From 1975 to 1984, Skinner spent time during the summer months as a mountaineer in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In 1983, he traveled to Mt. Ararat in Turkey with American astronaut James Irwin in search of Noah’s Ark. Irwin served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing, and was the eighth person to walk on the Moon. Skinner and Irwin maintained a close friendship until Irwin’s death in 1991.