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.

Ski Waxing for the Time Pressed Amateur Fitness XC

If like me you don't have a ski holding work bench or a wax iron, don't despair. For you and me the rank amateur , fun and fitness skier, or "mosjonist" as the Norwegies say, you really don't need one.

Even professional ski waxers use short cuts these days with smooth-on or spray-on products when conditions change suddenly or they have many skis to do. Also the latest racing skis** use a high molecular weight plastic like Dyneema/Spectra which has been shown to have so few "pores" that it does not absorb glider much at all, but may 'ADsorb' enough to be slower ie the coefficient of friction is higher than the bare ski in many conditions due to excessive amounts of glider left on the surface.

Spray and Smooth On Ski-Base Wax Products Are GO!!

Spray/Smooth on waxing products rely on gentle solvents to make the waxes mobile rather than the heat of the iron or friction from manual application. Thus for any of these products, for best results apply at room temperature , spread evenly while they are mobile, leave for 20 minutes at room temperature or warmer, check again for even-ness of application and then put them outside in the cold to set hard for 10 minutes before scraping, brushing or corking.

There by the solvent helps spread the waxes into the pores and structure of the ski sole, it evaporates leaving just the wax, and you then get best results from cooling it outside for both glider and kicking zone wax.

Smooth on glider in solvent has been proven to be pretty much as good as iron on ones for the amateur ski tourer / fitness skier. You would be better putting a half hour more into technique, for example without poles, and buying better shoes or trousers or of course skis than investing in a work bench, iron and range of glider blocks to melt in. Also on P-Tex 2000 UHMWPE it glider may be superflouous**


You can then, survive with basic plastic tools and no bench. In fact one company Ski-Go have now included the tools in very well priced packages: a spread on glider with a medium hard synthetic palm brush, and a two pack kick zone wax with both a neat 100 corn sandpaper on a tool, a blue which is high range replacing the need for green, and then a milder weather top wax : the wax cans include a cork at the bottom too! Really neat, almost bought a set but I have actually my own tried and now trusted technique as follows:



My 2012-14 Trusted Method with a Flourinated Update

part I : Base Prep, Glider and Base - Binder Waxes

Do the base prep on an evening with freezing conditions outdoors if you can then. The work is only about 20   minutes per ski but there is a lot of waiting around to be filled with dish washing and facebook!

How I do my skis: well first I would say that you should just clean the whole sole and any clister from the sides at the end of the last season. Then clean again very lightly and check for condition after you dig them out the attic again. If there are many small scores, or roughness or hairs in the glider zone then a trip to the service shop is worth the money as they will do a really even job for just a couple of hundred krone. If the ski looks okay, then you can start with glider**.

1) First tape off the kick zone at each end with good, wide masking tape or use paper strips taped over with any old tape tight up but not overlapping, on each edge. Tape from the kicking zone marks in over. If you have no marks, or washed them off, or become heavier after juletide then refer to sliding the paper under your skis on the internet to determine the extent of the kick wax zone.

2) Apply glider from the tube with sponge spreader fairly sparingly but firmly with round actions covering the glide area up to the tapes and avoid getting any amount building up at these points. Use a circular motion to spread evenly, squeezing out when you see it is thining out. Do this on the flats and then use the sponge tip on the tube without squeezing out any more and spread a little into the groove.

Do both skis!

For spray on glider read the can for directions :  have it at room temperature, shake well and test spray on paper to see how much it goes on and how smoothly. Spread out with the plastic ski spatula tool.

 3) Then leave for about 10 minutes at room temperature or 5 mins in a warmer drying or wet room. Then place the skis outside if it is dry and cold.

4) Now you can scrape off the excess glider with the clister spatula, an stiffer old credit card or a perspex tool which is purpose built, pretty aggressively.

One good fancy wee tool is the groove scraper "pen" which is ergonomic and great on both glider and kick wax.

5) You can repeat scrapings but it is best to brush the glider zones with either a soft copper brush or a medium plastic brush, or a natural hair scrubbing brush. This will remove the last of the glider which is free and not absorbed into the pores. Excess glider especially near the kick zone will cladd up new snow and will attract dirt from old snow.

Dust off with a cloth.

Kicking Zone Wax  - Base

1) Now change the tapes with new ones which now cover the ends of the glider you have done, recommend paper under the tapes so you dont lift any glider off or add glue on. It is really important not to get any kick wax onto the glide zone.

2) Sand the kick zone gently up and down with 100 grade sand paper and if you have 120 to hand, do the final sanding in the direction of travel three to five times until an even dull surface is achieved. The Easy Grip Kit from Ski Go includes a purpose built sanding tool, top marks to them!!

3) Now I then use a spray on base wax, which is V90 from Swix in my case. You can also use a base clister which takes wax or clister above this.  Shake very well, and you can take the can up in some warm water to make it extra flowing and well mixed. Test spray a little to check it is coming out evenly and to see what distance will lay down a line of spray which is sensibly wide to one of the flats either side of the groove so the groove does not get laiden with wax.

The V90 is a heavy green cold weather or base binder wax in a solvent laden spray can. It goes on held about 3 to 5 centimeters from each flat, avoiding getting it in the groove.

4) Once on, spread out with the end of a clean spatula immediately. Spraying and smoothing one side at a time can be a good idea. 

5) Leave to dry out the solvent a little at room temperature and the pale dull wax will start to form within a minute.

6) At this point get some good lighting and check for any bald or thin spots what so ever and re-apply a short spray to the area, spraying outboard and spreading in over to avoid loading the groove.  Spread until it looks even and then leave in doors as for glider for up to 1o minutes.

7) Then take outside if it is cold (zero or below) and dry weather for 10 minutes. If it is mild or sleeting outside, then leave overnight in a cool, dry cupboard or porch.

8) After cooling to set the hard wax, Take out the excess from the groove with a plastic tool avoiding getting hand warming on the flats.

9) Now cork the wax in using first a circular motion and then backwards and forwards along the zone.Then finally five strokes in the direction of travel, back along the ski.

10) Leave to cool a bit and then again take off the excess from the groove.

Ready for What Ever the Weather Throws at You!
You can in effect now just leave the green wax on now and here is why:
a) If it is very cold, below -15, with new snow then two layers of green v90 should give you a good grip. Apply another layer then, as above.

b) If you are expecting cold conditions -9 and lower with old, hard, transformed snow then repeat such that you have a better layered start for the season to either take a third layer of this or use blue.

c) The same is true if you expect to perhaps use clister on melted snow which can be applied in two layers on top of two layers of green wax or ontop of a base clister spray as an alternative which is even quicker to apply and used by pros.



Part II _ Day Conditions Kick Zone Waxing

Now you have single layer of green :

If conditions are normal range of +1 to minus 10 'C then apply first a blue cold wax along the whole length of the kick zone for good tracks*

I now swear by the fluorinated kick wax products because they last so much better and hold new snow less ie less cladding and it rubs off quicker. I use Blue VR now and Lillac Special VR from swix for general -10 to +1 conditions.



Twice the price often, and available from all the main makers and some specialist wax firms, the flourinated products are worth the money! I have done over 40 km on blue without needing to re-wax this year. In fact I have only waxed once this season ! Partly due to me using wax less skis on the days with most snowfall though.

*If you are expecting a lot of fine new snow, then I suggest not using more wax on the tip end of the kick zone than your base wax, instead starting further along the ski just infront of the toe with your day waxing. For good, hardened tracks though, you can wax the whole kick zone with one layer of blue at least.

Given conditions are forseeable below -3'C then you are best using blue especially if new snow fall is forecast as the lillac and other "round zero" waxes will ball up in minus four with new snow.

For new snow and conditions of under -10'c I would recommend doubling your layer of green V90 and going out to see if you can get traction or if you need blue. 

If you are expecting abrasive conditions, hard and cold or sharp and wet, then do a double layer of base wax before you use clister or day wax.

Another Top Tip:  The same rule of thumb for the wax itself applies in how you have it "stored" on the day: for blue and lillac wax, once outdoors, keep it next to your body so that it goes on easier, angling to the edge. For purple special and red wax, keep these away from your body heat so that they have a harder edge and will be easier to apply over harder waxes in an even layer. For clister in tube or spray, keep these again near to your body or pre-warm them on the cars heating outlets such that it flows better for the tube, and the solvent evaporates for the spray.


So given you are going for blue, do a second full length layer AFTER though you lay the ski out in the cold or even down on the snow to cool. This is a really good trick because what you want to achieve is lamination and not a thick layer of each wax grade which is massaged into itself.

After then corking this second layer, it is back on the snow to cool off. The aim is to have five or six layers in the "pocket" ie making a pyramid now of wax which has the last two layers only under the arch of the foot.

This has a number of advantages: it saves waxing time, it reduces the amount of friction when not kicking  because it is in the area lifted most of the ground, if the snow is sticking it will stick less to the thinner applied ends at least, and finally, if you do encounter harder conditions or ski longer, you have a reserve of wax which is in this pocket and hence you may survive with less powerful kicks to finish your tour or race without losing time rewaxing.

The final layers are three to five in a "pyramid" on top of two full length layers, are day layers and should be done out on the course once you have assessed temperature and snow conditions. Make a mental note of where you have made these two or three pyramid increments by looking at the binding.

The extra 45 seconds or so of placing a ski on the snow after each layer is corked will be well worth its time in avoiding repeat waxing on the course, and in any case you work on one ski while the other is cooling off.

I now recommend going and kicking a bit in diagonal stride without poles to see how the wax feels and to see if it is cladding up or is slipping too much. You can then extend the "pocket pyramid out by waxing up those areas each side of it again and eventually adding another couple of pyramid layers going in over.

Alternatively you can experiment then with a softer wax or a clister just in the length of the sole of the shoe or even just under the arch of the foot to give a little extra bite if the snow is old and been transformed into a hard surface by many ski goers or freeze-thaw-freeze conditions.

Hard Snow and Wet, Large Crystaline Snow Prep

On very abrasive days over zero 'C,  I am fed up using clister from the tube ( i have tried fancy thin layers put on at home and all) and try to hold to red wax, of which I have masses of sticks to use up as winter here before has been an all or nothing affaire with mostly blue and the odd lillac days. So  VR flouronated is not worth getting until I use up my red.

However Spray clister though is something I will experiment with this year because I have heard both some serious distance racers and family folk talk highly of its ease of application and of course re-application if the thin layer wears off. I have seen some people not even taking their skis off to put a layer on in order to keep them going!


However, I reckon tomorrow's melted, wet conditions mean the jumble sale fish scale Trak skis are the most sensible choice for a quick slide around on slush and ice.


(** If you have the new P-Tex 2000 sole then due it's toughness I would definetly take a trip to the shop if there are small dammage. Also it is recommended by some not to have these skis textured in the glide zone when new because they do not absorb  significant amounts of glider. Better skis from the last two years will all have this UHMWPE base in this brand or another btw) 

Your Norsk XC Ski Season 2014: Late Start for Some, Early Bath for Us!

In all truth the weather has been relatively mild, stubbornly staying above -7'C. The windchill and humidity has been high, so it has felt pretty much like a normal cold january and we have been out of course clearing all that magic white stuff incessently, like the labour of Sisyphus.

Now however nature has decided to do out "måking" for us and melt the snow away, and the forecast is for sleet and rain and a temperature on average over the magic number null. How strange it is that water is so precise in giving us on the one hand, a winter wonderland, while on the other the drudgery of gray days with just the mere wavering of the thermometer.

I guess in the earlier days that this type of snow fall was more common. The effect of a run of Atlantic depressions spun in on the arctic stable circle tracking over the uk, but stopping up against the scando-russian high pressure has happened before. We have had a pile of occluded fronts which seem to have picked up more moisture from the Baltic and dumped snow on us. It has been like a mad conveyor belt here for upto 30cm per night of snow, while in the Uk and on the continent, it has caused more flooding misery.

I am popping off out after lunch today for a slide on my jumble-sale waxless skis rather than clistering up my good skis and using the best part of an hour to do this. After today there is sleet forecast with rain on the warm front side all week as the Atlantic anticyclones have beaten the scando' high pressure back to Siberia. So it could be an early bath for me , when considering any serious amounts of training on planks.

However for those of you ex-pats in much of the West Lands and Tronderlag you have not had a flake of snow near the main towns. However  you will be getting plenty I expect soon. So my next blog is for you.

In this short and over-killed snow season, I have learned to learn more than anything and to take out from the less than perfect conditions what I can. Read on in the next blogg.

My XC Ski Equipment 2o14

Gear and waxing are big topics to break the ice with random skiers you meet or chew the cudd with pals.

My gear? Well I reckon i had outgrown my Fischer PowerWax tour skis but this year the soft going has shown that 2 inch broad tour skis are useful and enjoyable in new snow and lighly pisted runs with or without "tram lines".

Planks

I have standard rottefella amateur button release bindings, not the moutain heavy weight ones as often are fitted to powerwaxers. I actually broke one on ice last year at Årstøl, with the heel section loose. This actually really messes up your balance so i demounted them after one more tour and found my old completely knackered atomics had the same binding and after cleaning clister and rust off them i found them to be in good order. So one was transfered over, touch wood it has been fine.

The skis themselves are Fischer's "short-cut" design, allowing more pre load or curve in the kick zone for a shorter ski. This makes them really good for a heavy guy like me, being broad while holding my weight. I often do need though to toe-up to get speed on downhill so there is something not quite right for me. The sidecut (in swing) is more pronounced in action probably because of the short cut prebend arch, so you get better downhill steering at the expense of some odd tracking in the tram-lines.

My edges have been damaged a bit in icey conditions, so i recommend actually getting used or old stock powerlight steel edged skis for use in harder southern conditions or on a combi back woods / light mountain tour.  At the moment i found no other light tour ski with track touring classic centre arch with steel edges. The fischer E89 and the similar Åsnes Vikefjell are long arch mountain skis which will clap a lot in tram line tracks or harder pisted sections. Fischer steel lights are training skis with steel edges, the only i can find on the market and more or less made to order. Madshus Lillehammer have a steel reinforced egde and are a good trainer / distance racer ski apparently.

The powerlights come into their own versus training skis on tracks with a firm base and new snow on top, where their breadth helps them float and track quite well. Also down hill the full side cut in swing helps turning on softer hills. This week in 15cm powder on a semi firm base I was able to lift the tips a bit down hill and keep the skiis accelerating while the poweder fizzed ! Also for carrying any weight in a ruck sack then a touring ski is better.

Sticks

My poles are a bit fancy as i did a bit of a haggle for them in G Max Skien, stating my budget and they sold me  way-over- spec swix carbon racing 160cm with half glove velcro grips. These are a bit too fancy for my level of confirmed "mosjonist". But they are light and encourage proper modern technique of shoulder high swing and long back pole at knee height. Also they are ideally strong and light for the " falling forward/tip toeing" efficient lean in with poles vertical planted at the ski tips. Which showed their weakness in soft snow, having a small bail : scallop formed and only about 4cm broad. I did a menacing face plant as they duly disappeared into meter deep snow. Over cooked.

Fun and Fitness Equipment Reality?

This got me thinking that maybe as a fun&fitness skier, a "mosjonist" , i should go back to the older fashion of arm pit high poles and not shoulder high ones. Then i could get them planted verticle nearer the centres of gravity and effort, making a body weight driven poling less extreme. Also interchangeable bails up to full mountain bails would be a good plan. I will try and borrow modern mountain poles to arm pit height to see how they go.

This theme of down sizing the best racing techniues for Fun&Fitness level is big for me!

Boots

This year i got a "purchase power" from Coop Obs . They have bought in a shed load of Alpina racing boots. I was recommended to use combi style boots (ones for classic and skating with an ankle bail and velcro support system). I had to up a size to EU 46 to get the width but i now too find the legnth gives me better balance and comfort. Alpina RC combis are really way too bling bling for me but have proven themselkves a boost already

Combi boots are more cumbersome but are good for those of us not born on skis looking for more support and control from the ankle and lower leg. Also they make skating on ordinary skis easier and of course you can jump onto skatin.g skis, tighten the ankle binding and off you go.

I fjind that i have more confidence in manoevres especially plough and step turning. Partly the boot also seem to fit the binding better too, but mostly it is the well fitting bootie, sole and the ankle straps which help.

Just to be super fancy, Alpina also include a heel clamp system with an adjustment bail and ratchet above the heel. Since i have very big "spurs" on my heels, this has also been good for eliminating heel lift while not having to over tighten the laces.

It is now recommended to wear only one pair of thin sports wool socks in modern, insulated , breathable fabric boots. I find this a little cool, but right enough i have not had sweaty feet. Being about half a size bigger than perfect, i can also wear an bigger sock and lace less for minus ten degrees or less. The boots outer shell are waterproof, breathable and seem very tough.

The only draw backs are 1)  a tight and awkward zip and 2)  that any snow trapped inside while putting on or takin.g off stays cold between the outer shell and the booty, leading to a wet boot later on.

I feel much more confident in these boots so turning youtube tips into hard wired technique is going very well this year.

Glad-Rags

Me clothes are merino wool underwear with a pertex jogging jacket down to minus 10, when an extra layer fleece or double pertex is layed on.

Trousers are both Bjorn Dæhle touring pants, a light, p-tex fronted, mesh lined trouser with a calf long boot zip and refective flashes. Oh and they are like sacks on anyone, not a flattering cut. 

I also now have a pair of overly fancy OW three layer pants which are shape hugging and so far better for down to minus 6 in activity, but need wool underwear in bigger wind chill or with a more.plodding pace. I had to get XXL to my shame, but the beer belt coverage also means good, high back coverage. They also have a good top boot fit with soft rubber keep-me-up ribs to do the exact opposite , keep them on the boot at speed.  A little cold for plodding about in, they do however have front insulation p tex to help downhills after an energetic uphill.

On the subject of back fit - "kidney coverage" - i also got a Madshus drinking bottle belt bag, which I discovered is actually as much a kidney warmer as it is a drink, wax and cork carrier. It probably has a foil inner layer. Great buy once again at Coop Obs.

My usual longer tour set up is a camel back style mountain biking ruck sack sans drinking system, but with a synthetic towel for sweat,x and a rolled up oversjized p tex jogging jacket in either sides webbing lattice.  I find the double ptex set up for stops, downhills or sudden drops in temperature is ideal as long as stops are not more than 10-15 mins and the condensation has not become really heavy on the first layer. So for colder days or longer stops a light fleece layer is carried jin the sack.

P tex double is light, highly breathable and offers surprising warmth or wind cheating. Buffalo had this in fact with their over jacket. I must also try light over trousers.

The sports towel gets used on interval training or when the wind chill is negligible and i sweat.

I use just buffs as head gear , having up to four on me, but i have purchased a wee proper ski bunnet in light synthetic, Norsk flag an' all. Just forget to take it with me. B uffs get saturated and dont stay warm so i do have some wool ones which however make you sweat more in the first placed. So often in cooler stuff i go double layered, get up a sweat and take the outer wool off, and when the syn.thetic buff is saturated and icing, towel me off a tad and plonk on wool round head and a new buff round chin and neck.

My other trouble area is gloves and condensation or wetness. I seem to sweat a lot in gloves when skiing and i do fall over once i.n a while. I found single layer fleece running gloves too thin for wind resistance and too cold when dampened by snow. Double fleece layer too warm! Bjorn DÆhle with letherete palms, they'll do the job when on offer ? Nope, hold sweat and water like a magnet and freeze in the finger tips after an hour at minus 10. 

Bula win.d cheat layered ? Nope, too clammy again, although they seemed highly water an.d wind resistant.

The perfect glove is maybe out there and probably the price of two months in a nice warm gymn.

Waxing remains for another blog another day!

My 2014 XC Ski Season So Far

Snow, as promised by anyone i told the opposite to, has come to south eastern Norway...with avengance....almost three weeks of wind and snow driven by a series of atlantic anticyclones hitting russian cold air and being just a big conveyor belt for snow filled east-south-easterlies.

Now however today, the westerlies broke through more and the magicak zero barrier was passed with a heavy air and rain conducting away the cold from the snow.

We do however have over a meter lying in most places so it will be interesting to see how much survives a week of plus 4 degrees and rain showers.

Anyway, short and quite sweet so far. Too much snow in fact for my intended programme of long runs and a focus on weight transfer. Often it was impossible to trust one leg with all my weight because it would sink in. So i practiced a bit of this and that but mostly i got benefit from down hill.

I have managed only four sessions of anynote, with a couple of other wee tours when ski skating with the kids or with shopping in a ruck sack was a distraction from shovelling the damn white stuff away for fear of having a burried car or structural dammage to the balcony.

My first session was fine though, with the first half hour and last quarter without poles in classic and some skating. After 45 mins of wagging hands, when i took to four limb propulsion again i felt turbo charged. I also managed to be out for three hours so that meant going long over my two hour target.

Next session was on poorer prepared tracks with more snow drifting in from the evenings prep. The club has bought an argocat which is of course not much for beating down the piste, while the machine it tows could do with some sacks of cement on top. A frusrtating 18km then in a damp wind. My cough got worse and a cold came, keeping me off games for the rest of the week. First session after that was another on the same route, this time in poorer tracks but slightly less wind and hassel.

A tour round our ancient, narrow and roller coaster like flodlight course and then a technique session as in my last blog, any focus mainly down hill technique out of tram lines.

If this is the end of the season then so be it!  A big boost to my confidence that my learning curve is steep again and that actually that i can put youtube into practice!