Better start training!

You are going to have to be faster then them so when it is time for them to transition you are already done.

KM pretty much nailed it.

First, show up at the trailhead ready to go. Board split, poles extended, I even put my skins on at home. Leave you jacket in the bag as cold as you are at the trailhead your going to be sweating balls in 10 minutes. Drink up before you get started as well then you can save your next drink for the first transition or at the top. Drinking constantly, fueling etc., super important try not to let other dictate when that happens but if you get a bit of it done at the bottom you can save some of it for the top.

Gear matters. Light is right if you want to go long and strong. If your rich, a HB set-up could be good for the crowd it sounds like your touring with. Of course you will have to be super fit. I haven’t been very good about this lately but, lunges, step-ups, etc with a weighted pack along with my cardio workouts plus don’t get in the habit when your by yourself to go slow, keep a good pace and push hard in those moments and it pays off big time later. I would add that skinning technique such as kick turns, traverses, etc. can be just as important as any of the above gear or fitness. Like others said split skiing, etc. I use kickturns to go down hill just as much as I do to go uphill, it’s super efficient. Keep your poles long.

Anyways that was just to add to what others have said. Nothing better than passing skiers on the up track. Sounds like you got into a good group of dudes to be around. I personally don’t care much for riding with skiers they see the mountain different than us shredders but if you do have to be around em better to have some dudes who know snow and respect mountains. Take care.

Good info here. Thanks!

@summersgone wrote:

I don’t always pass skiers on the skin track, but when I do, they are tele skiers.

It is never good to be behind a group of smelly tele’s 😳

Drop 3000 vert in one shot and see how long it takes skiers to meet you at the bottom. (30 seconds on a transition hardly stacks up)

Sorry if I repeat what others said above but here is how I try to do it.

Step one be more fit then them, I do have one group that is hard to keep up with but for the most part being in good physical shape keeps me in the front of the pack.

Step 2 show up to the trail head dialed

Step three, ski the split sooner rather than later, and be comfortable making turn in chopped up snow. I often go into ski mode once I am at the bottom of the run.

Step 4 shred with other splitboarders.

Step 5 Bring one token skier for cutting tracks through flats, a second skier is not necessary.

does this really matter? any skier that bitches about not wanting to wait for you to take 1-2 extra minutes at the top is a douche bag. tell them to chill the fuck out and enjoy the scenery. if they had to wait 2 minutes for you at 5 transitions that is only 10minutes added on to their day. I highly doubt that is going to ruin their day or amount of laps they can do. I have done a handful of skimos races and when competing against a group of skiers in the same fitness level as me I find that I pass a lot of them on the up or at least keep up, fly by them on the down, and lose a little at the transitions. when you add it all up I find that the times are about the same between us.

the only time I can see an issue with this is when you are with a super fast group that is going to be 5-10 minutes ahead of you anyway. or if you are in a larger group with varying speeds and you end up being last, then the leader can end up waiting for you for a while. really I find that wait times are based more on the speed that you skin at and not the transition. if you keep up with the group you can transition before your skier friend can tell if his gopro is on or not.