How do you ski this spring snow???

[Manney]

I have the Voile V6, FT62, and Gamme 54 and might even pick up something on sale. I can imagine that the skinny Gamme might work better since there is some chemical interaction between the waxed-base and the snow. Making that surface area smaller might give me less of whatever is holding on to the ski - suction perhaps?

Look down your skis like the barrel of a rifle. Wide skis with pronounced shovel will direct a lot of water under the skis. More if base angle is 0/90 degrees. Some will get broken up by the scales, if that’s what is in the grip zone. Tough path for water to take to reach ski edge. More suction.

Smaller shovel will direct less water under the base. Some water will reach the groove and get expelled. Not its main function. Works though. Small base angle ~1/89 degrees, can help water escape too. Every little bit helps. Less suction. [See note]

Scales usually better in these conditions than grip waxed skis. Less to go wrong with grip wax, pressure, and temperature at the snow-ski interface… base, ground may be frozen even if there is slush on top. Warm weather grip wax can load up with ice crystals. Total shit show.

So… Groove + scales + very small base angle add up. Restricted to moderate terrain. Skins champions of the big climb. Not much use down.

If you want to get fancy, buy a rilling kit. I don’t have one. Seen them used by classic racers. Not my deal. Expensive… $150-200 dollars iirc. Can’t rill scales.

In either case, the glide wax needs to be brushed out. Brass brush opens the structure. Skip the nylon brush and polishing phase.

[Note… There’s a speed factor that affects suction. Slow skiers, low angle skiers may never experience it, so won’t understand. Haunts higher speed skiers. Slalom base grinds are low… 0.5-1.0 degree. Balance between good edging and reducing suction. GS base grinds are in the 2.0-3.0 degree range. Speeds are higher, edging sufficient, suction reduced. GS set up skis faster. XC, XCD, Tele skis don’t need radical base angles. Speeds are much slower than GS. Some base angle helpful to reduce suction. Don’t take my word for it. Lots written online about base angles and speed for slalom, GS skiers.]