Building Strength, Reducing Pain
By Hilary McCloy, PT, DPT
Backcountry skiers love to talk about how they have “earned their turns,” which means that they have skinned up the mountain on their own power. There is a heightened appreciation of each turn as you ski down, which is part of the appeal. But the hard part is that you are essentially hiking up a mountain before skiing down, so your body can get pretty tired before you get to enjoy the sweet turns.
Skinning uphill on skis is very similar to hiking with poles. You are sliding your boot and ski forward up the hill on the snow, then shifting your weight onto the uphill foot; your hip and knee straightens and your body follows. Your hands and arms are moving like they would when we walk; if your left leg is swinging forward then your right arm is moving forward reciprocally. The use of poles will help push the body up the hill if you are using your arms intentionally.
On any given day, a skier skinning may have different goals for their uphill effort—possibly a relaxed skin or a harder effort to increase pace on the uphill. Either objective requires the same movement pattern as we hike up the mountain on our skis with the body working against gravity.
As a physical therapist and avid backcountry skier, I often hear people commenting on aches and pains from skinning uphill at work and on the hill. A few common areas of pain are the front of the hip and upper thigh, knee, and lower back, and sometimes feet cramp up or become painful. A few specific exercises are great for strengthening muscles that you want to be strong when you are skinning to reduce the chance of pain. And you should get a performance benefit as well.
Andrew Drummond photos
CALVES/FEET
The Thriller
The soleus muscle that shares the Achilles tendon does a lot of work when you are skinning downhill and as you climb.
How to Perform:
Stand barefoot, bend your knees and then lift your heels off the ground while keeping the knees bent. Holding weights in your hands will add more challenge.
Suggested reps: 3 x 15
CORE/HIP FLEXORS
Marching Hip Flexors
The front of the hip is where two big muscles work hard to bend your hip forward, the psoas and rectus femoris (quad). When we are skinning, we have boots, bindings, skis, and skins attached to our feet, so it can be quite a bit of weight to move forward and uphill. These two muscles can often get quickly overworked, resulting in intense pain in the front of the hip. By strengthening the muscles and teaching the body to brace the core at the same time, then we can offload the work into the hip flexor muscles.
How to Perform:
Lie on your back, place the looped band around your feet. Then lift your legs up into the air so that your thighs are perpendicular to the ground and lower legs parallel to the ground. Brace your core, breathe, and then press one leg forward to a straight position while the leg stays in place. The key for the core is to not let the pelvis move forward/back arch because you are engaging the core to resist this. Then alternate the leg movement in a slow, controlled movement.
Suggested reps: 3 x 12 marches alternating
SHOULDER/UPPER BODY
Nordic Arms
The upper body and arms can give us more assistance than we realize when trying to move uphill. If you plant your pole with your right hand, as you shift your weight into the left leg AND engage your core; then you are connecting the power from the arm to the rest of your body through the engaged core.
How to Perform:
Using a long band that is anchored from above, hold onto the ends with your hands, bend your knees slightly, and hinge your trunk forward from the hips. Brace your core while you pull down with your arms. A variation would be to alternate arms.
Suggested reps: 3 x 45-60 seconds
GLUTES/QUADS
Weighted Step-Ups
As you slide your foot forward up the hill and shift your weight into that foot, you want to consciously stand up through that front leg by using your glutes and an activated core. By focusing on using the uphill leg to lift you, the leg behind you will pull up through with less stress on the front of the hip.
How to Perform:
Use a tall step or chair that is safe to stand on, place your left foot on the step, hold a weight in the right hand. Shift your weight onto the left leg and stand up on the step while bringing the right knee up to pause. Bring the right foot back down and repeat.
Suggested reps: 2 x 15 each leg
This article can be found in the printed winter 2024/25 edition of Mt Washington Valley Vibe.
Hilary McCloy, PT, DPT lives and works in Jackson, NH. Hilary owns a physical therapy business that was inspired by working with the MWV’s active community and her own outdoor pursuits of ultra and mountain running, backcountry skiing, and mountain biking. It is her passion to help others be pain free in their activities as well as teach and instill the strength and function needed to thrive in movement.
Learn more at www.hilarymccloy.com about PT services and her online Ski and Run conditioning classes.
