Backcountry skiing is mostly uphill. Sure, untracked bowls of powder lure us in, but we spend most of the time getting there. Why then is skinning uphill so difficult? Take Tincan, for example, Anchorage’s favorite backcountry slope, with its short access, a variety of terrain, but a skin track that often feels vertical and lubed with WD-40.

Skinning shouldn’t be agonizing. Skinning is about taking the safest, fastest and most energy efficient route to the top. A well-set skin track flows through the terrain, avoiding hazards and maximizing elevation gain with minimal effort. A proper skin track pulls you up the mountain while you’re chatting with friends or just vegging out. When you arrive at the top, you’ll be thinking, “I could do that five more times!”

Sniffing out a good skin track route is equally hard as finding the best line to rip down. As track setter your goal is to read the terrain and find a route that will gain elevation at a constant angle by uphill contouring, climbing mellow ridges, and avoiding abrupt changes that require precarious kick turns.

The major player in the ease of skinning is track steepness. A skin track that’s too steep will have you slipping, swearing and sweating like a hog. On the other hand, a too-shallow track will never get you up the mountain. I gravitate toward a 13-degree track angle, using the middle heel risers. Thirteen degrees is not a golden number, just my number, although most mountain guides use a similar angle. Get an inclinometer like Backcountry Access’s Slope Meter and tune your track angle skills.

The track setter's duty is to make a trail for everyone, not just your skin-the-steepest rival. Sometimes, though, the safest, fastest, and most efficient route is a steep skin track using stiletto heel risers. One example is skinning up through forest with short steep sections to get above trees. Another example is a tight ridgeline or up a gully, which isn’t wide enough for a winding low-angle trail. (For an incredible example of necessary steep skinning see Andrew McLean’s Thunder Mountain Skin). Also, think of a 25-degree frozen slope in spring where going up diagonal is impossible without ski crampons.

Kick turns make vegging-out on the ascent hard. Your pacing, breathing, and heart rate all get blipped. Avoid kick turns by looking ahead for low angle benches to make rounded, walking turns. These rounded turns create a sinuous trail that flows up the hill. You may have to climb a bit steeper to get to that shelf, but try to avoid the dreaded kick turn.

Good track setters have five-inch zmaddlis. According to IFMGA mountain guide Freddy Grossniklaus, a zmaddli is that standing piece of snow between your ski tracks. Whatever you call it, make sure yours is a five-incher. Think about the track laid by a classic Nordic grooming device – that’s the width you want. Breaking a five-inch zmaddli trail feels like you’re a bowlegged John Wayne, but each passing skinner will break down the zmaddli and the tracks will merge. Setting a track without zmaddli will cause your skis to clack together. Clacking skis is like wearing moon boots and not very relaxing.

If an existing track is too steep or too icy then don’t hesitate to cut a new track or don ski crampons. Also beware of spring mornings with frozen snow and impossible track setting. On a camping trip you can beat the system by cutting a skin track the evening before, so the track is frozen and ready in the morning.

Setting a safe, efficient and speedy track is a true art. Be proud of your skin track. It is your signature on the snow, just like your descent tracks. You’ve mastered track setting when you look back and see your amigos daydreaming about Ugg boot beauties, and only stopping to get out their zmaddli calipers.

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