Show me some skin(s)

The clouds this morning were orange and pink as I warmed up the car at 6:45. It only lasted a few moments as the sun slowly rose over Baldy Mountain and bathed the town and ski resort of Breckenridge in a warm, soft yellow light. The temperature was comfortably in the teens without a hint of wind as Andy and I began our skin up Peak 8 this morning.

This season Andy and myself indulged in the latest and greatest alpine touring gear. With new (and very expensive) alpine touring bindings securely mounted to our fat skis, we are able to switch between traditional alpine mode for ripping down the slopes and touring mode, which releases the heels allowing us to slowly climb up these very same slopes with the appropriate application of climbing skins. The climbing skins are a synthetic mimicry of real animal skins sporting very fine hairs all pointing in one direction allowing, when applied to the bottom of a ski, one to walk straight up a snow-covered slope without slipping back down.Thus far this season we have had very few days as beautiful as this morning. Our typical morning hike up the mountain has taken place with a biting wind, blowing snow, and a gray cloudy sky. I even hiked up in my The North Face Redpoint Optimus Jacket one morning with the hood up and was still cold. Today was not the case. Wearing only a base layer, a 100 gram Polartec Aurora Quarter Zip fleece, and an the extraordinarily breathable Apex Elixir Jacket, I was still working up a pretty good sweat by the time we reached our morning destination, the Vista Haus at the top of the Colorado Superchair. Andy didn't even complain once about his hands being cold.After removing our skins, we decided to bomb the groomed blue-black Spruce back to the truck. By the time I reached the bottom of the slope there was a smile plastered across my face from ear to ear. I was grinning like an eight year-old boy who'd just summited the enormous mound of dirt in the construction site behind his house. Starting the day off with a skin up the mountain has become for me what a strong cup of coffee is for others. It wakes me up. It makes me happy. It prepares me for the usually long day ahead. For anyone who wants to join, we will probably be heading up again Friday morning. Plan to be moving by 7:30. Stop by www.breckgear.com or visit us in person at The North Face Store on Main Street in Breckenridge to get outfitted in the best gear for your skin. It's on sale too!