fredag 28. februar 2014

Langrennteknikk, youtube og løven....

Youtube er ikke helt stappa med langrennsteknikks videor men det er nok å tygge på. Alt fra nåtidens tiklbake til langrenns siste stor deltakelses bølge fra 80 tallet til og med Dæhlie perioden. De er da iallefall basert på den moderne stil av diagonalgang, staking og fraspark og ikke den gammel med lange utstrekket ermer og bøyet rygg.

De fleste av disse videoene er veldig fokuserte på en perfeksjonering av en atletisk stil for klassisk langrenn. Det er både avanserte og enkel; både lettvindt og hardt arbeid. Det virker som om det er en nøkkel som låser opp døren til en idretts-riktig fremgangsmåte.  Det er en toppidrettsmodel fremstilte av tidliger utøvere.

Fra kun det skulle man oppfylle personlig tilfredstillelse, energiøkonomisk og kudosrik erkjennelse ute på eller i skisporene. Er det elitist ?

Jeg mener det er litt feil stilte for dem som meg som har sine begrensinger med hvor intense kardiotrening kan være og hva kroppen tåler av de litt unaturlige beveglser som den klassiske stilen i langrenn innebære.

Er det ikke da en halvveis punkt hvor vi av litt mindre krefter og evner i balanse blant annet, skal kunne utnyttes langrennsteknikk som er mindre krevende?

Det største forskjellen mellom meg og de jeg treffer i sporene som er vesentlig raskere enn meg er at de bruker trenings eller racing ski, gjerne Fischer her på sørlandet.  De som er saktere har enten en dårlig gående, skilende stil eller den gammeldags bøyet stil, av hvem noen er litt raskere enn meg av og til.

I uken har vi hatt altfor tidlig "påskeføre" som er slittendes på selv et godt par lag klister. I forrige uke hadde vi veldig harde føre og da plutselig våte føre med litt sludd i sporene. Før det hadde vi en blanding og før det igjen det første snøen og dermed grunnlaget for sesongen var pudder snø i bøtte og spann. Hele sesongen har vært da ikke ideelt for en som vil rekonstuere sin klassisk teknikken.

Jeg føler at jeg prøve å løpe før jeg kan gå fordi uten gode, sikre føre og pålitelig feste er det vanskelig å få rytm og et riktig bildet av hva som går greit eller gal. Særlig med vekt overgang og fraspark, og at stavene til og med forsvinner ned i bakken tett ved siden av sporene en gang hver par hundre meter er ikke for det beste.

Over tid har jeg beveget mitt klæsskap og utryrsbu mot litt mer avanserte produkter. Stavene er i kullfibre, skuldre høy og med sånn børrelås festehansker. Voks er blitt flour blandet og dyrere. Skibokser er blitt det som det franske landslaget trener i fra OW. Støvler er nå veldig fancy alpina combis. Som den gjerrig Skotte jeg er, har jeg kun kjøpt etter røvertilvud!

Men den desiderte beste treningstur jeg har hatt i året var på et par smørefrie loppemarked ski med mine gamle støvler som verker helt prehistoriske nå. Skiene var egentlig ikke hundre lapp: vi fikk tre par ski til det ved avsluttning av kirkens årlige boss og søppel salg.  Et par kortere alloy staver var tatt med: en kjøp for både familietur og for å eksperimentere

Fraspark var med "spikerfeste", jeg neste ikke en gang skle i den skuffende saks liknende bevegelsen som medføre litt vondt eller småskader til lårene og skrittet. Glid var en annen sak, greit nok for trenings formålet. Nedoverbaken var det der sålemønstre sugendas av mye av gleden då. Staking var behagelig men litt begrenset.

Men fire runder av min vanlige treningsrute var gjennomførte, som var før i tiden ganske slittsom med et par på mine "gode" fischer med riktig smøring. Selv på den tredje runden øvet jeg veldig på " step turning" og fant at sköyteteknikken var mer økonomisk på slappe motbakker og det samme for noen utforkjøringer. Støvlene var gjennomblaute, pusten var tungt ved slutten. Men fornøyelsen var tilstedsvarende, og 3 timer gikk fort og da var " i beinene" for mulige fjelltur osv utover resten av vinteren.

Senere i uken da var det en usikkkert værevarsle og jeg bestemt å komme meg ut uansett. Fire pluss grader og skodde. Men regn skulle være lett hvis det kom og vindet like så.

Med klister lagt på med litt tid og innsats kom jeg meg ut og varmet opp sakte. Men jeg fant ikke rytm. Fraspark var lite grann upålitelig. Glid var knall god men litt uforutsigbar og det også ødelagt en del av rytm og førte til et par fall. Støvlene behøvde adjustering tre ganger. Skøyteteknikken var vanskeligere enn det var for to dager før, egentlig ikke behagelig. Tre runder ble litt kjedelige til slutt og var nok.

Så dermed hadde gamleski som er litt for korte og mangler nok spenn for min store kroppsvekt, med urgamle støvle, for korte staver en anbefalte og smørefrie mønstre gitt meg det største fremgangen i sesongen 2014.

Det som jeg ser og oppfatter nå er at det kan være en middelsvei som inneholder økonomisk gang, kardiotrening, turgleden og ikke minst at det passes til billige eller litt gammel utstyr.

Selv mosjonist nivå er noe ganske høyt oppfattet i Norge. Jeg leser for øyeblikket Dag Otto Lauritzens bok "kom i form" og han mener han er en mosjonist, med tom 8 timers trening hver uke utenom tour-de-france tid. Altså hva må man oppnå da for å bli godkjent som mosjonist og ikke bare en litt tullete manfolk i middelalden? Dag Otto berge oss litt med "lyktestolpe" teknikken hvor man bygge opp kondisjon i små doser , løping og gagn mellom stolpene og gjerne flere stolper etter hvert.

Mine fire runder da på smørfrie var da et gjennombrudd av vilje og innsats de siste fem uker. Farten mens i sporene var 9km i time. Pauser var det men de var bare sjappe, ikke noe smørebehov !

Då er min neste eksperiment å se om treningski er bedre for en mer lettvindt stil. Dermed er det også slikt at jeg kan slå sammen kjöp av gode kvalitets treningsski med smørfrie ved å få Atomic Skintec.

Men en stil som er lettvindt for en som vil kanskje ikke svette så mye for 9km i timen og som da trenger fære pauser er det neste variabel i ekvasjonen eller biten av puslespillet som jeg vil gjerne sett i gang med.

Er det slikt at kortere staver og en kortere skrit er en bedre tilpassning for en mosjonist eller er det slikt at fokus på teknikken skal kunne føre til en liten gjennombrudd? Skal man bruke pulseklokke ? Skulle man gjerne variere trenings innhold, tempo og tidspunkt ? Hvor mange interval sesjoner skulle man ta per uke, hvor lenge skulle de vare og når skal de introduseres til en mer beskjeden 10 ukers plan?

Jeg får da et delvis svar fra å ha hatt bra feste en dag ovenfor alle, med smørefrie. Staver er litt ut på juryrommet. Glid kan ikke helt glemmes, men så lenge at det er da forutsigtbart.

Så ved enten riktig smøring,  gjerne litt oversmøring, er det mulig å få et treningsøkt som er utfordrende nok på kondisjon og teknikk uten at det gir høyeste mulige utbytte i km/time. Hvis man får tilgang til høyfjellsløyper eller en god ostafjells vinter da kan man jobbe på fart og utvider de ekstra fremgående centimeter i glid og den litt bedre sammenspill med festevoks i sonen. Men hvis man har forholdene som vi pleier å få under 450 moh her på sørlandet og man er under det som jeg taler om nå, en ny nybeggyner, gjenfødsel hvis man vil, da er det best med litt forsiktig gang med "overfeste" og korte trinn. Ta en prøve tur med dagens voks og hvis det er litt plagsom da ta en tur tilbake til bilen og hent ut de smørefrieski fra kirkens loppemarkedet.

tirsdag 25. februar 2014

Proving My Point About Ski Equipment

Well this year I was   all set to go out and buy some skintecs from atomic new and a second hand skoyte-pakke in expectation of a long winter with some thawing, refreezing and new snow in cycles. Alas no. Also I did not get a new contract and am still out of work, with the sleet and rain washing away all the sub 500m snow. All that shovelling of almost 2m perfect snowfall lead to nothing.

Well actually no! I was averaging about 3-4 hours a week skiing xc last year and this year i am up to 5-7hrs. This is despite the bad weather. If you can pick and choose your days or hours between rain and storms,  and chase new snow fall then you can get in good two to three hour sessions and it isnt as bloody cold to breathe. The dampness does add a bit of nasty clingy condensation and it conducts away heat though.

So my main issue though has been clister this year and i am fed up. I use a ski bag to keep things tidy and it is just a big outside in flypaper now. Good ol" klister has given me  a good few runs but it has both given up and worse, become super claddy and gripping. Uneven conditions, hard, soft, wet, corned and new snow to be had on the same run.

So today i conceded and started out with my jumble sale waxless   ( loppemarked smørefrie) which necessitates using my mow ancient alpina light tourimg boots to fit the prehistoric rottefeller binding .

Finally this year i got predictable feste or kick grip.glide was not bad seemingly at firts, and i found it was ideal for practicing weight transfer and rythm. Spikerfeste , nailed. However downhill showed the weakness of having waxless whirring and skis which are only fitted by length having probably been bound togetherhard at the bindings for yeatrs.

Being happy though with diagoknal on even slight downhills and little chance for effective staking with poles i took the whole thing as a challenge and a fitness day. A bit like riding a bike with those spoke attached wind resistor paddles.

My ususal training run is a ten minute drive. It is a typical forrest access road following the path of least resistance having broken the wilds up sa fish bone besieged couple of hundred ,eterame  meters. Most chosing to do circuits turn upon return to the top of this  section. 'It undulates and has nothing more than about one in twelve gradients, with a cool little turning circle at the end with a log to sit on in the lee of a giant boulder.

Fitness and technique ways i had a blast today clocking up around about 25km on heavy wet snow more akin to april and easter than the usual silkeføre silky conditions so typical of the feb mar over gang.

I also decided to practice step turning and found i had to pole to keep speed on it was ome of those Robert Koch days when some stretches on slack up and down hill were faster scating on kicking skis.

All the pensioners i met today bar a couple ofnreal oldies in theier seventies , had sports or racing skis on. Most of them were faster but most were doing one or two circuits. I had set my mind to four, beating my previous total by one. This was though on snow which sucked all the real speed out so in fact compared to harder or proper blue silky conditions, then it was liking doing six or more, guessing the effort of my goal of 40km runs.

My bootas soaked through, i got utterly exhausted but i had the most productive training day this season on a pair of skis from the churchnroof jumble sale, we got three pairs for 100kr. Kind of puts 5000kr skintecs and 2600 kr combui boots into perspective!

mandag 24. februar 2014

Winter Olympic Close and a Spoilt Nation Grumble

Norway has been spoilt before for male medals, yet now it was the turn for the womens star performance.

I got a late app-beep from my Sochi 2014 android app which reminded me to flick on the womens 30km. There were the girls, and I though " hey they are warming up as a team, how cool the cameras are following them" before I realised they were winning by a country mile!

Despite the medal count being higher than the USA and Canada or any other northern climes country bar Russia, Norwegians seem to feel a little cheated by their earlier kings not getting much glory in both the Biathalon and the skiing alone.

There was no god given right to win, and there was a crisis in confidence at least in the waxing of both classic skis and skating skis, and maybe the choice of ski pre-bend for the days when both diplomatic answers and outright anger were shown.

Petter Northug has not on form, he was coughing and had a cold if you didnt quite notice. Sunby didn't have it in him versus three russians team-time trialling and on a big ego boost in the sprint. The male sprint and final biathalon events were poor. But other nations are strong!

Medals snowed down on Norwegian shoulders, many of which were complete surprises. That is maybe it though, the expected results in the big male events and to get an early dominance in "langrenn" were not up to scratch so there is disappointment in that Norwegians maybe feel a bit embarrassed for backing the wrong horses personally and through the medias continued belief in the sovereign powers of Northug and Bjørndalen.

Norway prove emphatically that per head of population it is the pre-eminent winter sports nation, and that is a crown which is for the forseeable two next OLs and VMs in the main ski sports.


torsdag 20. februar 2014

Smørefrie Eller Vanlige Langrennski ?

 I året her på , kunne jeg tenke meg å glemme voks og vende meg selv tilbake til smørefrie. Vi har hatt egentlig alt for mye snø på bakker som har ikke noe tele i det heletatt. Det har førte til dobelt-sidet tyning av snølaget og da gjenfrysning. Så har det vært noen dager med påskeføre og da rett og slett betong. Litt mer snø kom i uken, kanskje et par grader kaldere en kjære Herrer Gislefoss forutså og da var jeg i business. Men for en frustrasjon med klister!

Ufortjente Rykte om Smørefrie?

Det er mye negative og nedtalende prat om smørefrie på net-forumene. Men egentlig det er noen som har gjennomførte Birk'en på Fischer RCS carbon smørefrie. Faktisk de første ski jeg gikk på noensinne i 2003.

Smørefrieski får et dårlig rykte fordi de er ofte dem som er solgt til nybegynnere i de billigste skipakkene. Man får spikerfest når de er nye og nok glid for en nybegynner egentlig, liksom. Problemstillingen er at mange av disse billige skiene ikke har riktig spenn for den enkelte. Dessuten kan de miste en god del av deres spenn på en forholdsvis kort tid. Det kan skyldes like mye som misbruk som billige materialler- klemte fast sammen i et skap med spenn sygendes vekk; kraskja' i noen furu og ferdsel over grøfter osv.

Er Det Noe Med Smøring og Bare Nordmenn?

I andre land er det ikke helt slikt blant vannlige skigåere. Til-og-med mosjonister som sluker både mil og en formu i utstyr her på landet, finns mest ofte på smørefrie i Nord Amerika.

Fakta er at Nordmenn og Svensker i allefall har en del av sin stolthet og sjel i smøring. Det er både en del av magien, den ritualen, til å vurdere snøens tilstand og værevarslet og dermed å kokke opp en lur lagstruktur under sålen.

Samt det er en fin "icebreaker" - Briter snakker om været, spanioler om mat ned i byen, mens nordmenn på tur snakker om smøring. "Hva smøre du på med i dag ?" " er det klister du bruker altså?" " så du hadde litt bakkeglatt da, dårlig smørt?" Det siste er ofte med litt nedtalende tonefall.

For videregående skigåere er smøring da også et ypperlig unnskyldning for ekstra pauser på toppen. I stedet for å tenne opp og røyke, kan du hvile noen ekstra minutter ovenfor den lille dype pusten og inntaket av utsikt og erobrelsen.





Gode Ski tilpasset Evner og Ønsker

Skipakke til litt over tusen lapp plus de forferdelige billige alloy staver,  er egentlig en nødvendig forbruksvare for mange nykommere som ikke var født på ski: man skal gjerne vrake dem i ulykke og dumme tur på tynt underlag med grus og fjell som peker gjennom og skårer sålen langs og tvers det bråkete mønstret og utover glidersonen.

Men det er mest viktig for de ivrige nybegynner eller noen som skal holdet litt av "merket" på tur med kompiser, at man kjøpe ski som har riktige spenn og med støvler og staver som er behagelig og stødige. Då er vi ofte opp på to tusen kroner plus staver. Da ha du et ski som ikke vil hindre mans glid men som skal ha spiker fest så snart man kan litt om det der sammenhenget. Spark og glid.

Et annet problemstilling for de fleste smørefrieski jeg har sett er at den mønstrede delen er mye lenger enn en vanlig festesone, og det kan ikke adjusteres uten sliping.  Det betyr litt høy singende bråk i alle føre. Men det de skal utføre er å holde tak i bakken i alle forhold untatt klink is og vertikalet. Dermed er festesonen lengre enn for en variabelbart smøreski.

Jeg lurte på om noen gidder å slipe de fremste delen av mønstret på smørfrie for å kontrollere festesone innover og lar skiene glid mer ?

Men problemer med smøring er noe alle opplever, sjøl topp proffene fra landlagets smørebu har fullstendig føkke opp tre medaljer sjanser i OL i Sotsji. Skulle proffer går like bra på smørfrie da skulle de bare ha tatt sliperen på litt av fremste og bakkerste delen av mønsteret i sålen og brukte skiene som enngangs vare.

I året og forresten i dag, har det vært overgang fra blå til klister og da litt uonskelig kulde grader igjen og nysnø på toppen av klinkis. Dermed vanskelig for en to barns pappa å bestemme noe annet enn "la klisteren fra siste tur ligger på skiene, og smøre over litt mer" ( Quick Klister fra Swix i dag forresten, se engelsk blog biten fra tidligere) . Da var det kladding og litt bekymring om hvor lenge det skulle vare i stedet for fokus på teknikken og en mer gjevnt gang og rytme. Spikre feste fikk jeg, utrolig god glid fikk jeg....i blant. En litt snusing med nysnø i sporene eller en tur utenfor dem, og da var det fullt stans.

Jeg hadde i dag faktisk med meg et par loppemarked ski kjøpt til pakke pris med to til kjerringa for 100 lap (kirkens frivillige tilbod oss dem gratis slikt de skulle unngå et sjebne med gjennvinnings kontaineren). De passer bare til et par gamle støvler, men de går vet du.

Er Det Så Vanskelig Med Smøring? Hvorfor Skulle Jeg Bruke Voks da?

Vanlige, blanke sålet ski gir bedre glid punktum. Sjøl uten noe glider på den nye P tex 2000. Så er det flere utgaver av bedre kvalitetsski tilgjengilig. Dermed skal man gifte seg men Peter Northug Jr eller Thresea Norhaug (for en forferdelig tanke, gift med ho...) då er det fullt grønt lys foran deg for smøring av voks og andre dyrere saker på sålene til døden skal oss skylle.

Mot argumentet er at det finns mange mellom prisete smørfrie ofte som bestillingsvare, og at du slipper da frustrerende dager som jeg har hatt i uken ved å gi opp lite bit glid og tilsetter lite grann ille lyd fra under føtene.

Et annet synspunktet er at smøring er enklest hvis man bor nord for Oslo i de dalene mot Tronderlag eller i nærheten av høyfjellet områder som Geilo, Blefjell eller Hemsedal. Så om man bor der som sporene kjøres opp ofte og til en god standard som rundt Oslo og Kongsberg feks er den gleden av gode glidende ski uten bråk å anta som verdt den hasselen.

Utenfor de overnevnte forhold /Geografi, for deg som ny begynner eller "fun and fitness" som jeg melder meg inn,  er det ganske greit å kjøpe et bedre par smørefrie for å slipper frustrasjonen som medføres av løs snø, isete spor, manglende spor, våte slørpete sein vinter snø og som sagt dermed alt med klister å gjøre.

Sørlandet har hatt fire veldig kalde vintre som er litt uvannlig. Nå er det en vinter som 2008 - opp og ned målestokken rundt null grader, snø, slafs, regn, sol, frysing, mer snø, tyning, regnvær igjen og så videre. Vindu for trening må gripes altså et par timer å fjerne alt av klister og legge ny voks fra bunns er ikke onskelig.

Men smøring er ikke så vanskelig: det er mer om du er interessert i det og vil videre med aktiviteten som sport, treningsform eller langturs transportmidlen. Det tar tanker og tid men du får litt motivasjon fra god smøring og litt av en god unnskyldning for en dårlig dag i sporene grunnet være egentlig formen.

I utgangspunkt man trenger bare en vannlig Swix smørepakke fra en lokal butikk gjerne eller en av de G Max/ XXL superstor, Coop Obs osv til ikke mange penger. Blå er passerlig som bunnvoxs. Egentlig ved kjøp av nye ski skal du be om førstegangs glider og underlags smøring, og hvis de er ski over 1500 kr da også at litt såle handtering blir utført i tillegg.

Ski Go har en enda bedre løsning som er en pakke med en blå som er tilpasset et bredere kulde spektre en Swix sin, og en rød. De er i en rimmelig pakke som inneholder også litt sandpapir på en lite brett som er tilpasset sanding av festesonen, samt har hver smøreboks sin egen kork på bunnen! Genialt. De også har en quick glider med burste i pakke.

Mamma har desverre en Damp Pustende Stykejern.....

Det er veldig arrogant av husholdnings strykejern produsenter at de har kun fancy dampgivende produkter med hull og rare belag. Mange år siden jeg sist så en flatjern type som kunne kontrolleres for bruk under 120 grader.

Men ikke bekymre deg viderekommende smøreski eiere. Swix har et par spray produktet hvor inn løsemidler overtar jobben som varmen gjøres eller: nemlig å få voxen flyttendas og da danner et tynt lag som er integrerte til sålen.

De har en base-binder klister spray som skal kunne ta ikke bare ulike klister ovenfor, men også mykere voks fra lillac til rød. Men så har de V90 voks i boks, som er genialt. Det tar da blå og lillac rett på eller klister rett på. Og den der vare! Bare klink is, løsemidler og brann fjerne det. Då får man beholde de hele prinsipp med flerlags "laminat" som motstår en del friksjon mens det tilgir at øverste lagene slites ned uten det ødelegges bunnen slikt nye smøring med dagens voks er enkelt.

Jeg ligger merk til at dette og hurtig glider er faktisk litt treigere å utføre egentlig enn å bruke smørejern, men man kan gjøre det hvor som helst og ikke på en spesielle stativ i hagehytten som kompiser kaller "gubbes smørebu". Man må like dan vente på at det dempes vekk det løsemidler i likhet til varmen dempes ned, og då er det korking.

Så for best effekt voks- messig på toppen av dette V90 grønn bunnvoks, bruker jeg nå et lag med en v40 VR flouronerte Swix produkt (Ski Go og andre har tilsvarende). Dagens voks deretter er en pyramid fra 15cm inn fra festsone merket. Universal klister sitter pent på toppen av dette også, i både tube og spray form.

Sticky Fingers Time....

Ah, klister. Vi gleder oss til klister tid og vi fort glemmer å vaske det vekk etter påske, og det vare lengre enn både vår påske og sommers solbrunning. Ikke jeg, jeg vaske den dritten vekk med ein gong! Mine ski har en god, ren sommer og høst ferie vettu.

Klister er en veldig, veldig god grunn å kjøpe smørefrie langrennsski. Det oppfører seg ikke som en Swix Youtube demo'. Det er sprer seg som en takbar virus på usynnlige måte på ski, bindingen, støvler, staver, hunden, bilen, huset og bestemor. Feste får man nok, men ofte man har en fin samling av snø. Og det er som en ung dame, du mister tak plutselig uten forhåndsvarsel. Sliten, det forlater deg og dine såler i det man skulle opp den siste bakke eller viser din norske kjerringa at du kan runde merket med henne til pølsebua aka statoil Kvamskogen eller Geilo.

Desverre i året har universal klister ikke sin vanlig sammenheng med sol, appelsinbåter, kviklunsj, lengre dager, krim-romaner og myk plogbart snø om ettermiddag. Dvs vi er ikke ved vinterferie en gang og så er det FÆÆÆN klistertid. Det er en i seg selv en ritual avmerkering av sesongens høydepunktet og svanesang i en. Ikke i året. Nå er det et nød.

Håp! ? !

Håp danner seg nå i Atomic sine flinke FoU folk som har sett på en gammel løsning med nye geeky briller og kastet inn flere teknologier i et ski som er et gjennombrud i følge flere brukere. Atomic Skintec bruker faktisk en vel etablerte favoritt teknologi for fjellturister - en felle - som er integrerte til en festesone module som da er holdt inn ved sterke magneter i den ene versjon (den annen har det bare limte på som selges nå ved G Max sport i Norge forresten)

Bruk av mohair , eller selskin , limte til et spor i festesonen er ikke noe nytt. Men at det kan byttes ut med to versjoner er nytt. Så har Atomic også integrerte en helt ny teknologi hvor av spennet er høy til og med du gir sparken gass og da gir det seg fullstendig og lar festesonen bøye seg godt ned inntil snøen. Faktisk de ruller ut dette i topp smøreski nå også.

Det har vært på marked som en stillegående gjennombrudd på flere år nå, og er desverre ofte å finne i end-of-season-stock-clearance, som er en kupp for dem med talmådigheten til å vente kanskje 9 måneder til å få bruk for dem.

Motstand har vært en del dårlige erfaringer med glid og motstand fra fellet, og en del skeptiskskap. Det er en inertia: en stor vekt av meninger og ikke minst ritualler må rulles vekk for at den nye kan bli noe ganske stor på skibanen.

Uansett, de har flere lengder og to spenn kariktiseringer tilgjengilig nå altså watch-this-space, Skintec kommer til å bli stor blant mosjonister og som treningski til noen milslukere med lite tid til smøring og misfornøye deretter for treningsturer kl 0550!

En bekjente av meg kjøpte slikt tilbud i fjor mars, og da snødde det masse i K'sand altså!!! Heldig gris ! Han gikk bra, og er en høy polsk-norsk unge under 30 år. Jeg må låne dem.














Universal klister .....

We got fresh snow and some blue coloured numbers so with rain forecast i dived out again for a ski tour.

Having not cleaned the clister off i had the choice of melting in some red or using more Swix Quick Klister which i am experimenting with.

This time i was prepared to throw the whole can in the bin if it was messy and wore off quickly. However the universal name is deserved and the quick does function all be it with a proviso that you let the solvent evapourate and check it has become as tacky as tubed clister at room temperature.

This time i applied very sparingly, spreading it thinly towards the centre. I let it get tacky in the warm wash room and then shooted on another layer just in the binding's length.

After this i just drove out and laid them on the snow for a few minutes.

Conditions were new snow onto a hard but melting base, air -2c. The skis cladded up really comically badly on the loose snow up the first fish bone to the tram lines. After this was scraped off though there was glide to be had. And "spiker feste" ie hob nail like adhesion with a ljittle cladding when jogging up steeper sections.

The glide got better but i found that poling was not as fast as diagonal where the snow was soft at all. However diagonal was almost too good a glide like a figure skater.

The brakes were on whenever i poled on even gentle down hills, which seemed a bit bizarre but truly the compression of one ski was giving glide where two were not melting the snow enough.

The one issue i had was that clister in the whole kick wax zone was too much and when there was loose snow then there was clumping exactly where you dont want it!

So the clister was universal as the temperature range suggests. For a tour or training skier then this is easier to use than tube with spatula although not any quicker imho due to there being maybe five minutes evapouration at minus five and then another few minutes to cool off so it doesnt rip off or march backwards from the heel.

Quick Clister then: Ideal to reapply then before a thermos break or lunch at the fjellstua. No good for new snow unless it is very corned, but tracks with newly flattended snow were great. Start by not waxing the whole kick zone hust the sole with it. Quicker and cleaner to apply than a tube and of course it will remain fluid to a much lower temperature when applying. The applicator is better for fjellskis as it is wide but care can make for accpetable non messy results.

onsdag 19. februar 2014

Not born on skis, but may well die on them.....

This year in south Norway has been a big let down for xc skiing near to the coast after a run of brilliant years.

Firstly too much snow: the machine drivers are volunteers here and so they were too busy "måking" snow away from their homes and businesses to get out before there was well over a meter of powder onto a barely frozen ground.

Little chance to try out new improvements to technique and waxing when conditions were kick sucking and  pole eatingly soft. More on my experiments later.

Then it melted and froze and melted again only to be really hard. Today finally a combination of mild air followed by a cold front baring snow loosened things up, but i was confronted by more or less abandoned trails and the becks were dissolving away their ice bridges merrily. A big bald patch or two at plumb down hill turns had me finding the hard old sketchy base and my skis followed what ever scores and ruts there were to land me on my posterior.

Waxing was seemingly obvious universal clister due to a hard base with wet snow on top, and a no brainer with clister on green already on. It prove to be okay on the hard flat, with glide getting going once the initial cladding of loose snow.wore off. But up hill prove to clad up and then there ended up being more clister on the ends of the kick zone and beyond whcih destroyed glide. I reapplied with the same result.

So it was a real slugging match today which took away most of the confidence i had build up in ski control down hill. I did though get well over 2 hours done, so this could be a five hour week saved from zero after my ice rink run on the clister scraping local forrest tracks earlier this week.

My experiments today were then firstly with quick clister: spray and spread by swix. It went on thin and bubbley and the solvent took ages to leave a clister like tackyness even at room temperature. Worse out in minus one cee. Mini blow torch out and than.cured it down a bit. I reckon though that i was using way too much and that a single spray of a diameter right for one side spread as far as possible onto base binder clister or green would be worth experimenting with again, then building a pyramid towards mid sole. I ended up using a lot and employing the spatula and blow torch so what the hell, use a tube from your 100 kr kit box and avoid this product until i report back.

Secondly and more successfully: a 10cm shorter pole. I bought nice swix tapered alloy poles which are very racey looking to act as substitute the carbon racing 160s i have, which were a G Max on the spot deal in fact for them lacking alloy in my size. Carbon are long and dear to replace.

Shorter were in outset for family tours and harder conditions but also to train up on weight up and forward technique, placing the poles vertically near the tips. This i did get the feel of, and for touring with a pack then this would be a better length. Also for those uncertain days soft or rutted, pock marked hard , a shorter pole commits you less.

There seems to be a definite gap between racing style and touring casual , just waiting to be filled with tips and techniques for those who want to go faster and more efficiently without looking like peter northug wannabees.

Teaching XC skiing, Langrenn

Just to pick up on and earlier point or two, and make it into a bit of a plan for teaching beginners ........and wrong do-ers frankly, like me.

The point from before was that from outset both styles of xc skiing should be introduced. This is because i characterise correct, efficient classic technique as parallel skating ! The basic proviso being that skiers can learn 100% weight and balance committment to one leg better by doing some ski skating.

For me it was a break through to realise that there are two or three basic mistakes in classic that i make, and many many plodding tour skiers also make and perhaps stick to in defiance of being seen as fancy racing wannabees.

1) sliding and not striding.   Badly taught, i slid on skis like toddlers here do and dabbed out with my poles. I grew out of this but still have the problem like a brake pad on my efficiency. Skiing classic or skating is more a stride with an element of lunge in it on classic.

2) not pushing into the glide and holding on to it. Instead i had started kicking back and up, rather than down and across to the new leg, using the whole foot to push off and the new whole sole to land. Also i was terminating my glide too early just to fit my own proposed best rythmn.

I find that i do modulate my kick and land,  into toe-to-heel in softer conditions. In harder conditions i keep my vertical rise down. I wonder if these are even right?

3) being stiff and scared of one leg committment. This has been a b ig misconception from not being taught wellx, having people who can kind of preach the right way without being able to either see your mistakes or break down the  sub contents of the movements

4) excessive kicking and clapping the ski down

The ways i got over these problems were:

Knowing i was slow and inefficient and wanting to do something about it

Learning to off load one leg and rely on the other in various maneovres for example plough: i often found it mysteriously hard to go into plough but now i unload one ski to break parallel or get out the tracks and then the other follows or i can dab it out by unloading it too.

This is where skating comes in: step turning and lane changing are part of classic racing anyway and given a firm underbase with new snow on top you can skate pretty well on classic skis out the tramlines anyway.

Watching you tube : the weight committment to the new ski about to glide in diagonal is not until the foot is swung well forward and the knee is bent. This need not be very racey but it transforms the weight transfer and stride by elongating the projected , unloaded legs travel while making for a stable landing for the glide. It makes also for a natural transition out of glide to full up hill jogging and also out of diagonal striding into gliding with poling with added intermediate single side kicks.

Clapping skis down is the big symptom of not swinging the foot and knee of the new glide foot far enough forward for the speed. The clap is caused by the foot being brought down early with the ski at a greater angle to the snow, rather than the very shallow angle. In poor glide conditions or steeper hill, the stride may be a little shorter, but is still longer than clapping.

For the new beginner and casual motionist, this is still a valuable observation such that the actual aerobic effort can even b e reduced relative to making good progress in diagonal stride skiing.

So to teaching

The obvious means to teach better stride and glide is without poles, Keith Nicol has the best videos on youtube imho on these exercises. One first exercise he demonstrates is the single ski scooter. This can be then done with new beginners and upgraded by using an oversized ski with better glide or a gentle down hill.

I advocate then doing this out of the tramlines and going right into teaching some skating, before coming back into the tracks. In firmer conditions this may mean using combi boots and both types of ski if budget permits

An order may be then for what could be five days of three to five hours instruction per day:

boots on and jog, loosen off without skis.

Feel the balance of the ski itself on one foot, just how it reacts to being lifted and where it will point

Pad on the spot with two skis to further this.

Crab sideways no poles. Fish bone on very gentle up hill no poles

One ski off, scooter in the spor

Scooter on the middle of the tracks.

Light down hill with run out to run out on the flat. Maybe introduce poles. Walk back up the hill with skis and poles, repeat. Poling then to get speed on the first ten meters and going into full tuck.

Break

Jog and loosen off. Jog with skis on, out of the tracks no poles.

Walk up to a steeper hill with poles. Herring bone on this steeper hill (probably just a diagonal stride hill for experienced skiers)

Plough down and repeat a few times.

Then single leg plough technique.

Plough turn by weighting up the leg and edge.

Wide plough as possible from some speed to a stop if possible or a good bail out speed.

Getting up from deep snow or awkward falls.

Break / day 2

Jogging on skis again, going over to gliding more from the launch.

Skating technique on the flats  plus intro to step turn in and out of the tracks

Diagonal technique theory of spenn and stide

Diagonal training without poles, variuous short exercises in and out of the tracks.

Break

Planting your poles and using them to jog with.

Diagonal stride with and without poles, down hill to demonstrate glide.

Fine tuning the stride again to bringing the glide foot further forward.

Break

Jogging / diagonal up a long gentle gradient. Poling in the tracks down hill; repeat.

Skating with poles, single dance basic: flat, up hill and down hill.

Break /day 3

Quick bit of ski skating on a prepared run

Braking using single plough leg again, and skating out the track and into full plough to stop or avoid someone.

Steering in plough on a broad pisted beginner slope for slalom. Loading up the outside leg. Coming in and out of plough, varying plough.

Break

Diagonal practice out of spor and then up a longer gradient

Skiing tucked parallel out of the spor, wider leg, loading and sliding out tail of ski to steer down this long gradient.

Coming out of the spor into parallel wide stance and then plough to reduce speed, and standing up again then into tuck.

Break

Little more skating , gentle down hill or flat.

Diagonal: using the kick off, hip and shoe swing.

More of above diagonal exercises.

Break
Little more skating , double dancing intro.

Step turning round 180' flat turns. Step turning from a downhill in a broad area. Fast small step turns on same course.

Step turning/ skating out of and into the spor.

Break

Poling in the spor

Pole-kicking parellel in spor.

Herring bone up

Steeper downhills in the spor with corners

Steepest dowhill with full plough. Parallell alpine to plough stop for the better students in non icey condjtions

Break day 4

Skating, prolonging glide. Enhancing kick and using hips.

Skate start and then steer into the spor.

Prolonged flat - undulating skate

Break

Classic technique refresher and test of abilities

Tour of 5 - 10km using classic and braking techniques learned so far.

Break day 5

Loosen off, skate , jog etc

Step turning and some exercises on mobility on skis, handball , pick up thjings so on

Diagonal tour 5km with instructor video / observation

Playback discussion at cocoa Break

5 to 10 k with plough turn and step turn involved.

Skate to warm down.

Some fun, maybe laser ski shooting

====

Throughout you want to find pupils who are good at other sports such as of course downhill skiing or others like skateboarding and anyone who can skate or rollerbladde. They can lead demonstrate in scootering, downhill, plough and skating.

Also you need to pick out people who are learning fast but have a pronounced typical mistake while not stijgmatising the poorest in the group but rather working one to one more with them while the others practice.

Fun and agility is often overlooked for.mature adult courses and reserved for children, but a game of handball or relay pick up balls or blind folded stuff can lighten up thd day and make the participants loose their focus on their boots and theory.

For fit adults a longer tour with a cafe or refreshments laid on should be organised in the week. For a group with varied fitness who cannot be logistically split up, circuits should be used where the instructor can access and monitor any weaker or slower members without being separated from the whole group. Concentric courses are ideal, with a common point for refreshment with a view, cafe or shelter under the trees even. 

For schools with a range of equipment, the chance to try skating skis and fell-touring boots and skis should be offered later in the week. Also telemark and randonee skis should be shown in order to demonstrate the spectrum of activities opened up from the base learning.

If there is no natural chalet or hotel gathering afterwards at the centre, then drop any evening lectures or video playback but try to get the day's footage up on youtube and give out links to the likes of keith nichols excellent, simple you tube stuff.

lørdag 15. februar 2014

Norsk Olympic XC Collapse

Poor old norway, not enjoying the lime light after a promising opening and quite unlikely to be on the podium in any xc and biathalon events to go.

There has been a crisis in waxing, the smørebu guys failed, but probably only a fraction. Maybe a couple of centimeters glide on the skating skis and a few bad kicks on classical skis. What they really failed on was to hold the confidence.

Bad waxing on classic kick zones is painful for even a tour in the woods, so in combination with a little bad feel with the choice of ski from dozens the top three norsk girls and guys have destroyed confidence.

The tension thus created has no doubt eaten into the confidence and the zone-feeling that the norwegians have ridden on in many competitions.

I think it is great that on the one hand some of the previous background players have been in medals and that other countries are able to peak and give the scandinavians a run for their own money and beat them at their own game.

torsdag 13. februar 2014

Which Skis for XC? Is There a Formula? More myth and prejudice debusting

I'm sitting here watching the Winter Olympics 10k' womens classic XC langrenn, while here the rain merrily washes away the massive amounts of snow up to 400 m over sea level here.

Plenty time to read and get better from a bout of bronchitis (never had that before!) so I found a huge thread on a forum in Norway started by a Mamma blogger on what type of skis she should get?

Norsk shibboleths and prejudice abunded, while the odd peep from waxless fans was burried. The best advice is that if you have a dog then don't get steel edged skis, and hunters have a couple of favourite skis for back country as such.

Here then is my go, which I will later put in a table, a kind of disjointed flow chart here, on what type of skis you should buy as a newcomer or as an intermediate developing your style and ready to notch up your experience.

Reason for taking up skiing Defines Ski Type

Active Winter Cardio Training: you are fit from another sport and want to train hard on skis. Proviso is that you have access to well prepared trails and a good deal of fresh snow and minus degrees for the main season Jan-Mar or preferably longer.

Skis: Training ski package with good quality boots and bindings which are matched to the boot, such as atomic's system. Probably ordinary, smooth soled waxing skis. Examples- Madshus Lillehammer, Fischer Superlight/wax light and others from Rosignol and Solomon as well as atomic, but hold up there for:

Waxing: can't be bothered to wax? Try either Fischer RCS waxless or Atomic Skintec.

Icey, low level conditions: Try Fischer Steel lights if Fido stays at home, or the Lillehammer above which have a special reinforced edge underlay which looks like steel to me.

If you are serious , what about Racing Skis ? Well skis are relatively cheaper than mountain bikes for example use for use, so a complete set of skis, poles, boots, clothes could be had for around 1200 euros which is a mid level carbon mountain bike.

For the money you will get a set which are matched for your wieght and height, and also with some idea of your power when kicking. You will probably be started on a softer pre-loaded ski to make kicking easier.

My first ever tour on XC skis was on Fischer Carbon RCS wax fri- I fell over a bit, but the instructor kept me going and gave me some ok tips. Ploughing on the hard, old snow conditions that year at Geilo was pretty difficult. However much against my instructor's advice I managed 20km on my first day ever, being a too sore to move the next day from falls and slips!

If you have good conditions, little thawing and middles snowfall, as well as great prepared tracks which are undulating valley floor or mountain side, and you are serious then why not splash the cash on racing skis? Well you may end up breaking poles or skis or just as bad, grazing the soles if you can't stop at a car park or the likes.

Touring: Cabin  Visits in the Mountains, Family Tours, Longer semi prepared Tours with Pack:

Well of course touring skis are on the cards, but you can also consider the narrower mountain skis with steel edges such as Fischer E89 BC, Åsnes Vikefjell and Åsnes Holmekollen.    The fischer come in waxless too, while the Åsnes come with a short skin locking groove which for the purpose is pretty much as good if not better than waxless and means you can choose later.

Atomic have a range of touring skis with their very useful waxless Posigrip 3D grip technology : I had this on my first skis from them and it is pretty okay but I had to revert to clister on top in wet or icey conditions. The dearer skis are no doubt better and the technology is no doubt developed since 2003!

Remote Cabin Access and Making Your Own Tracks

Here you are into mountain touring skis and the newer randonee skis, also you may find skis called off piste-telemark. 


Personally I would opt for the latter because the modern, broad ski with side cut when combined with a telemark binding and boot make for a good deep snow mountain tour ski with easier progress on the walking stages and even some skating on the flat.

Randonee skis are taking the place of traditional mountain tour skis and telemark skis for the more adventourous and picking up thrill seekers who would never have considered cross country touring before, bums firmly on lift seats. The benefits of downhill control and comfort for both the new randonee and the new cuts in telemark off piste skis out-weigh the loss of fast flat touring ability. Combined with the excellent synthetic skins you are talking about a direct route up and an exciting run down.

Lighter langrenn-fjellski are okay for harder snow and tour routes where there are skidoos and other skiers blazing the trail for you. But for any deep snow and mountain tops you are talking the other two.

In fact I don't really see a place for traditional fjellski because so many people misuse them when a lighter, langrenn pre-bend would be a happier combination for prepared trails and easy terrain with packed or old snow.

Long Valley or Plateau Touring

Where fjell ski have a definite place is for longer tours over flatter terrain where as above you have a degree of trails being at least tramped down, and you can avoid deep snow for the most part.

A wide ski with steel edges and a sturdy boot and binding will make for weight distribution when carrying a pack, and will tackle any snow which has settled and firmed up.

Even here though, a british south pole was using Åsnes holmenkollen for training at least,  I must check up. These are a light, quite narrow mountain touring ski with a reduced steel edge and a shorter kicking pre-bend to increase efficiency over flat, hard terrain. Vikefjell or E89 are also a good type to look at in this ball park, but wider skis do have an advantage where a significant part of the tour will be on new snow or routes which are not driven with skidoos or many skiers.

Even your last couple of km to a private cabin (or first if you are using it as a base) could make the use of broader (55mm up) a better choice than a narrower ski for a mixed terrain and varying snow conditions tour with a heavier pack.

onsdag 12. februar 2014

Misconceptions for the New Beginner and Intermediate XC Fitness skier

Going back over my own experiences with xc skiing and reading tonight through forum and expert- or shop- blog posts, I find an interesting way of looking at technique, training and equipment.

It is hard for a new beginner,  who is also new to Norway or actually even to snow, to  think about what type of skiing they are going to be doing. Really the question is what do you want to get out of your time skiing?

Think Both Inspirational and Perpspirational before you buy skis...

For me it was firstly about being in the high valleys and maybe the mountain tops, while also eating some miles in the tracks. All very back country dreamy.  It has though, ended up that i like to use skiing as cardio vascular training with some meditative focus on technique : this makes it a bit like swimming rather than finding my soul midst the high peaks.

So with my initial goal in mind, I have been resolutely on light touring skis which are narrow enough for laid tracks while broad enough for soft snow. On my mini mountain favourite, Drivheia in Aust Agder, the soft snow at the top and running alpine tucked out the spor are what get most benefit from in the tourski. However now i find they cramp my style a lot.

For a sporty immigrant to norway then you want to say to yourself if you are going to be doing any mountain touring, carrying any weight or living in a place where it is often other skiers trails you are following in rather than machine-prepared tracks, then touring or even fjellski with steel edges are what you should consider.

Avoid the 'Easier with a Tour Ski ' Misconception....

If however you know that you are going to be fitness training at a hard pace in nicely prepared local and weekend spree trails, then go right for training skis or even racing skis.

The former are reasonably priced and better for track based training. The latter are pretty expensive but you may get a perfect ski for your weight and power. I would edge on caution though and hire skis or ask to use different types at the ski school before getting any ski over 2400 kr bare ski.

It is just a myth then that you need to start on wide tour skis and that they are the cheapest option, being a good compromise for the new beginner.

Training skis are often very difficult to see the difference to racing skiis while lined up on the wall. They are a smidegon wider , around 43 to 48 mm mid sole, and heavier. Usually the range of legnths is less than with racing skis, and the prebend or mid spring is only available as a standard to that length (or as with Fischer, they test all skis and there is a variance in that so they can send out a warehouse ski hot off the presses which is nearest your individual needs) . Racing skis are narrower and have availability to order in a greater range of preload spring and legnths.

Key difference With Straighter Skis, made for those white tramlines....

The one key difference between both of these types of skis and touring skis is that the in-swing, or side cut profile, is virtually absent.

Lacking curves on the sides of the ski's legnth /edges means that you follow the parallel tramlines better and the ski is both lighter and you apply a greater force per square mm when you push down as the ski gives overall less support on the snow and resistance in its material.

This apparently renders training skis far more suitable for someone who is going to be scooting round nicely prepared ski runs.

Stability is not a big issue in nice tracks, and you can maybe learn to plough more easily, due to the greater pressure you can get on the inner edges. Furthermore it is much easier to step turn because they are light and do not self steer by the side cut like tour skis do.

Tour Skis with a Mind of Their Own.....

One other key thing I now notice as a down side of light tour skis is that they tend to self steer while in parrallel tracks - the better my technique and waxing is for the day now, the more i notice this. Also in step turning at speed, the tips offer more resistance and the side cut gives an unpredictable steer.

Step turning is essentially the same between classic, skating and any type of fatter ski you care to mention. However I am of the opinion that classic technique is a lot closer to skating in general than one may believe, especially as a light hearted tourist or fun & fitness skier. My opinion is due to weight transfer to one ski and using your hips. My style aim is to actually skate in parallel this year ie classic with a focus on launch, balance and glide rather than power.

Everyone Else is Doing Skinny Skis Why Not Me?

When living in Kristiansand and finding the enthusiast's training routes in the surrounding hills, I was surprised that I was pretty much the only skier doing reasonable classic technique on tour skis. Nearly all the Noggies had slim-line skis from fischer or madshus. Only plodders walking and clapp- kicking their way round had tour skis, and then often actually fjellskis.

So now i am looking into going into the modern racing inspired training ski, while also going back to waxless in considering the Atomic Skintec with the glued in insert which is on offer now.

I will then have a very nice set of tour skis which can tackle mountain side paths and skidoo run treks across plateuas, as well as the days when the machine was out yesterday evening and then it snowed.....

Sensible With Price and Use of  Time ....waxless and cost - benefit analysis

But back to the new beginner: waxless under 2000 krone in a boot-ski-binding combi are likely to be your first purchase. And why not? You can get either tour or the skinny trainings ski in package deals this very minute.

The forums are full of detractors who hate waxless and condemn them to amateur walking skier use. However the skintec and Fischer RCS waxless show that very serious skiing can indeed be done on textured kick zones. The problem is finding budget ones which are a sensible risk investment trade off.

Key in Ski Quality and Match to Your Weight...

The real key for getting good waxless is the exact same as for buying standard smooth soled xc skis: if they will support your weight for gliding while still allowing you to kick down and back with good grip. Atomic have a super advanced system for this, Fischer and the likes of Åsnes just make a really good ski design and put a patterned area on its sole.

Waxless is a lot less hassle, and in some really slippy or cladding stuff you can use wax, clister or anti cladd spray to really get good grip again.

If your budget is under 2000 kr then do not despair, just find a shop with a proper preload metering tool. This loads the skis up in a vice like way with a column pressing in the midfoot area of the binding side. This is wound up to  a kg scale and then a feeler gauge is used to confirm that you will get good enough glide by supported length,while the ski will not be too hard under the sole such that you wont acheive good kicking contact with the snow.

Once you then find a waxless ski then which will do this then check the other main chainstores but in paticular your smaller local shop, likely to be part of Intersport or Mx Sport here, to see if they have a better offer or can do better quality boots in a package.

Often a smaller shop will be willing to do an overall discount if you buy skis, bindings, boots,  skipants, a jacket and socks etc at one time. They may however need to order your exact best legnth and preload from a supplier but you will get more personal service and ski tips, quite likely with an invitation to join the club and enroll in their ski school.

Some small local shops and real fancy specialists will include a lesson with sale of skis, and that could be worth a cash amount of up to a thousand krone, but be worth far more to gyour enjoyment of the skis. Also if they prove to be incorrect for you then you will get a change to a correct type from outset.

Wax fri apart from Atomic Skintecs, have a longer area textured than that you would wax ( pretty much the same though on Fischer RCs if i remember correctly) and this will annoy you becuase it makes a hissing noise in hard or corned snow in particular. But believe me, waxing and applying clister on mild days is a lot more annoying relative to spending time out doors doing all that puffing and panting, kicking, striding and gliding that you should be focusing on.

Sticky Fingers and Skintec

Klister conditions continue....deepen in fact.

The local run was ill advised and needs both churning and light tramline driving. Ice. Klister eating steely tracks of hell according to a pensioner I met and i turned back to visit another local low level venue when it started to rain heavily.

Ditch the day.

I did however get to experiment with application of quick-klister. I think a lot of people are going to be using these sprays for training and in the pocket for longer races. They do need a little bit more time than at first may seem.

Quick and Dirty or a Good Solution ?

Swix quick klister is a pressurised clister in a spray can with foam diasappator / spreader top. It is like a fast shoe polish, although the width you spray out and spread on seems to be training ski wide, maybe by design. The base binder green clister is just a spray unfortunetly because the applicator is darn good.

What takes time in these products especially when outdoors is that the solvent used needs to evapourate. Otherwise your clister will just be abbraded off. At room temperature i waited two minutes and it was still too thin to be of use. I used my hobby crack lighter to gently blow away the solvent and got an instant good clister finish.

I have seen serious birkebeiner types at icey venues with blow torches and i guess they are using these to spread the clister.

Far better imho to spray on and get a very even layer and then heat off. The spray was as even as an iron on, and better than my painstaking oven pre heat home job sans iron.

Finally lying the ski kick zone gently on snow to let the clister set, which is a must do whatever the circumstances.

So given you are a little patient and understand what is going on, then you can get a very clean application at home or with the box warm from the car or using the crystal meth addict's  blue flame you can save the day without an iron.

There was actually enough clister on my skis from my trudge round drivheia anyway, but universal in spray seems a better way of doing things. Btw i had green v90 wax base binder with blue VR40 and the single long line of clister from the tube was 75% intact with the pocket under the sole just smoothed out. Flouronated waxes prove their worth again in wet conditions with clister hanging on better than non flour.

Forget the sticky stuff ?

Another coincidence is that i wandered into a G max to buy said quick-clister and i then of course wanted them to test the preload on the atomic skintecs they have on boot-binding-ski offer for about 400 euros. The 2000mm they had tolerate 100kg with the mohair being clear of smooth snow at least.

However it transpired that this is a variant without the change out magnetic insert system. Instead it has a glued on mohair which has no central "groove" but to my eye it looked like it was shorter. The ski is no doubt far lighter because there are no magnets and so on. I dare say it is just maching the sole which renders them ready for glue in mohair.

The skintec ski in this version then is really a high tech repeat of the mohair inserts of the late 70s i have read about. Both ski and glue technology, and magnets for the other type, have come a lon.g way since then.

So as a pair of zero skis for the amateur racer or all rounders for the time stressed parent of three then worth the bucks if you need a new pair this is a bargain with the package if the one insert works as it should.

Not that the lack of interchangeability scares me too much. The ski looked the same otherwise, and so has the same construction most likely, with the arch being symmetrical and compliant until you really kick-load it. This is going into their racing skis too.

The ski is a fairly broad training ski and i liked it; but i would want to spend about the same without boots but with the magnetic insert and two inserts to start with. I reckon a shorter kick hair glider insert and a super grip patterned combi mohair clister buster would be the type on inserts i would spend a bit on.

I have an acquaintance who happened to get old stock skintecs last year with inserts and he is almost 2m high so must have long, hard sprung ones. I must ask for a test run if my boots fit his binding type.

mandag 10. februar 2014

Weird White Stuff: Drivheia Tour, UHU and Hobby Blow Torch

I decided to use the promise of a whole day's weather-break to drive a while to get to the mini mountain, Drivheia in Aust Agder.

What do UHU, snow and mini hobby blow torches have in common? All are substances of abuse or accessories to the crime today.  More on that later.....

The conditions were frankly a bit weird: easter wet snow but on no base, just a meter or so of slush puppy. There had been unfortunetly new snow in the tracks ,or kind of lying sleet as it felt making it all very heavy and vague.

Me, discouraged? No! I followed a bit of classic track which dissolved into skating apparently if the skier hadnt just turned round after 2km and put his skating pack on.

So the all important waxing then? I havent any of the VR62 to  75 , they are very expensive. I had universal klister with me but hoped for the plus one or two degrees cee to rub on some v red.  I do have the VR blue 40 which prove a good base for the inevitable,  with a high column of "mild" low pressure air: klister time.

So here are my klister tips for that sudden sinking feeling that you will not survive on red wax.

1) take a mini hobby blow torch the type that runs on lighter fuel, or actually enacses a lighter and produces a spiked, precise wee blue flame. The weapon of preference for crack addicts btw.

2) wrap the lower half of the klister tube several times round in toilet or kitchen paper

3) take the cap off and heat the shoulders of the tube and the neck by wafting the blue flame quickly around for about 15 secs. Do not allow the flame to burn the label plastic or the clister itself.

4) move the paper over the heated area and then apply the clister to the ski about 5cm inward of the usual kicking wax, and do just 10cm at a time, spreading with the tool on the ski. Reheat between each 10cm.

All this will keep the clister mobile to allow for thin layers. It will go on blue but not softer. Base binder clister spray is to recommend on bare skis if you have hedged your bets completely.

Alternatively: You can put the tube on the engine rocker cover or top of the car radiator if they are still warm. Then the whole contents gets warm and you risk getting a clot in the neck and a sudden tidal wave of uhu glue will cover your skis, you and anyone near you with as much displeasure as a skunk attack or tramping in dog shit.

In the conditions today i knew it would be slow and draggy with any kick adhesive, so i chose to reduce the kick zone coverage with the clister to 5cm less on the tip end and 3cm from the heel of the boot.

I did just one layer on this legnth as i was expecting soft and did not remember how long it was back round the mountain (a hill actually) from the downhill. For harder conditiond i would have had two, thin long layers fo

I did let the single layer cool on the snow: always let your clister cool to snow temp before kicking off as you can either rub it off in clumps on ice or pick up crystals immediately.

In the "pocket" under the sole then i added a second thicker layer in the same process. About 18-20cm maybe , spread from fish bone pattern.

The kick adhesion was "nailed" with this up hill in tram lines which needed a native american scout to follow. Filled with 3cm wet snow.

I felt pretty darn good getting to the final hill top turn with the downhill infront of me and light rain pitting on my east european look jogging jacket i swear by for skiing.

The downhill is usually an exciting set of roller coaster sections, traversing hillside tests of skill and various turns up to about 150 degrees or more even. However even the guy in front of me on glider only skating skis had done a lot of work to get down and the speed was pathetic.

I did though get to practice step turning but as the snow got deep around the first hair pin i had to drop into alpine with slide steering ski tails.

I have been coughing for five weeks and managed only six hours training since the snow came, late as it was. So when i got through to the last turn where the "guest book" box is in an hour , i was pleased. However the slow downhill and damp air started to drain my reduced energies and the way back round the west of the hill with even softer conditions sapped me more than the wet sapped the clister away from the skis.

The last 1.5km i drove on the british side of the road in my own tracks now also worn in with after comers. And there it was, pretty good grip and at the car, sticky skis. They could have done about half yje distance again i reckon.

Last tip: take some fibre cleaner cloth in the car and plastjic bags and place them in than order over the mucky stuff. You can then either reapply a new layer of clister next time, or take the skis out and spray on cleaner and strip off the clister first with the fibre cloth. I usually spray, coat with a good coupäe of layers of kitchen paper and then use a hot iron working quikly up and down and then peeling off the covering with a litte heat on the lifting edge as you go.

tirsdag 4. februar 2014

New Wax-less Tech' Making Slow In Roads in XC Skiing

Waxless skis are far from being just for new beginners: For example Fischer have a racing  RCS carbon pair which I have tried which are thin and have a lot of pre-bend. They were dead fast with reasonably good grip on the icy conditions I tried them on, where clister would have worn out!

They are used by some serious skiers on longer routes like the famous Birkebeiner when there is new snow forecast on a hard base for example, or when there is uncertainty about the ground temperature coming over +1 'C from below freezing at the start ie to avoid stopping to wax and to get predictable kick and hence a comfortable rhythm for the day.

Furthermore some serious and pro racers use a ski for these melting - freezing
conditions called a "Zero" which have a strange rubbery-leathery synthetic
kick zone built in which is rubbed up to produce tiny hairs !

However the times they are a changing again for wax-less skis and how
prominent they may become in the main sales segment  "mid market" in the next five to ten years.



Nanotech which is so small you cant see the skis any more:


There is a new nano technology which is similar to some mica kick zone skis
from the 1970s. They feel rough and are more like snake skin than mohair. The
manufacturer offered to even re-sole the kick zone for a small fee if they do wear out. Some said they worked in a range of conditions but they have disappeared from all my region's shops.

I would have like to try a pair because they were reasonably priced and a light tour ski format in width and length, which is what I use in waxed skis now. Fling 'em in the car and head off into the unknown.

Have We A New Champion of Wax-Less? Step forward Atomic SkinTec


The other new system seems to offer lots, but is rather puzzelingly aimed at the high end of  training skis in price. It is the Atomic ski Skintec system.

This uses the same principle as the stick on mountain skins which cover a large part of the ski and are used for walking instead of fish-boning, or kicking on hard and  icy tracks. These are now a synthetic mohair which is rough when "back
combed" and smoother with the direction of travel.

Skintec is basically this same fibre technology embedded into the sole of the ski just at the centre in the kicking zone, and held in place by magnets. There are then two inserts: one with a "groove" ie two strips and a grippier one withou the partition just a single pad. The extent of this mohair insert is actually a bit shorter than an average kick wax zone!

Skintec on A Get Skinned Price

For me the only drawback is that Atomic have chosen rather oddly to sell this
ski to very serious skiers at a price tag of between 4000 and 5500 NOK,
although Coop have the 2013 model I believe for 3000 NOK .....that being WITH a good boot in a package.

The Skintec must be the R&D department getting all their stuff out at once. The ski has also a new bend technology which was used first here and
will be used in their top end 2014 skis so they say. This is supposed to be a
bend which only gives when the highest downward force is applied, otherwise it
suspends your foot area above the snow. It suddenly capitulates and allows a
very good contact between the mohair insert and the snow.

Zero Benefit For Me

As mentioned above, there is another  relatively new waxless ski which is the Zero or "rubbing ski" and that has a kind of rubbery, leathery insert which is rubbed to the conditions each time, but as the name gives away it is aimed at skiing on the days when the snow is just melting around zero to 3 degrees on the ground.

Some skiers have used sprays on these or rubbed them differently and have had some good results in wider conditions but the skis are generally
expensive racing skis and you need to know a lot about it all as well as forking out a lot of cash.

Skintec May Conquer All but Maybe Not From Where it is Now ?

Skintec perform apparently or expectedly very well around zero or above when
you choose the broader mohair insert. The double insert is apparently great
below zero.

What mystifies me is that you really have to work hard to sell wax less to
serious skiers who enjoy spending time waxing, often an hour per ski per day,
and who also like to use bad waxing as an excuse for a bad day. Atomic have a
team who use the skis for training and turn up in the YouTube ads showing off
the skis in good conditions ( they look pretty effective!)

The internet forums are full of scepticism about them and complaints about
softness or lack of any grip out of the tracks on the skating area, but these are comments from some serious gear bitches.



Whatever the detractors say, and that is more about the pre-bend than the skin technologcy,  I reckon atomic should have rolled this out to the serious touring
skier on broader skis like mine. This is the part of the market who is likely to want to go further without waxing. Also to "mosjonist " fitness skiers, in a training ski less than half the price of the Skintecs now out. Then they would get traction in the market for sales of replacement or new and fancier mohair inserts, bringing down the price of these. After that they could / should attack the new beginners market with a top of segment ski package at under 2000 kr including binding and boot.



They also come in two different prebend kilonewton type resistance in the
spring for the same arch probably, but as a heavy man it sounds like they are
not going to be my cup of chuck even at 3000 kr including a very good pair of
boots from Coop Obs this month.



I will definetly try to get a test run on some 206cm hard spring version if I
possibly can to see if they do hold my enormous over 100kg weight without the
mohair rubbing when not kicking, but also hope the technology is run out in
lower range skis soon.

Not Forgetting Your Fantaski

A company up in Telemark run by an inventor are also doing skis with a conversion to a recessed insert which looks like the hooked sided of velcro. The other day a guy turned up with a pair of skating skis he got from Fantaski. They had this insert and he said it gave him traction up hill and he could kind of kick off on them.

Good luck to the eccentric Telemarking, last seen with a pop out spinnaker system on a ruck sack for ski-sailing with a following wind.

Anyway, I think my money is on Skintec in future as a really big market player , but maybe only after Atomic's patents run out or they see sense and launch it lower in the price ladder.

Tips and Equipment Discussion for the Fun & Fitness (Mosjonist) XC Skier

For the new beginner I have to immediate recommendations for buying skis and these are:

a) stick to wax free, patterned sole skis
b) find a shop with a machine which measures the ski bend versus your weight
c) Tell the shop what type of skiing you are going to be doing and where
d) Buy poles which are just up to your arm pits, not up to your shoulder.
e) Buy boots with good insulation and ankle support.

Package Price

Beginners skis are often sold at very good prices in a package with boots and bindings (but not poles! Then the shop earns back some margin!) They are most often waxless or there is a choice of both types in stock. Boot quality can be an issue with these package deals btw.

This season 2014 it seems that some shops are moving away from the cheapest packages, probably because some of the boots were so dreadful. Quality packages are often very, very good value for money and can save maybe 2000 krone or more if there is a last year model ski with a great binding and a very good quality boot. Consider spending relative to your intentions from say about 1200 kr for the skis, bindings, boot package up to about 2200 kr. 

Getting the Right Ski "Fit"


The fit for you is a function of three things: the length of the ski, the breadth of the ski and the amount of arch with the amount of spring there is in that pre-bend. The pre-bend in the ski holds you off the ground and allows you to glide with your weight on it. It also has to be just soft enough for you to be able to launch off it, ie it bends down and contacts the snow under your foot when you apply your launching kick off from one foot only. In a nutshell that is how classic aka kicking XC skis work.

If you intend to go round your local "lysløype" or nicely prepared, lowland tracks without any large touring ruck sack, then the lighter the ski the better: a training ski or light touring ski width is fine. For popular tour routes near towns, avoid getting steel edges tour skis, they can cut dogs paws.

I am very heavy and sometimes go with a 20kg ruck sack, so I prefer a wider intermediate touring ski, and I use fischer PowerWax which have a deep, stiff pre-bend.

They are a good deal narrower than mountain skis but almost twice as broad as racing skis. They do though have a fair bit of side-cut for and aft in the ski, which means that they can track up the walls of the tram lines, and when skating or step turning they can turn more than anticipated.

Training skis are narrower, lighter and have a pretty dead straight aft section which makes for a nicer progression to the raised leg on the trailing ski which is the next stage I am reaching on my learning curve.

Loading Up the Ski Before You Buy

When buying though your first wax-less skis then, one thing you should get the shop to do is to start with a length 20cm higher than you ( if they are not fischer short cut design  which can be 10-15 cm longer than your height for a new beginner) and then load them up on the wax zone compression machine they should have, even though you are buying wax free with a pattern. They should then load up the ski to your weight and then they should check with a feeler gauge as to the length of the otherwise wax zone- the part if the ski which is suspended in the pre-bend when you are not pushing down on the ski.

Take a look at this zone, ask them to measure how long it is for you, marking where the feeler gauge or paper stops: if it is less than 60 cm on an average ski length (aprx 180-190 cm ) then you will have very definite problems getting any good glide when you are propelling yourself and they will be jittery down hill.

 If this "pocket" is longer than about 70cm then the ski is probably too long for you and you should try a shorter one, usually unfortunately in entry level skis than will be 10 or more cm shorter.   The ski should have a prebend which is free of the snow between then 60 and 70 cm for a normal, in track tour ski. This is shorter than the actual extent of the wax-less pattern on the sole.

(mountain skis "fjellski" have a much longer pre-bend btw, while in-track tour skis we are referring to have a prebend which makes for a waxing zone of 65 cm or less) 

Waxless patterned sole skis have usually a much longer zone which is textured than the 55-65 cm which is waxed on smooth soled XC skis in this arched "pocket" area. This is such that they can hold grip when kicking in all conditions - light powdery through to ice and water laced big crystal easter snow.

Also they are usually marketed for the beginner and walk-skiers so often they can have a textured zone which is over half the length of the ski in order that they grip with very little downward force: and that is really over kill.  My daughter's wax-less skis have great pre-bend but the pattern is long and the skis are really noisy down hill meaning they are breaking her down a lot. I am considering sanding these down in the front area and a little towards her shoe heel area!

Waxless skis however are not just for new beginners by any means: Fischer have a racing RCS pair which I have tried which are thin and have a lot of prebend, and were dead fast on the icey conditions I tried them on!  They are used by some serious skiers on longer routes like the famous Birkebeiner when there is new snow forecast on a hard base for example, or when there is uncertainty about the ground temperature coming over +1 'C from below freezing at the start ie to avoid stopping to wax and to get predictable kick and hence a comfortable rhythm for the day. Furthermore some serious and pro racers use a ski for these melting - freezing conditions called a "Zero" which have a strange rubbery-leathery synthetic kick zone built in which is rubbed up to produce tiny hairs! There are also two new technologies, Atomic's Skintec and a nanotec kick texture. More in a subsequent blog btw.

However: My last comment on all this is that if you have a Norwegian other-half who your are going to ski lots with and happens to be wax fiend then you may want to consider going for  smooth soled skis, especially if you live or ski in high country or in the north of the country where temperatures usually mean one type "blue" wax can be used most of the time.


Ski Poles

 I recommend that you as a new beginner buy poles which are just up to your arm pits, not up to your shoulder which is the norm for advanced skiers now.  For you then about 35 - 40 cm lower than your height not 30 cm. If you are say 175 high then get 140s, if you are 180 though you may need to go up to 150s in the price range.

For a new beginner it is important to learn to keep a low center of gravity. So longer poles which are above your arm pit will disturb this. The older style of skiing used shorter poles, with a more bent over body posture btw. You will start with a pretty upright body and a pretty limited plant and swing of the poles, and also you want to not use them at all in many training exercises! The shorter pole will disturb you less down hill too. Also they can then also help you steer abruptly or brake a little in an emergency ( and that is when you are going to bend them!) where a longer pole would be too long to take into action.

Once again tell the shop where you will be skiing: if the trails are soft or just prepared once in a while, then a broader bail on the end of the pole may be available to be fitted at the shop, or you may want to get a mountain style bail (the very old fashioned looking but very effective circle with cross type)

Cheap poles for 200-300 kr are fine per se, you will undoubtedly bend them though. Poles for a bit more, 400-500 kr with a good broad strap for the hand, or a velcro hand gripping half glove are worth looking at, but they will probably be alloy and probably you will quite likely bend them.

Other Equipment



Boots.

Cheap boots are worth avoiding. Often in a package price ski-binding-boot the shop will do you a deal in swapping out the cheapo boots and adding in better boots and good quality poles. This means a  discount on the day, and you walk out with boots which will probably outlast the skis! Haggle and shop around, This year in Norway it seems like the quality of packages is up, as are the prices a bit but that is fine.

Cheap boots are likely to be fabric all over, thus not resisting icey track sides, or covered in a virtually not breathable plastic fake leather. They will probably not have thinsulate. In fact they will be too insulated with a foam type mid layer which will likely not transmitt sweat away. They may well have ankle grip, but take an experienced pal with you if you can or find an honest shop assistant, or play at " do I need to upgrade"

BTW - I'd avoid buying second hand anything which has seen use. Nearly new is okay but ideally you want to see the condition in person.

Boots should once again be to purpose and skiing area. Training "Boots" are light and actually a shoe with an ankle gaiter so these are most use for a new beginner who will just be going on nicely groomed tracks without any serious down hills.

I would recommend for a new beginner to look at a touring boot with lacing up to the ankle cuff, even a full leather mountain touring boot with a supported ankle. For an improver  skier like me, with a bit of poor control over ski direction have a look at combi boots, which have adjustable ankle collar support system. The latter has really given a boost to my skiing this year after I got them as an xmas pressie. They are on offer at a couple of places this year, including coop obs. 

For the better insulated boots, with thinsulate and an outer gaiter or in fluffy lined leather,  you want to actually use a single thin wool sock on usual mid cold or mild days, and so they must be able to tighten down to this without the heel being able to lift which is pure hell.  A bigger sock will not really cure a boot which is too long and may lead to nasty blisters !

Try boots on with ordinary thin socks and a mid weight ski or winter sports sock.  Get them tied up right and move around in them. Take some strides and get a feeling that they are not constricting your foot, which will reduce your circulation, while also you are getting very little lift in the heel.

The boot should be snug on the ball of the foot but not tight. and the toe box should be the same.  You may need to go up in size or choose a different marque in order to get a boot which is both wide and long enough for you  I have just gone up one and a half sizes to get the right boot width and length and I can use it with both light socks as tight as possible or a double pair without heel lift.

Glad Rags

As I blogged before you can survive with winter running and cycling clothes but you must have good sports wool full length underwear and sports underpants otherwise you will get cold.



One thing you should invest in if you are really going to get out often and train pretty ærobically is a good pair of specialist gloves. I sweat on my hands just a little and combined with any melted snow I find all my gloves get really cold eventually especially around -2 because then I am at my sweatiest! I need more breathable gloves - the same principle for general clothing, a light next to skin layer which is warm for its thickness and then a very, very breathable shell like Pertex or windstopper. If you ski in cold areas with temperatures usually below -8C then a pair of Lobster claw gloves will help keep your fingers warm: these are usually made in a pertex outer with a very light grip material on the palm and digits.

Carriage

A ski bag is worth investing in to keep the salt off the skis on the roof rack, to keep water and wax and spikey ski poles from damaging your car if you take them in and to avoid getting these in the face when you use a roof box, as well as tidying things up and being able to take two or three pairs for the whole family.

If you have a small car or saloon with fixed back seats then the magnetic roof clamp system is really good, just remember not to leave it on down town. It has two circular ski clamps you position easily and they are of course more ærodynamic than a full rack.

A roof top ski box is a good investment if you have a family who will all want to ski or take downhill stuff to Geilo with you. Some have a roof rack which takes bike racks for the summer, others are half width and take these or a kayak holder on the other side.

Eye Wear

Sports sun glasses with inter-changeable lenses are a good idea. I use orange lenses the most in winter:  On gray days  you can very quickly loose sight of the tracks and on white out snow showers with wind, when the tracks are getting filled in you can see more relief and where the tracks start again! There are some fancy visors for cold weather, which are a bit serious for  the likes of me.

Your own spectacles will tend to fog up badly but you can use a fogex type treatment . However best to use contact lenses and be a little careful in very cold conditions when you want to use the sports sun glasses over them to stop the wind chill freezing them onto your eye. If your strength for myopia is under minus three per eye, you should be able to get on fine without any glasses.

Bag the Bum

In the line of carrying drink, clothes etc you have to ask yourself what type of tour you will be doing. I have a mate who insists on making a but of a day out of some tours which are only otherwise two hours max, and we have a half hour break at the top and so on. Thereby we need more extra clothes for the stop, a warm drink and so on so the camelback rucksack is out for me or even a bigger one, 25 L job with a sweat back and chest straps. If you are interested most in fitness and learning to go a big quick then you just need a bumbag. There is a very handy type which also insulates your kidney area available with integrated water bottle holder in various different sizes and designs. A more simple solution is the bum bag with inbuilt insulated drinks pouch and a big cap on it which is easy to open with gloves on. These have a pocket for keys, a sports bar and some wax. A really worthy investment in either type, and plenty on sale now with this strange late coming and maybe early going winter in Norway.

Waxing Waxless!

To get the very best out of your waxless skis you can ask the shop if they do a free glider prep. Glider can be applied to the whole ski, but lately there is a new flouro spray which is used on the grip section which stops the skis balling (cladding) up with snow in particular conditions ( new, damp snow onto a cold icey track for example). This happens surprisingly often, so a buying a can of this spray is a good investment. It doesn't slow you down, so apply at room temperature the night before you go out every other time, or before any longer tours or milder weather.

Further more in some very slushy Easter conditions you may want to buy a tube of clister, or the much easier spray base clister or quick clister universal and apply just under the binding area on the sole to give a bit of traction. You may not need this in the morning, but as the Easter sunshine melts the snow, you may save yourself a really bad tour back later with one of these.

I have borrowed "feller" ie strap on skins.  They were full legnth and it meant I could walk straight all the way up to a high valley instead of fish boning. They were very bitey down hill but I could keep speed on with a light plough. On the flat while trying to catch a bus, they were hell to keep going.

Some tour skis have a groove for short-feller. which has the front clamp recessing in there. These are apparently a really better way of getting more grip in wet or old, hard icey conditions without slowing you down too much.

There are then some conditions or tours where the waxless pattern will let you down, and that is generally late season or on long uphills.




XC Ski (Langrenn) Top Technique Tips for Ex Pats...

While writing away I came to the conclusion that a bit of a summary of my own top tips on techniques, equipment, types of route and the all important waxing should be done.

To be most summative let me take my tips for technique for both the new beginner and the intermediate skier who are fun & fitness skiers who maybe want to maybe race one day or do some organised tour time trials , 'skirenn' to an amateur time class. This is mainly not about equipment but you cannot avoid discussions on skis and waxing in particular when improving technique.

Summary Points Explained More Further Below

1) Book instruction
2) Learn in good conditions , in the valley floors,  avoid icey lower level conditions or high wind and so on
3) Learn to brake and stop in plough and with a single foot out of the tracks ploughing
4) Don't over do it to begin with. A coouple of hours on your first few days if you are  not very fit and a qucik learner!
5) Start without ski poles to begin with under instruction and later the first ten to twenty minutes of each tour or session
6) Learn a bit of both style-arts from the beginning ie a little ski skating as well as kciking in the tracks.
7) Learn then the fundamental of unloading one ski and being completely weight committed and balanced on the other in your striding technique and with some ski-skating
8) 'It is a STRIDE and not a SLIDE '  Appreciate thereafter the importance of the classic technique being a stride onto the new ski which then glides as long as you can for the conditions. Try doing classic diagonal stride on a down hill section where you would normally propel yourself with just poles.
9) Use a circular route or short back forward two way route to build up your stamina such that you can push yourself longer without getting exhausted with a long way back to the car and the hot bath
10) warm up both on and off your skis, using some jogging on skis and some loosening limb and back exercises
11) After warming up, concentrate the first portion of your session on technique over intensity. This can be just 5 minutes after warming up or it may be a half hour out of a three hour training session. Try once more without poles as part of this, especially if you have waxed skis, to get a feel for the conditions.
12) practice control on down hills of both steering and braking out of the tracks using plough and a wide alpine stance. Be able to get into full plough quickly
13) practice your in track down hills by building up speed or choosing more challenging routes progressively. You can really let go on down hills where you see there is a long run out or uphill at the end, and assume a full tuck with your knees over your toes or even slightly infront, and your bum and body crouched into the tuck, poles feathered and hands infront of you. Be most cautious on blind corners on steep sections and either stay out the tracks or brake hard to go round them the first time and try to learn them if they are on a regular route.
14) It is best to start with waxless , scale patterned skis. Howevver If you enjoy the classic style and are doing four or more hours training a week pluis longer tours at the weekends and holidays, it is time to consider better quality skis which are matched perfectly to your height, weight, ability and type of areas or routes you ski. It is also time to book more instruction to get the best efficiency out of your technique.





1) Book instruction with hire of good waxless touring or training skis. Choose a venue with good conditions or locally wait for good conditions ie good snow cover, no thawing and refreezing, well preparted 'tram rail' tracks.
b) safety first>  At this first  instruction learn to snow plough effectively on a hard pisted slope, Then also how to brake using one ski out the track in a half plough> ask to be shown the latter.
c) more safety> many resorts have now graded routes, stick to green and blue and be cautious on any down hills with blind corners. Allow faster skiers come past you and move to the side out of the tracks if you fall on a steeper area or round a blind corner so no-one runs into you. Do not plan to do any more than 10km on your first ventures and avoid any routes which are on the high mountain sides or high plateaus, sticking to the valley runs if you are not with experienced and patient friends.
c) safety again> don't start with any ruck sack or even a bum bag, leave it at the side of the instruction area or at the first lean/to or handy tree up the course. Never start a season with a ruck sack tour!

2) build up slowly in terms of time exopended and intensity. Do not plan around distances or routes to begin with, be prepared to turn back if you get tired or sore. Avoid long one way routes then. Start with an hour or two's instruction followed by half an hour a little intense and then half an hour light warm down.

3) Begin without ski poles. This is very likely from any good instructor, but if a capable friends is teaching you, ask them to teach you without poles first.

Even pro skiers begin the season with many without poles sessions and warm ups. I use it at start of season and whenever I change the wax on my skis or the conditions look a little challenging. It is a good way to test new waxing, and find a hill you would expect to walk or diagonal stride up without herring boning and see how the grip is without using poles. See my previous blog on top videos which has at least two without poles

4) Ask the instructor or your skiing companion to teach you to a little ski skating too. If conditions are a firm base with new snow on top then you can skate easily on classic kicking skis.

This will help you become more confident in placing all your weight on one ski and balancing as you move. Later it will help you develop step-turning and in outset it will help you get out of the parallel tracks quickly when you need to avoid children in particular!

You may actually find you prefer skating, and given your companions also ski skate and you have access to well groomed runs in your home area in winter, then you may as well go the whole hog. Also it is an easier sport to train for out of season using roller blades.

5) Learn how a classic ski works. Start with a waxless ski and understand how you press the 'spenn' ie the prebend, down to gain traction as you thrust forward and how the bend otherwise reduces your contact with the snow and lets you ski fast on the glide zone in the short kick, down hill and when skating or step-turning.

Later this will inform your choice of ski > a ski must do both these jobs well in order for you to enjoy efficient motion and keep up with your Norwegian freinds ! Also it can inform you on your waxing area which you may want to extend or reduce over the recommended length for your weight and height.

6) Absolute key > It is a stride and not a slide.....free that trailing ski !  The classic kicking motion is maybe better described as a thrusting off one leg to kick the gliding leg forward and the a complete committment to wait on the forward ski, with the trailing ski unloaded and just dragging lightly. Eventually you will learn to lift your trailing leg having placed the weight on the new gliding ski quite far forward.

b) To learn this fundatmental try jogging on the skis up gentle slopes where there is little or no glide. Do this both with an without poles. Choose then to do this on the flat without poles and turn the jogg into a stride and see how far you can glide on one ski once you have gained a little speed. Keith Nicol shows some very good glide-extension training techniques, one with only one ski on which is ideal and a good instructor should show you this in the first lesson!

c) when you are getting a bit of the hang of this weight transfer committment and achieving some good glide on your waxless skis, try doing diagonal striding without and then with poles on a gentle down hill. Diagonal striding is not efficient down hill, but this training method will teach you to trust the weight on the leading ski and enjoy the glide which will be very much extended over the usual flat efforts.

7) for downhilling on steeper sections to begin with come out of the tracks if conditions are not icey, and plough in the middle groomed lane. Control your speed and then you can adopt a traditional wide alpine, tucked stance to get the feeling of speed. Try steering in plough and in the wide alpine tuck by transfering your weight from one leg to the other, zig/zagging a little down the pisted area.

b) for in track practice make sure you can half plough to break your speed and be prepared to hop out into plough in the mid section or bail out into a bum slide if you are in danger of loosing control or running into someone in front of you

c) practice building speed up in the tracks either on a more gentle hill or by braking less. hninja turtkles felix.  Bend your knees so much that they are over your toes and no further to begin with, dropping your body and bum into a tuck as the speed gains. Keep your wieght evenly distributed on the shoes, they will feel neutral and if you feel you are rocking forward bend your knees more and sit back a little, just a smidgeon. Learn not to go with your weight on your heels to begin with. Later this is used as an acceleration technique but you will fall over backwards often.

d) Practice on a good down hill corners which you can see round, with wieght on the outside foot about 60%-75% while the body leans into the corner, which is a bit counter intuitive and needs practice.

e) ski runs are usually prepared with respect to safety such that long down hills usually do not terminate abruptly or at a junction. Be cautious the first time you do a route, pausing at the top of descents.  Also you will quickly note that the steepest sections or those with steepness and sharp turns usually have no tracks laid in or they are worn out by people ploughing. Learn to drop into plough quickly by going on the middle flat section with your legs in normal track width apart. Take some down hills as said cautiously, staying out the tracks such that you can use a wide alpine stance, raise yourself up and drop down into plough quickly and stabily.

8) Build up your training on a circular route or short two way route which is has little herring bone and little free down hill. Build up then the number of circuits you do per hour and extend your sessions to over 2 hours if you can.

b)  After a 20 minute warm up including some ski jogging, slow striding, poling and so on, step out your skis and do some shaking out, loosening off excercises for a couple of minutes and stretch.

c) Then use the next circuit to focus on technique and learning where you need to put in most effort, where you can glide most and where a little extra effort will hold your speed higher. Extend then your number of ciircuits and note both the distance, time and conditions in a log book. Then you can plan longer tours for the weekends or holidays with more confidence in your stamina.

9) Learn to pole more advanced as you go along> firstly get used to placing the pole end near your foot in the diagonal stride. Then learn to place them further forward to propell you on good gliding sections, down hill or when ski skating. In classic then for poling only , start to take them even further forward along the ski and lean into them , putting some body weight onto them, and then swinging through with your hands swinging actually below your knees. Later on you will need instruction to get the more advanced technique where the poles are verticle and planted near the tips of the skis with the body raising onto tip toes.

 10) If you are up to four or more hours per week training plus some longer tours, it is worth then getting better quality skis and considering if you will go over to the easier gliding wax skis or high quality waxless skis such as Fischer RCS or Atomic Skintecs. You may also want to consider if you want to do more mountain skiing or if you like ski skating best in which case you can buy equipment and get the related instruction while keeping your old waxless skis for local fitness training.

That probably leads us to the next summary of tips on equipment, with the last topic of the very good Fischer RCS or the Innovative Skintec from Atomic being worth combining into your requirements for a higher performance ski.