Efficient Skinning on the Flats

Skinning efficiency on flat and rolling terrain keeps you better rested for bigger ascents and descents later in the day. A how to for onward and upward and across those flats…efficiently.

Allow me a digression into the realm of loop upon loops of kilometers and timed performances. No. Not skimo. Sort of a close relative — the sharp end of the 2018 Olympic women’s 30k classic. Norway’s Marit Bjørgen won. She crushed. Covering the event, I recall standing on a gentle hill rising out of the main stadium. The air drifting in from the Gobi Desert was cold and dry and carrying enough of a bite to incentivize the racers to get it all over with. None were more motivated than Bjørgen. On another level altogether was her pace and technique.

Well into the race, her form was “stacked”. Her torso bent slightly forward. Her hips, knees, and ankles aligned over the kickzone: the portion of a classic ski layered with kick wax (or fish scales if you lean that way). Her momentum and metronomic stride carry her unrelentingly forward. It’s worth noting again: On another level.