The arctic cold weather expected for Steamboat (NCAA/USSA Junior Race), Crested Butte (Alley Loop), Devil's Thumb (Winter Triathlon), Frisco (Gold Rush) and Sun Valley (Boulder Mountain Tour) will make this a tough weekend to stay warm, no matter where you are headed. The forecast is similar for all of these races - cold with chances for new snow. Whatever you do, make sure you have your cold weather gear (see this article for cold weather tips) and that you are prepared for start delays - bring lots of warm clothes, food, drink and something to pass away the time so you can stay relaxed. It is always a good idea to have an extra set of dry clothes so you can warm up, then change into dry clothes right before the start of the race.
Waxing and ski prep will be simple. Our ZR1 grind will be the fastest out there, as this is where that grind really excels. Harden up your ski bases as much as you can and brush the skis heavily with an aggressive, fine brush that will remove all traces of wax. Be sure to brush your skis after they have cooled completely to outdoor frigid temps and then brush them again after 1km of skiing on race day. Brush them right before the start, too.
Swix and Toko both have similar wax recommendations. Ski Go follows.
Prepare skis by hardening up the bases with some sort of base prep (such as Moly) and then it would be a good idea to do 2 layers of the cold wax. Or 3 or 4. In addition to the combinations given from Swix/Toko, another good glide wax combo to try is Start Green with Toko Cold Powder. Whatever you do, brush, brush, brush with an aggressive brush that will clean everything off of your base. Let the ski cool completely and brush again. Ski 1km and brush again. Brush right before the start.
We have two recommendations for SkiGo. Sun Valley is looking to be cold as well, so it may be a good idea to have a Super cold ski prepared as for Colorado Races along with a slightly warmer ski prepared as listed here.
Wax Recommendation for Colorado Races
Saturday February 3rd, 2007
Sunday February 4th, 2007
The weather looks to be absolutely frigid this weekend, with overnight lows below -20F and daytime highs in the range of 3-15F. Remember your windbriefs, in fact double up on them!!
Step One: Hotscrape skis with XC glider Blue.
Step Two: Iron in a layer of LF Blue. If this is going to be your top layer, then scrape and brush and then repeat this step again.
Step Four: Make sure to ski on your skis for five minutes or so and brush again on race day. This will make sure that all of the excess wax is out of the ski and the ski is the fastest it can be.
Skigo USA Racing Service- Have a great race!
Wax Recommendation for Boulder Mountain Tour
Sunday February 4th, 2007
The weather looks to be reaching the mid to high 20’s with the snow acting and feeling colder than this.
Step One: Hotscrape skis with XC glider Violet. This will help to get the base harder for the next layers.
Step Two: Iron in a layer of LF Violet. This wax has a history of success at this race, and should be absolutely perfect for use as even a top layer. If this is going to be your top layer, then scrape and brush and then repeat this step again.
Step Three: Iron in a layer of C380 Cold Powder. This is powdered gold in these conditions, nothing is faster! Scrape and brush.
Step Four: Make sure to ski on your skis for five minutes or so and brush again. This will make sure that all of the excess wax is out of the ski and the ski is the fastest it can be.
Skigo USA Racing Service- Have a great race!