What Goes Up…

I was greeted at the Basin around 5:30 pm by an empty parking lot. My strategy was to be under-the-radar but not flat out sneaky. I parked off to the side in the lot, got into my Scarpa Hurricanes and carried my skinned-up S7’s right past the Ski Patrol building to the base of Ramrod, one of the two groomed runs open. I started up. After about 10 minutes, I was drenched with sweat. Fifteen minutes in, my hip flexors and hamstrings started to inquire in a somewhat surprised and irritated fashion, “What, exactly, I was doing?” As for the cardio aspect: I was completely out of breath from the get-go. Skinning is a full-body workout and requires maximum cardio output. I was outside at more than 10,000 feet with a fading sun and a brisk and constant wind, wearing only a base-layer and a windbreaker. I was never cold the way up.

That first time it took me 40 minutes to get to the top of the open run at A-Basin. I had the mountain all to myself, save the Snowcat grooming the park halfway up the run. The snow was soft from the groomer going over it after the last of the skiers had departed, and the solitude made me feel like I was in the woods, despite a 20-minute lift-line two hours earlier.

I took my skins off at the deserted Black Mountain Lodge right at sunset and sat in the snow in silence, watching the colors dribble away behind the peaks in the dusk. I managed to ski down with some light left in the sky, and that was a great, if not short, run. There is something to be said about flying down a trail in the dark, not having to worry about other people or patches of ice, relying on how your skis feel beneath you and seeing only the smearing of the lights below and the silhouettes of the trees you’re whizzing by.

Since my maiden voyage at A-Basin, I’ve made skinning the resorts a regular part of my workout and have learned some things along the way.

First of all, skinning in the morning is nice because you can get some of the sunrise, and as you ascend the weather only gets warmer and the visibility gets better. If you go early enough, you don’t have to worry about first-chair crowds. Sadly, due to the drought, the runs in the morning have almost always been pretty hard packed and icy corduroy, whereas the runs at night, though more blind, are a lot softer because they haven’t had time to freeze. Also most mountains actually offer uphill access; however, check the website to see what’s open and if you have to get a complimentary uphill pass. So, if you want to skin up and the place you’re going doesn’t offer uphill access or it’s closed, some people would simply advise making sure you go early or late enough when no one is there. Warning: Ski patrol will care.

Which brings me to my last point. Be prudent and be safe. While you don’t have to worry about avalanches or getting lost or injured with no one around for miles, ski patrol will have a problem with people going uphill when the mountain’s not open for it. Snowcats, other skiers and snowmobiles cannot see you. Wear a headlamp, and stay to the sides of the trail.

The cats have enough lights to illuminate a small country; thus, you will know when one is coming, so get the hell out of the way. If you’re skiing at night, bring some sort of clear lens if you need to protect your eyes from wind on the way down, because visibility is bad. And bring an extra layer because at night it’s only going to get colder. In the morning, I would recommend using officially open resorts for uphill access. Keystone is open, and checking Loveland, A-Basin, Winter Park and Eldora will let you know which one is open. Unless you plan on going at 4 am, someone will be there setting up for the day. Getting your pass suspended is not worth it when there are resorts that let you do it.

My last tip: mix it up. Follow the weather and go at night a few times, even though it’s cold, and even though it’s hard to see. A night run during a full moon is a treat in and of itself, even if you have to pizza/French fry half the way down, and watching the sunrise as you skin up the frontside of an awakening resort is an amazing way to start the day, and worth getting your butt out of bed at an ungodly hour.