Do your feet make noise?
Move safely and efficiently in steep terrain by changing how you walk. Learn why “quiet feet” reduce wasted energy, improve balance, and prevent dangerous slips.
Topic
Technique
A collection of 11 issues
Why Transitions Matter ☝️
Do them well, and skimo transitions will be an insignificant portion of your race. Do them poorly, and you'll lose to that guy you can't stand.
How to practice 🎹
Speed doesn't come from doing everything faster. It comes from not doing things that don't matter.
Entering a transition zone 🛬
Regardless of the transition type, approaching a transition zone has a handful of common actions.
Skin to Ski: Single Rips❗
At the top of each climb, a skimo racer must switch from uphill skinning to downhill skiing and do it in less than 30 seconds to be competitive.
Skin to Ski: Double Rip ‼️
After the final ascent, the change from skinning to skiing is unique. Instead of two single-skin rips, it's much faster to double-rip both skins and stuff the sticky mess in your suit.
Skin to Boot 🥾
Bootpacks are too steep to skin, so racers must switch from skinning to booting. With practice, a bootpack transition can be done in a few seconds.
Boot to Skin 🦿
Bootpack sections, especially in the sprint event, often end with more skinning. Transitioning from booting to skinning is the shortest transition and often only takes a few seconds.
Ski to Skin 🦿
At the bottom of each climb, a skimo racer must switch from uphill skinning to uphill skinning and do it in less than 60 seconds to be competitive.