How long does it take to skin to the summit?

[NYSnowflake]

I am curious about skinning to the summit of mountains in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. How long does it take and how many runs can you get in in a day? It seems like it would be fun to get a great workout in and also be able to ski anywhere you want without having to pay for a lift ticket!

Also is there any truth to the rumor that some mountains will give you a token for one free chairlift ride to the top after you skin up?

 

[Jilly]

Watch that "not pay for a lift ticket". Most places that offer uphill access also ask for a uphill acces ticket. Otherwise you are trespassing on their property.

 

[MissySki]

Here’s a recent article that has policies for uphill skiing for a bunch of New England resorts.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bo...01/07/uphill-skiing-new-england-mountains/amp

 

[SkiBam]

Watch that "not pay for a lift ticket". Most places that offer uphill access also ask for a uphill acces ticket. Otherwise you are trespassing on their property.

Yeah, at Tremblant you pay. It's not a lot but something. I asked a guy the other day how long it had taken him to skin up the Versant Soleil (not sure the vertical but I guess close to 2,000 ft) and he said just over an hour. But he was a young, strong-looking guy. I'm sure someone like myself (given my lack of speed on x-c uphills) would take twice that long.

 

[marzNC]

I am curious about skinning to the summit of mountains in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. How long does it take and how many runs can you get in in a day? It seems like it would be fun to get a great workout in and also be able to ski anywhere you want without having to pay for a lift ticket!

My impression is that people who hike up generally do it early in the morning or in the afternoon after work and only take one run down. Have seen people doing the hike on the Summer Road at Alta during late season. They are NOT trying to reach a summit.

Hiking to the top of the gondola on grass at Whiteface takes about 90 min. That's for an experienced hiker with trekking poles moving steadily. Happened to see him finish when I was with friends during fall colors. We rode the gondola up. The father likes to hike and was thinking it would be fun to walk down. Then he found out that it would take the man I talked to 45 min to more or less do a slow run or fast walk down.

 

[marymack]

So in resort, most people are doing one lap in the morning or evening as exercise. Or training for the backcountry. If you got into true back country skiing there are really nice zones being developed in NH and VT where you can spend a day doing laps. Skinning is fun, but you have to have the right mindset. It's hiking, with the bonus of getting to ski down. Its not "going skiing". Magic mountain does the hike one-ride one deal. https://magicmtn.com/uphill/ . Bolton Valley does if you buy an uphill season pass it comes with I think 6 one ride tickets loaded on it. Some places are still free, like Black Mountain. Some charge. All have various policies about when you can (any time, before operations, only during operating hours or more specific like you can ski this area of the mountain at this time), what trails to take uphill and what you are allowed to ski down (some restrict to just the trail you went up). And then cost, some are free, some require a full day pass (shocking!) And some require a fee of $10-20. When people complain about fees remember that you are using the snow that they spent thousands of dollars making and grooming. The mountains that charge a nominal fee also are satisfying their lawyers by making you a paying customer that has essentially signed off on a wavier so they are covered if anything happens. Here is a good compilation of policies: https://backcountrymagazine.com/uphill-travel-guide-resort-skinning-policies/

 

[marymack]

How long it takes is entirely dependent on your physical condition, the slope of the trail and how far you are going. I Will say I was very pleasantly surprised at the pace I could keep and level of exertion I felt. Skins are pretty darn cool! As a very rough estimate, the few times I did Bolton valley it took about 45min-hour. Brandon Gap (a backcountry zone in VT takes about 40 min to skin up for each lap.

 

[marymack]

Also, the motion isn't like Nordic skiing. It's more of a forward shuffle. Not herringbone. Most bindings also have heel risers which flip under your heels for when you are going up a steeper section. The heel risers make it so you aren't overextending your calf muscles and make it much easier to go uphill.

Also keep in mind, my uphill and backcountry experience is all restricted to New England...out west a single run might take most of the day.

 

[MissySki]

So in resort, most people are doing one lap in the morning or evening as exercise. Or training for the backcountry. If you got into true back country skiing there are really nice zones being developed in NH and VT where you can spend a day doing laps. Skinning is fun, but you have to have the right mindset. It's hiking, with the bonus of getting to ski down. Its not "going skiing". Magic mountain does the hike one-ride one deal. https://magicmtn.com/uphill/ . Bolton Valley does if you buy an uphill season pass it comes with I think 6 one ride tickets loaded on it. Some places are still free, like Black Mountain. Some charge. All have various policies about when you can (any time, before operations, only during operating hours or more specific like you can ski this area of the mountain at this time), what trails to take uphill and what you are allowed to ski down (some restrict to just the trail you went up). And then cost, some are free, some require a full day pass (shocking!) And some require a fee of $10-20. When people complain about fees remember that you are using the snow that they spent thousands of dollars making and grooming. The mountains that charge a nominal fee also are satisfying their lawyers by making you a paying customer that has essentially signed off on a wavier so they are covered if anything happens. Here is a good compilation of policies: https://backcountrymagazine.com/uphill-travel-guide-resort-skinning-policies/

I’ve been seeing so much about backcountry spots in VT, but not NH and ME so much. Do you have a recommended resource for keeping up on the NH developments you mentioned?

 

[marymack]

I’ve been seeing so much about backcountry spots in VT, but not NH and ME so much. Do you have a recommended resource for keeping up on the NH developments you mentioned?

NH: Granite State Backcountry Alliance: https://granitebackcountryalliance.org/ , also Black Mountain of NH has "ski the whites" right in their base lodge. I had a day downhill skiing there where I swear there were more people skinning then riding the lifts! https://www.blackmt.com/ Also Cardigan AMC lodge: https://www.outdoors.org/lodging-camping/lodges/cardigan (more detail about the skiing: https://outdoors.dartmouth.edu/activities/backcountryskiing/trips/cardigan.html)
ME: Black Mountain of Maine Angry Beavers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BMOMbeavers/
VT: RASTA https://www.rastavt.org/ and https://catamounttrail.org/ and Bolton Valley: https://www.boltonvalley.com/winter/activities/backcountry-skiing-splitboarding/