Climbing Skins

So what are climbing skins? They are synthetic "skins" that you put on the bottom of your XC, BC, telemark, or AT skis to climb hills. It's much easier than using a herringbone or a sidestep. It also allows you to climb very steep terrain - steeper than you could do with a herringbone or sidestep. They used to be made from animal fur which allowed the ski to glide forward but not backward. Today they are typically nylon or neoprene. Both stick well, Nylon is strongly preferred as it provides some glide in a forward direction. Neoprene sticks better but with no glide at all.

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