Yup - seems like a good process from what I've read. Seems to work well enough in practice. I forgot to mention that I am only heating in a binder in the wax pocket like above...anrothar wrote:-Scuff up the kick zone with sandpaper
-Glide wax tip and tail and full length of groove
-base binder ironed into the kick zone
-grip wax in the kick zone to start
-if slipping, extend the kick zone forward
-if still slipping, add a little bit of warmer wax and blend it into the colder wax presently on the ski
-if still slipping add more warmer wax
Yeah - I'm hoping skins or Fischer scales mostly for those conditions. It was cold, like 20F, but that apparently doesn't always mean good waxing. Oddly enough, those similar snow conditions are where I've found the Madshus waxless pattern to really struggle.lilcliffy wrote:In my experience, this is the domain of either klister or waxless traction.MikeK wrote:it was that icy, transformed snow that I was talking about that working with blue over green... and even so, it was not perfect. I think had come down really wet with above freezing temps and then the temperature dropped below freezing the next day.
Elevation has an impact for sure, but being near the lake has an impact too.lilcliffy wrote: This certainly makes sense. Changes in temperature are even more extreme in the western mountains...But- I expect that the change in temperature- due to elevation- at your latitude may be more dramatic than at mine. What are the elevations in the Adirondacks that you are skiing in?
Typical elevation near home is around 500'. When I go down to Southern NY it's anywhere from 700' to 2200'. Adirondacks we are usually in the 1800' to 2200' range, but obviously if you get up on any mountains that can easily get up over 4000'.
Oh for sure - even being out in an open field can be far different than being in the woods in terms of temperature and snow quality. Wind and sun really can make the snow abrasive as well as drifty and/or thick and crusty. I don't usually ski in big open areas unless it's right after a storm. I kind of think of ungroomed skiing a lot like paddling. Being in big open areas is like being out in the middle of a big lake - if it's calm, it's fine... but more often than not it's windy and rough. I typically like to the shoreline to shelter me or stay on smaller, calmer lakes or ponds, or rivers...lilcliffy wrote: The possibility for constant variation in snow temperature is precisely why I see applying a softer grip wax as a last resort.
The variability in snow temperatures is not only a factor of elevation change, but also a factor of aspect and tree canopy cover.
Our winters vary so much it's impossible to tell. It could be a steady 10-20F for weeks at a time or cycling between 50F and 30F with intermittent snow. More often than not it seems we get a lot of days that hover in the 30s.lilcliffy wrote: In the heart of my typical winter, the temperature is typically stable enough to make grip wax very effective.
But, on the shoulders of my season, waxless traction seems the most effective solution. I am curious to see whether an integrated kicker skin can beat scales in my climate and snow.
I need to just be diligent in picking the right ski for the snow and temps and it shouldn't be an issue - I have all the tools to do so. Often I get in to trouble when I try to use a ski that really isn't the ideal ski just so I can get some time on it i.e. to test it out when conditions aren't right. Last year I only used my skinny Fischers once, but they were absolutely perfect when I did (we had a decent base and it was warm, wet, old snow).
