Skin talk

Cross-country ski tips: techniques for climbing

By Rosemary Burbank

When backcountry skiers progress to moderate skiing ability, they become interested in skinning up for those steeper, prolonged uphill climbs. Using skins does not preclude using wax. The use of skins is another arrow in the quiver of climbing techniques that includes the herringbone, sidestep, traverse, and kick turn, as well as more aggressive wax. Wax on the ski will not interfere with the glue used on the skins.

Here are a few tips for the use of skins:

1. Skins and wax can complement each other. There is no need to struggle on a short moderate uphill stretch because it’s “not worth” putting skins on skis you didn’t wax. Place a light-to-moderate coat of wax on your skis, and you will limit your uphill frustrations;

2. If your skins have a metal clip at the tail that tends to slide sideways off the ski, apply small nubbins of Shoe Goo to the top of the ski on either side of the clip;

3. If your skins are gathering snow or not gliding smoothly, apply a light coat of skin wax to the hairs of the skin;

4. It sometimes takes a super-human effort to peel skins apart before applying them to the ski. If you find this is hard, try rolling each skin onto itself to form a ball;

5. Make your skins accessible. Sew a couple of webbing strips with Velcro to each end of the skin case and attach it to the outside of your pack;

6. If you have a pair of older skins that you wish to use on different-length skis, keep the length of the skins long and flip the end over the tail to secure it to the top of the ski. Apply some wide “sticky” Velcro to the glue side at the end of the skin and also to the top of the tail of the ski. This will keep the excess skin from flapping loose as you are skiing. This also allows you to remove your skins without taking off your skis;

7. Always dry out your skins at the end of the day before repacking them for the next trip; and

8. Label your skins and your skin bag with your name and phone number using a laundry marker. On a hut trip, this makes it easier to identify your skins among fifteen other pairs on the drying rack.

With a little effort, you can take care of your skins, and they will take good care of you. P