De-Ice Your Skins

It’s happened to everyone in the backcountry: You get snow and ice on your skins’ glue and they won’t stick to your skis. Next time that happens, stick your ski tail-first into the snow. Then grab your iced-up skin, one end in each hand. Wrap it around your upright ski and rake the glue side back and forth across your plank (1). You can also de-ice without the ski. Take a knee, grab your skin as above, and drag the glue back and forth across your shin (2). Make sure you’re wearing waterproof pants and not jeans.