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My First Ever Skinning Experience

Mike Rogers

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These are the skins I bought:

Black Diamond GlideLite Mohair Mix STS Skins feature an optimal blend of mohair and nylon with an updated BD Icon print. With a highly supple, packable design that's 60 g (2.1 oz) lighter than similar models of our Ascension skins, these skins bring the efficiency in any conditions. Our patented STS tail system provides up to 10 cm of adjustability and our adjustable tip attachment fits a wide range of ski tips.
  • Mix of 65% mohair and 35% nylon with updated BD Icon print.

163719_GlideLite-Mohair-mix-sts-140mm_web.jpg


I did get them stuck back on themselves in a few spots, I didn't dare fold it in half and stick together. I am a newbie wimp, I am sure I will get the hang of it with a little experience. I was kind of expecting cross country ski like glide, these feel more like snow shoes to me. I bet the snow texture, temp, ect... make a difference. I also was in gently sloping terrain. I really need to get these in the woods or on a resort slope to get a true experience.


Those should have okay glide, but nothing like cross country. The fatter the skis, the worse the glide though....especially if you are going wall to wall. The 108s aren't huge, but that is still a lot of carpet.
 
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ScottB

ScottB

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I just watched some Youtube skinning video's. From what I saw there is zero glide (in xcountry context). I see now that you just want to be able to slide your ski forward without lifting if off the snow. In my first trial, I was kind of clomping around like snow shoes. I was able to make a skin track for a short distance and I did practice sliding the skin without lifting it, trying to get the feel for the minimum amount of lift to get the ski to slide forward. I think I understand the basics and look forward to my next step, which will be an actual climb up something small and then ski back down.

My brother has snowmobiles in the Conway NH area, I have scoped out some glade areas where skinning is allowed that we can ride to and then make a few skin runs up and down. I will do something smaller and safer before I attempt "skin mobiling". If I was a purist, I would skin over to the glades, well something to work up to anyway.
 

Ken_R

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I just watched some Youtube skinning video's. From what I saw there is zero glide (in xcountry context). I see now that you just want to be able to slide your ski forward without lifting if off the snow. In my first trial, I was kind of clomping around like snow shoes. I was able to make a skin track for a short distance and I did practice sliding the skin without lifting it, trying to get the feel for the minimum amount of lift to get the ski to slide forward. I think I understand the basics and look forward to my next step, which will be an actual climb up something small and then ski back down.

My brother has snowmobiles in the Conway NH area, I have scoped out some glade areas where skinning is allowed that we can ride to and then make a few skin runs up and down. I will do something smaller and safer before I attempt "skin mobiling". If I was a purist, I would skin over to the glades, well something to work up to anyway.

You do "glide" on slight downhills, takes some getting used to. Yes, you want to just slide the ski forward. Like walking dragging your feet.
 

sparty

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My #1 suggestion: Attach the skins to the skis BEFORE you go outside, unless you really really want to practice transitions. It just saves time and aggravation. Although in my case, it does add a good amount of dog fur.
Just be aware that, at least in theory, this is good for neither the skin glue nor the ski base. The warmer the skins, the more sticky they are; applying in a warm environment results in more adhesion, which is potentially bad for both base condition and glue longevity.

With that said, between dealing with applying skins in the cold and wind and applying them in the kitchen, mine are going on in the kitchen. It has the side benefit of being able to minimize the time at the car in the lot, which is important because the dog doesn't have skins to apply, nor skis to put on, and he wants to go as soon as we park.

There's a few good videos on YouTube on skinning, including kick turns and the skin-to-ski transition; if you add 'AMGA' to your search, you can pick up a bunch of good advice. I like , for example; a few other points I've adopted:
  1. Work from head to toe at the top. Helmet on, jacket zipped, pants zipped, boots buckled and in ski mode, bindings to ski mode—toes unlocked, heels locked—and then skins off, downhill ski first. Skins stowed (jacket or pack), poles ready, the put the axe away (if applicable). Helmet on first is a particularly good thing if you're above exposure.
  2. As noted above, skins off after bindings are in ski mode, as walk mode disables the brakes.
  3. Also as noted above, having a routine helps avoiding skipping a step. If the terrain allows for it, make a few turns on mellow terrain before dropping into anything gnarly to double-check that you're 100% ready to go (like boots into ski mode...not that I've ever skied a couloir in walk mode). Not usually a big deal on most East Coast terrain, but if you get into real alpine terrain (Presidentials, Chic Chocs, or out west), it's nice to have the transition be automatic so you don't have to use mental bandwidth that could be otherwise allocated to the terrain you're about to ski.
 

Monique

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Just be aware that, at least in theory, this is good for neither the skin glue nor the ski base. The warmer the skins, the more sticky they are; applying in a warm environment results in more adhesion, which is potentially bad for both base condition and glue longevity.

Thanks! I didn't realize this. Maybe a pro tip for when the skins are covered in dog hair and need a little extra oomph ;-)
 

Lauren

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I like the skin savers. I use half ones on each skin. They help me to manage the skin during both transitions. They save my shoulders.

I use skin savers for transitions too...I'm either weak or have the stickiest skins around, it's a huge pain to pull them apart from themselves.
 

jmeb

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I use skin savers for transitions too...I'm either weak or have the stickiest skins around, it's a huge pain to pull them apart from themselves.

Some glues are harder than others. And wide skins are significantly harder than skinny skins. Some companies are working on this: G3 has a "rip strip" -- i.e. a piece of plastic over the glue in the center. You can leave it on to make skins easier to pull apart, or remove it for extra stickiness.

Contours "Hybrid" glue is also a solution to this problem.
 

Slim

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Just be aware that, at least in theory, this is good for neither the skin glue nor the ski base. The warmer the skins, the more sticky they are; applying in a warm environment results in more adhesion, which is potentially bad for both base condition and glue longevity.
Are you sure about that being bad?
Warm glue is stickier, yes. Pulling warm skins apart(without cheat sheets) might pull (some)glue off the skin, but pulling it off a ski? Especially, even if you put it on in a warm house, by the time you rip the skin, both it and the base will be just as cold as if you had applied them in the parking lot.

Plus, it’s recommend you store the skins somewhere cool, not hot, so I store mine in my shop, which in winter is less than 50F. Even if I apply them in a 68F room, the glue will still be ~50F.
 

Analisa

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It can definitely leave glue on your bases. Popping them inside, applying the skins, and taking them back out again one thing. But even during spring tours where temps get up to 60-80 degrees for a short period of time, my bases need a little bit of touchup work before the storage wax goes on. And it's only a matter of time before you or a touring partner leaves skis with skins on in a Thule box on a sunny day. Those poor skis endured a lot of solvents.
 

BoofHead

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My first skinning experience was a few years ago now. I went out on a guided day trip in Japan.
Tough day. I had heavy resort jacket and pants, was on Liberty Genomes (over 150mm underfoot), Alpine boots in frame bindings with one of them having a broken riser. Slept very well that night.
I now have sonme decent light weight gear which makes all the difference.
As far as skins go,i’m using Contour hybrid split skins. I can use on my Mantras when in Oz/Nz
/NA and on my fatties when in Japan.
https://www.camp-usa.com/outdoor/product/brands/contour-skins/contour-hybrid-free-split-skin/
I find them relatively easy to manage, they are light, and less bulky than standard type skins. If using standard type skins it would be a great idea to have one of these in your pack as a one size fits all backup.
 

jmeb

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I can imagine the google search results for the words "spread the legs" and "skin" ....

looking forward to the video......

Ms Dyer read my mind and dropped this video. She only uses it for the bit of the separation, but you can simply repeat same thing a few times from the start to separate the whole skin.

 

Monique

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Ms Dyer read my mind and dropped this video. She only uses it for the bit of the separation, but you can simply repeat same thing a few times from the start to separate the whole skin.


That's super cool.
 
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ScottB

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I have now officially had my second skinning experience, or more accurately my first "resort" experience. Like SurfSnow Girl, I wanted to try skinning up a resort slope to see what it was like. I figured the safety factor was a lot higher compared to going out into the woods as I climb the learning curve.(punn intended) I skinned up a 800 ft slope at Sunday River, ME. It was under the Little White Cap Quad. It was a blue trail that wasn't groomed and had several knolls that I had to climb. It got steep enough on one knoll I was concerned about the grip walking straight up. I decided to side step for about 15 feet and use my edges. That was a mistake, with a loose heel, side stepping doesn't work to good. Well lesson learned. I did a few kick turns to get up it after trying side stepping in vain for a few minutes.

Everything worked pretty well, including me. I was surprised a little bit after doing it. It was easier aerobically than I expected (I went pretty slow and took a break as needed) but it was a lot harder or more strenuous on my leg muscles than I expected. Lack of leg strength or stamina was my limit, as opposed to lack of wind. I am sure if I went faster, the wind would have been limiting. I used the riser on my shift binding almost the whole way up. It did make it a lot easier on the reasonable pitch. When I got to the top it took me a long time to get into downhill mode, but I was wearing a backpack and put on several layers and new gloves for the ski down. The skin application part was better than my first try, I watched some Youtube and did much better.

The one question I have is how much should you lift your ski to get it to slide. If I left it on the snow, there was a lot of friction to overcome to make it slide forward. I felt like I took all my weight off the ski, but the skin didn't want to slide easy. I would then add some lifting motion to the ski and it would eventually slide forward pretty easy. I felt like I was lifting more than I should to get it to slide. I never once slipped backwards, so my wall to wall skins have plenty of grip for sure. I assume with practice I will develop a feel for how to minimize the lift to get good slide. Again my skins are brand new, so they might need some use to smooth out. I also wonder if the snow conditions make a difference. I was in packed powder with heavy moisture content. It was pretty sticky snow in general. The whole time skinning I was mentally asking, should I put the muscle effort into sliding the ski on the snow, or should I put the muscle effort into lifting the ski so it will slide very easy. I tended to favor lifting to get easy slide.

I am used to cross country and once you unweight your ski, there is no friction that has to be overcome to slide the ski, they slide effortlessly. The skins are a different beast and even unweighted, mine don't slide without some force to drag them forward.
 
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Analisa

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The one question I have is how much should you lift your ski to get it to slide.

Ideally, not at all, but snow quality can definitely make it harder or easier. Breaking trail in deep, sticky powder provides is a much harder workout than your friends who are following up behind you.

But you're not alone as a newer skinner having some lift in your stride (super common). I think it happens since newer skinners focus on the part of their stride where they're pushing the ski in front of them where it's harder to get the ski to push forward and strides are pretty short.

Compared to a wider stride like below (this guy's stride is almost exaggerated), in order for him to transfer weight to his front foot, his hips need to travel forward, his back heel will lift, the back ski will start to slide forward and the stride is initiated pretty easily. Likewise, as he straightens is front leg, his back leg will slide forward even more. Once the back leg is moving, use some power to bring it together and ride that momentum out as you kick it forward.

upflow-4a.jpg
 
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ScottB

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Analisa,

Thanks for the reply. It helped. I did a skin today up another small ski area near me. It was much colder, with cold packed snow. The skins slid much more easily today and I felt pretty good just "dragging" them forward from the toe of my rear foot. I would say I got the no lift stride working today. I could actually get about 6 inches of glide on my front foot if I got a good push off. I think I was kind of spacey today. I took off uphill with my boots fully buckled. Real quick realized something didn't feel right. Loosened my top 2 buckles and shin strap and off again. When I hit the uphill, it still didn't feel right, so I checked and I forgot to release the boot into walk mode. Finally it felt really good and I could relax and enjoy the scenery.
 

SBrown

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Analisa,

Thanks for the reply. It helped. I did a skin today up another small ski area near me. It was much colder, with cold packed snow. The skins slid much more easily today and I felt pretty good just "dragging" them forward from the toe of my rear foot. I would say I got the no lift stride working today. I could actually get about 6 inches of glide on my front foot if I got a good push off. I think I was kind of spacey today. I took off uphill with my boots fully buckled. Real quick realized something didn't feel right. Loosened my top 2 buckles and shin strap and off again. When I hit the uphill, it still didn't feel right, so I checked and I forgot to release the boot into walk mode. Finally it felt really good and I could relax and enjoy the scenery.

I did an entire tour (not a long one, but...) in ski mode the other day. It was kind of a choppy skin (lots of climbing bar adjustments), so I didn't notice anything until I was transitioning. Whoops. I just thought it was the skin track. Still better than skiing in walk mode, though. My feet were kinda sore the next day.

(My excuse is that the day began with a short downhill, then a short snowmobile tow, so I was all buttoned up because of that.)
 

Ken_R

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I did an entire tour (not a long one, but...) in ski mode the other day. It was kind of a choppy skin (lots of climbing bar adjustments), so I didn't notice anything until I was transitioning. Whoops. I just thought it was the skin track. Still better than skiing in walk mode, though. My feet were kinda sore the next day.

(My excuse is that the day began with a short downhill, then a short snowmobile tow, so I was all buttoned up because of that.)

:eek::eek::eek: :doh:
 
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BoofHead

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Very high winds forced the lifts shut so MissBoof decided to have a go at some uphilling. Not too far, she was in my 30.5 boots.
Sahoro, Hokkaido.
DC86231B-70B3-43B2-93BA-53DDACB87930.jpeg
 

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