Caring for Your Climbing Skins
Backcountry Guide
Caring for Your Climbing Skins
Touring advice from the shop on the Mountain Road in Stowe, Vermont
Skins are the engine of every touring day, and on steep Vermont skin tracks you need them working well. A few simple habits will keep them gripping, gliding and sticking for years.
Protect the glue
The glue is what holds your skins on, and dirt, pine needles and snow are its worst enemies. Fold your skins glue to glue, or use the savers they came with, every time you take them off. Keep them out of the snow at transitions as much as you can.
Dry them slowly
After a tour, hang your skins at room temperature, away from wood stoves, radiators and heaters. Direct heat damages both the glue and the plush.
Wax the plush
Skin wax keeps snow from sticking and balling up, and it helps your skins glide. Around here that matters. A cold January morning and a warm spring afternoon are two very different skin tracks, and wet snow loves to cake onto skins as temperatures climb. Rub on a coat before you head out. Find skin wax in ski tuning and wax.
Store them for summer
At the end of the season, put your skins away with their savers in a cool, dry place. Hot cars and attics are where good skins go to die.
Gear from this post
Know when to replace them
If your skins will not stay on, or the plush has worn thin, it is time for a new pair. Browse climbing skins and we will cut them to fit. While you are in, ask about a tune and wax. Healthy bases help skins stick better too.
MountainOps Outdoor Gear
Questions about touring around Stowe? Stop by the Big Red Barn at 4081 Mountain Road or call (802) 253-4531.
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