Skinning

Splitboarding is different and more efficient than snowshoeing because instead of lifting your feet with each step you slide them forwards, pole-planting with the opposite hand to maintain balance, enabling you to go further with each step and with less effort. If you’re lifting half a splitboard and binding with each step you’ll be goosed by the time you reach the top. Getting a good gliding motion is essential.

Make sure your bindings have no forward lean whilst skinning, or if they have the option engage negative lean. This will allow you to go further with each step. Neil is using Spark R&D Splitboard Bindings, which all come with this feature.

“If you’re lifting half a splitboard and binding with each step you’ll be goosed by the time you reach the top. Getting a good gliding motion is essential”

The trick is to push forwards without pushing down, aiming to leave two even lines in the snow behind you instead of V-shaped steps. After a few metres it’ll start to feel natural, once it does you should try and keep a constant rhythm. Don’t start rushing straight away, pace yourself and try and keep your heart rate low to avoid burning out too quickly. A wise man once said, “save your energy to get radical on the way down.”

If you find yourself getting tired, try focusing on taking longer strides – you’ll end up taking fewer steps to reach your destination. If you like to wear your pants with a bit of sag it’s surprising how much difference doing your belt up a little higher makes!

Risers

When you get to an incline you can flip out the heel risers on your bindings so that your feet are still level, but your skis are perpendicular to the slope. You’ll have to start lifting your legs to climb, but it’s important to maintain that same glide, sliding your skis up the gradient rather than stepping.

The instinct is to go straight up a slope, but once it gets too steep – around 20-30° – your skins will quickly lose grip and start sliding backwards. It’s pretty scary when this happens, so it’s always best to anticipate it and make a zigzagging line up steeper bits. If you’re in a busy touring spot you’ll probably see an existing skin track or two – it’s a good idea to follow these. To get around the corners, though, you’ll need to be able to kickturn…

Kickturns

To begin with, turning on flats and shallow inclines can be done by just shuffling around one foot after the other, but when you need to make sharp corners whilst criss-crossing up steeper slopes, kickturning is the way forward. It’s best practised on the flat first so that you’re not trying to learn something tricky in a precarious position.

First, take a step or two past the corner itself, this means you end up stepping backwards onto the new line, giving yourself more room to swing your skis around. Start by putting your weight on your downhill foot and make sure you’re secure. Lift up your other foot, then extend your leg out in front of you so that your ski becomes vertical. Keeping your balance and trying to keep it from dragging in the snow, swing this leg around and place it down so that you end up looking uphill with your feet facing in different directions, poles planted behind each foot.

“This is an admittedly tricky position to be in, especially if you’re used to having both feet strapped to the same board”

This is an admittedly tricky position to be in, especially if you’re used to having both feet strapped to the same board, so quickly and securely transfer your weight to the new uphill ski. Lift your back foot up and away from you and keeping the tail of the ski from snagging on the snow (or your planted ski or pole), swing it round to end up with both feet next to each other, weight evenly distributed. Make sure you learn it for turning both left and right!

Ride For Tomorrow

Ignorance is far from bliss when it comes to splitboarding in the backcountry. There are endless complexities and variables that can change over the course of a season, a day, or even in a matter of minutes with big consequences.

Building awareness and an ability to read the environment and snow conditions only comes with time in the mountains. It takes years of experience to acquire the knowledge required to safely venture off-piste. It is essential to go with a guide if there is insufficient experience in your group.