The switch from climbing mode to riding mode at the summit. With a drilled routine, experienced riders are done in 60 to 90 seconds — unpractised, it costs many times that.
The transition is where splitboarders freeze and lose time at the summit — and the real risk isn't fatigue from the climb, it's getting cold. The typical mistake is the order that feels natural: skins off first, board assembled next, insulated jacket last. By then your fingers are numb. Keep a fixed chain instead — insulated jacket on first, then skins off and folded glue-to-glue into the jacket, then board assembled and bindings flipped. Drill the sequence at home on the carpet until it works in the dark. What often gets missed: the binding system sets the floor. With Karakoram, where the binding stays on the board and only flips over, practised riders finish in 60 to 90 seconds; Spark R&D takes marginally longer but is simpler and more durable.