heel lifters for their clients as they are [...]
Steep Skinning – Part 1
Spring is here and the time is right for skinning in your top pegs. I don\’t go out of my way to always pick the steepest skin line possible, but there are times, actually, a lot of times, where a steep skin track angle is much safer, faster and more efficient. Few things in backcountry skiing [...]
Winning the Uphill Battle – Part III
Efficient ascents are a blend of pacing, route finding, technique and equipment. Like rolling a ball uphill, your approach to skinning should vary according to conditions and terrain, but the underlying idea is to find the most expedient way possible, while not losing any ground. Skinning isn\’t always about mellow 12 degree shuffling. The fastest way [...]
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