At the top of the final ascent, the change over from skinning to skiing is unique. Rather than two consecutive single-skin rips, racers can save a lot of time by double-ripping both skins and then just stuffing the sticky mess into their suit.

At the bottom of each descent, a skimo racer must switch from downhill skiing to uphill skinning and do it in less than a minute to be competitive. This "ski-to-skin" transition is a key skill in skimo racing. Mastering it is a must. Doing it in less than 30 seconds

At the top of each climb, a skimo racer must switch from uphill skinning to downhill skiing and do it in less than 30 seconds to be competitive. The "skin-to-ski" transition is a key skill in skimo racing. Mastering it is a must.