This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
Theoretically the new snow should not have been stickier to your blue extra. Note Swix's chart indicates a higher temperature range for new snow vs transformed. So if anything the converse should have been true. Did temperature deviate from 28F when you noticed the issue?
It definitely didnt get colder with the snowfall, and may have actually been a little warmer.
I am as confused as you.
maybe this wet, heavy, small flake snowfall, was just “freezing on contact”?
my skiing partner was on a crown base with some F4 Universal, and he was similarly sticky…
I'd try buffing the blue extra with a synthetic cork if you're sticking a bit in new fresh snow, before bothering to change wax.
Correct me if I'm wrong, will a synthetic cork make your wax more glidy, and a natural cork make it more grippy?
I've not heard that before. I've not used a real cork "cork" in a very long time, but we used to use them in shops on wax benches for smoothing out and buffing after hot waxing and scraping.
"To me, gracefulness on skis should be the end-all of the sport" --Stein Eriksen
If anything, maybe I have it backwards. When you recommended a synthetic cork to prevent sticking I assumed it made for a smoother surface and I always thought smoother is faster(more glide).
I haven't used a synthetic cork in a while. I always used them interchangeably. I'll have to dig it out and do a comparison.
On the subject of corks-
I use three different corks:
- natural, regular cork for applying kick wax to a fresh (ie before skiing) base;
- synthetic cork for applying kick wax on tour;
- high-density natural cork for buffing hard grip wax on the entire ski base
My personal experience is that synthetic corks are more effective when there is moisture in the mix- hence my use while touring- otherwise, I get more effective results with a natural cork (and I must admit that I will always be biased to materials that I can throw in my compost heap!)
+1 for Fisheater's recommendation for Rex Universal Tar wax when touring in and on fresh-falling, moisture-rich snow. I add a thin layer on top and c'est bon!
This is a wonderful kick wax that I am experimenting with more and more. https://skiwax.ca/products/rex-wax-basi ... versal-tar
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
I'm far from being a waxing expert myself, but I have had some luck with using a thicker and longer application of the wax that is one step too "hard" instead of the ideal wax. Getting more grip and less chance of sticking.
+1 on this-
for backcountry touring- I always err/lean towards colder/harder kick wax- moving to warmer/softer kick wax as a last resort.
Also unless you are trying to be super efficient, scrapping isn't as necessary as one might think. You may have a hard time putting Swix green over red or red/silver in a heated workshop, but you probably could get some on after skiing them for a while. The softer waxes do harden with contact to the snow. Adding harder wax and then corking it is sometimes enough to help with the sticking snow issues.
+1 here as well.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
I'd try buffing the blue extra with a synthetic cork if you're sticking a bit in new fresh snow, before bothering to change wax. Smoother and/or thinner wax layers work best in new snow.
If you've tried that and it isn't working, which would surprise me, try applying a thin layer of colder wax over the blue.
Warm up the colder wax first, inside your jacket, and it should rub on over the blue.
+2 on this.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.
Wax choice seemed pretty good. Maybe right on the edge, as I was slipping a just a little with the "kick"...
But I was flying along nicely on the Gammes...
after going back and reading Pinnah's "Waxing Manifesto",
I'm realizing that I may have been too stingy with the length of my "kick zone".
I've been only grip waxing from heel to about 4"-6" forward of the NNN-BC pin.
(aside from the full-ski application of Polar, first)
Sounds like if I encounter minor slipping on the kick in the future,
extending the applied grip wax a bit more forward,
will probably help and solve that issue.
