In this report I would like to cover the basics of three
topics, waxing for glide, waxing for kick and glide, and the
care and use of skins.
Waxing For Glide
..This is the basic wax job
that we do all the time. We start by cleaning the ski bases completely.
This is done by scraping as much of the old wax and dirt off
as possible and then using a citrus solvent on an old rag to
remove the rest. You can buy citrus solvent from the ski shop
for about ten dollars for four or so ounces in a convenient aerosol
can (great for the wax bag), or you can buy it at the hardware
store for about five dollars for a quart or more. After I use
the citrus solvent, I wipe down the ski with plain alcohol on
another rag, then I let the bases dry for about an hour or so
and then the fun begins.
..Use an alpine wax suitable
for the conditions you expect, I use a universal hot wax in the
winter and a wet snow wax in the late spring. Heat up your iron
to a medium heat, you don't want the wax to get too hot and smoke
a lot, it will break down properties of the wax, and the smoke
is not good for you( make sure you have good ventilation). Melt
a generous amount of the wax onto the base as shown.
..Now use your iron to spread
the wax around and smooth it out. Use both a circular motion
and an up and down stroke. Take the time to work it in, about
five or six minutes should do it, the heat from the iron opens
the pores of the ski base and works the wax in. After you have
done this, let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes and then scrape the
ski down, removing the excess wax. The wax that you scrape off
would come off quickly while skiing anyway, the wax that lasts
is the coat that was accepted into the pores of the heated base,
so you might as well scrape it smooth. Usually a couple of firm
passes with the scraper does the job, use a plastic scraper or
if you use a metal scraper, make sure that it is wide enough
to extend to the metal edges of the ski. Quality wax is expensive,
so I scrape it into a box, and re-use it, as long as the base
was clean and you did not burn the wax you can do this too.
..If you have done the above
in a timely manner, the base is still somewhat warm and that
makes the next step, the corking, easier. Use a cork block to
smooth out and polish the wax, you can skip this step but I think
it gives the base a nice finishing touch. Racers will want to
structure the base and wax, but for BC and area telemark skiing
this is all you need to do.
Waxing For Kick
..I know backcountry skiers
who never use kick wax, they skin everywhere and actually debate
the merits of wax vs. skins. This is ridiculous, there is nothing
to debate: in certain conditions and terrain, wax is not just
the preferred way to go it is the only way! Done right, you can
get the grip of skins on the uphill and barely notice it on the
downhill. Unlike skins you can actually get a nice glide after
the kick. Wax is great on mixed terrain, one of my favorite local
spots has a 3,000 vertical foot drop, but a few spots where you
must climb to get to the next downhill, ideal for kick wax. Another
great time to use wax is when pitch skiing, sometimes we will
head out, find a nice slope and do laps, it is great not to have
to take the skins off and on after each set of turns.
..We use kick wax whenever
we have fresh, cold snow. Green is about as cold as we ever get,
we use a lot of blue and blue extra and sometimes we apply a
bit of purple. We never use anything softer then regular purple,
if the snow is that warm we break out the skins. We don't want
sticky wax holding us up on the descent.
The above photo depicts the limited contents of my wax
bag, I carry (in soft to hard order) purple, blue extra, blue,
blue special and green. In colder places than where I ski you
may want to carry green extra, or something even harder. I also
carry a small scraper, citrus solvent, a rag and a couple packs
of Zardoz Not-Wax.
..Use the temperatures on
the outside of the wax can as a guide, Nordic racers have this
down to a science, measuring the temperature of the snow to get
the right wax. This is really not necessary for our purposes.
If you are not sure which color to use on a given morning( Green
or Blue, Blue or Blue extra, etc.) start with the harder wax.
It is easier to put on softer wax over a harder wax. If you start
with the softer wax and the snow sticks and the bases ice up,
you have no choice but to stop and scrape it off. Sometimes you
even have to break out the citrus solvent, a real hassle on the
trail, so err on the side of too hard. Also, a too soft wax can
really mess up an otherwise nice descent and you don't want that
to happen, right? Repeat: start with the harder wax, if you are
not getting enough grip, stop and rub on some softer stuff.
..As for applying kick wax,
rub on a bunch from tip to tail, forget that "wax
pocket" bit, unless your on some old double camber horror
story skis, you don't have a wax pocket. If you don't put enough
on the tips and tails you won't get enough grip. I stress using
the hardest possible wax because we really goop it on (above
photo) and we don't smooth it out. It smooths out on the trail.
I have tried ironing in the kick wax, it decreases the grip and
is not worth the trouble. I am sure you Nordic folks out there
think this is a crude approach ( it is) but for touring for turns,
it works great.
Some Random Thoughts: Some people put all their
wax cans and all the stuff in the wax bag in separate zip-lock
bags to keep the mess factor down. I tried it and it was too
much trouble for me, I never put the cans back and I had bags
all over the place. Be careful when rubbing on the wax, on cold
mornings at the trail head, it is easy to slip and the edges
of your skis can really produce a nasty cut ( I have a nice scar
to prove this). If you try to put on kick wax over a fresh coat
of Zardoz you will find it almost impossible, it just skips along
the base no matter how hard you press down and rub. Speaking
of Zardoz, I carry some in my bag for those times on the trail
when I have guessed wrong or the conditions have changed and
my wax is sticking excessively, when I get out to the downhill,
I scrape, then rub on some Zardoz over the stuff I can't scrape
off easily. You may have to adjust some of your wax techniques
for the area you ski in but remember start hard!
Skin Use and Care
..Skins are a backcountry
skier's best friend! They allow you to kick up amazingly steep
pitches easily, especially with climbing bales. Stick with nylon
adhesive types or mohair ( I have heard various claims regarding
nylon vs. mohair, I have owned both and if there is a difference
in performance I can't tell you what it is ). I think that most
of the skins out there now are nylon with the hot-melt type of
adhesive that works so well in cold temperatures. Ascension skins
come with a little tool to allow you to trim the waist area of
the skin for use on narrow waist sidecut skis. This allows you
to use a wider skin for the tips and tails. You want the skins
to be at least a couple of mm's narrower then then the narrowest
spot on your skis so that the edges are not covered.
..Treat your skins with TLC
and they will see you through a lot of use, neglect them and
they can be toast in a single season or less. Always stick the
skins together, glue side to glue side when taking them off.
Don't let skins drag on the ground and pick up dirt and twigs
and such. Dry them carefully at room temperature after a trip,
do not store them wet. Also, store skins in a cool spot at home,
heat is an enemy of hot-melt glue, so be careful leaving them
in a closed up car as well. Don't worry about putting your skins
on kick waxed skis, I have never seen or heard of wax hurting
them. Klister might be a problem but you are not using that stuff,
are you?
..When putting on your skins,
start from the tip with standard skins, and from the tail with
the Euro-tip type. Some skiers swear by the Euro-tip they feel
that it gives them an extra edge as the skin glue ages, but I
have seen the "bungee" part break, a difficult fix
in the field. The regular tip works fine, just don't try to leave
the skin long and loop the extra over the tail onto the top deck
of the ski. This does not work, the glue gets contaminated and
the skin comes unstuck. Cut the skin about 1 inch short of the
end of the tail and it will hold like mad. If you want to be
able to use the skins on a longer pair of skis, leave extra length
looped back through the tip part as shown below on the left.
 |
Left: A standard tip
Right: A Euro-tip |
 |
..If you have problems on
the trail with snow sticking to your skins, use a commercial
preparation such as Glop-Stopper, or just rub on some green kick
wax from your bag. I have heard that plain candle wax works for
this too.
..When removing skins, stick
them together as I said and fold them carefully. Fold the skins
the same way every time, and always put them in the bag before
putting them in your pack.
More Info On Skins
Skins are expensive so you really want to take good care
of them as outlined above. Some telemarkers have tried to save
money by buying the inexpensive Voile Snake Skins, a plastic,
strap on kind of skin. My advice is to not waste your money here,
save it towards buying a quality pair of skins, you will end
up doing that anyway.
There has been some talk of the color of the skins helping
in the drying process. Dark colored skins are said to dry faster
because they absorb more radiation. Of course this would be true
but in practical use I don't think it matters one bit. I have
owned black skins (Montanas), dark red ones (Ramers), white ones
(Pomocas) and the pretty blue skins that I now use (Ascension)
and never noticed any difference here. I guess I just don't spend
that much time on top of the mountain before skiing down that
it makes enough of a difference to worry about. I think this
was something someone thought up somewhere sitting behind a computer,
published it and now it is becoming part of tele legend. Probably
the same guy who wrote about "over-drying" ( would
that be in that old "earn your turns " mag?).
As mentioned above, the hot-melt glue on modern skins is
very sensitive to heat. If you leave them in a car in the sun
with the windows rolled up you will substantially decrease the
glue life. When I leave them in the car and I think it is going
to get hot, I put them in the trunk and wrap them in a blanket
or sweatshirt or something. Again, as I wrote above always store
them in a cool place, I have been known to store mine in the
refrigerator over the summer (my wife loves that!).
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