In this blog, I am going to talk about the three most common mistakes Skiers and Snowboarders make when putting on touring skins in the backcountry. Malfunctioning of skins in the backcountry is one of your worst nightmares and is best avoided. Learn how you can avoid making these mistakes.
THREE COMMON MISTAKES WHEN PUTTING SKINS ON?
1) Transition Area: Choosing an unsafe area for transition and in the shade. The Skis or Snowboard facing down in the snow for a long time
2) Snow, Ice, Wet base: If you have snow, ice or a wet base the skins will stick for a short while but after a certain time they will come off and be unusable.
3) Skins over the edge: When skins are placed over the edge of the ski or snowboard you won’t be able to grip uphill and snow will get between the base and the skins. This will make the skins unusable.
HOW TO CORRECT THEM?
1) Transition area: When transitioning your equipment to uphill make sure you choose a safe area away from any avalanche dangers and ideally in the sun. Lie your skis or snowboard up facing the sky on the ground. This will allow the bases to warm up. Therefore the skins will stick on easily.
2) Snow, Ice, Wet Base: Make sure that the bases are dry and aware of snow, ice and moisture. Use a cloth, buff to dry the base and make sure that they are dirt-free and clean.
3) Skins over the edge: When putting touring skins on make sure that you can see the edges of the skis or snowboard.
To see exactly how to avoid these mistakes click on the video below. At the end of this video, I have also shared with you a top-secret of mine.
FREEFLO specializes in progressive on and off-piste ski instruction, backcountry ski touring and women-specific ski courses. We offer personal British ski instruction for skiers of all abilities. Our primary objective is helping competent skiers to improve their technique on and off-piste and in the backcountry. Our intuitive coach approach will help you to progress, have fun and enjoy the full freedom of the mountains in a safe and confident manner.
Since I have launched the Ski Touring Kickstarter course, I’ve had lots of questions and interest and in this blog, I will hopefully answer all your questions: 1. Is the Ski Touring Kickstarter an online course or an on-mountain course? Well, it is both, The Kickstarter program is in place to help answer many of […]
Find out more
Ski touring for the first time or when you are a beginner can often be very daunting and overwhelming. After 24 years of ski teaching and leading in the mountains I have learnt that “Preparation is everything!…. To make sure that I have a good and safe day in the mountains, I prepare for success!” […]
Find out more MY STORY BEHIND THE SKI TOURING KICKSTARTER COURSE: Three years ago in 2018, I had the idea of creating an online course to share my passion for ski touring and my 22 years of experience of skiing coaching and adventures in the backcountry. The following winter was disastrous as in January 2019 a skier skied […]
Find out more
Sign up to the Freeflo Newsletter for a chance to win a free online coaching session.