| October 18,
2007 Vol. 8/ No. 4 |
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Dear SkiPost;
I have two questions regarding classic skis. I would regard myself as a recreational skier and have limited opportunities for snow, but I enjoy torturing with occasional long-distance races such as the Noquemenon. After drudging around on an entry-level set of waxless touring skis for a few years, two year's ago I splurged out on a set of classic, waxless, and have had them race prep'd by the guys at Downwind Sports in Marquette to apply the appropriate wax to the glide zones. Some friends who are a little more serious skiers have been trying to talk me into buying a set of waxable skis, touting the benefits of waxing - such as extra grip, kick, etc, etc. The cost of such marvelous toys, my recreational status and wife's fiscal oversight may not justify this additional 'luxury'. So, my questions are (1) are there specific conditions (temperature, terrain, etc) where a waxless ski is a better choice than waxable, and (2) is it possible (i.e. known) to apply a kick wax to the kick zone of a waxless ski to obtain additional grip or would this adversely affect performance or the ski itself. Your advice would be much appreciated
Best regards,
Hello,
Thank you for directing your question to us. There is one very obvious condition that your waxless skis are going to have a difficult time - ice. This is fairly common when you are skiing on man-made snow, and when you are skiing on conditions that are prone to freezing rain (read: spots East of the Mississippi). Recreational status is not the best reason to shy away from a waxable ski. Skis that have the ability to be waxed are going to work in nearly every condition you can imagine, but only when they have the right wax job.
There is the obvious obstacle here, and that is having a significant wax box to conquer every condition. Waxless skis are going to give you solid kick in nearly every condition. Salomon is making a ski that has a waxless pattern that is going to give you race-like kick in nearly every condition. A waxless ski is probably only superior to a ski that can take wax in the instance when it is 40 degrees and snowing. Other than that, a well flexed waxable ski that has the right wax will be better!
As for your second question, there is really no way of waxing a conventional waxless ski with kick wax. There are chemical bases that can be waxed, but these skis are not only difficult to find but they are really designed to work in the 40 degree and snowing condition. Your best bet is to get a pair of skis you can wax, and compare them. Stick with one wax line (the Factory Team chooses SWIX), and learn it. This will give you the benefit you are looking for, and will give you a couple of options on race day.
We hope that with this, and your wife's financial wisdom you make the decision that will help give you the best experience possible!
SkiPost
Dear SkiPost;
If your roller ski time is limited is it more productive to classic or skate?(assuming you are technically proficient in both)
Hi,
This is a good question. We would tell you that classic double pole, and kick double pole will be most beneficial to you. This is an area that almost every skier can improve. If you choose classic skis, make sure you are trying to replicate classic skiing at all times. Classic skiing is easy to translate to skate skiing, and you will find your groove on skate skis when the real snow comes. Thank you for your question, and best of luck.
SkiPost
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Is the best way to improve climbing stamina just to increase the number of hill bound drills? What I am wondering is whether there is a measurable correlation between achieving a target time in the Birkie and running/skiing repetitions on a 20 foot hill?
Note: This article doesn't address this question directly, it is an important piece to implementing hill bounding, and moosehoofing into your regular training plan.
By: Lars Flora
Factory Team
My favorite intensity session, speed session, or distance training at this time of the year is ski bounding/walking. This type of training is a sure way of getting ready for the upcoming season. No matter what the weather is rain or shine, ski bounding/walking can always fit into the schedule.
A skier might ask himself or herself, “What is ski bounding/walking?” Many coaches have a different explanation of the exercise and how it fits into training. I have used a variety of ski bounding/walking throughout my career and have refined my technique down to a few key points.
Basic Ski Bounding/Walking: A dry land activity used to prepare cross-country skiers for the up and coming ski season. It is used to increase fitness and to create a fast kick for on snow training. Preferred terrain is ski trails, a long up hill, or a step-up series of up hills. Step-up up hills are a series of up hills that are broken up with flatter terrain and ending at a higher elevation. The equipment needed is running shoes, shorts or tights, t-shirt or race top, and classic or bounding/walking poles. Bounding/walking poles are the preferred choice. Normally they are 2-3 cm shorter than your classic poles.
Basic Ski Bounding: The human motion is a combination of a skip and run with poles. Imagine yourself with a pair of skis on, running/skipping up a hill with your ski poles. Ski bounding can vary between a powerful bound to a high tempo bound. As skiers become stronger, the bound will become more powerful. In addition the amount of power used will be dependant on the intensity of the workout and the goal of the workout.
Basic Ski Walking: The human motion is a walk with ski poles. The walk is exaggerated and each stride is longer than a normal walk. Ski walking can vary from a slow tempo walk to a high tempo walk. As the workout intensity becomes higher, the tempo increases. Ski walking is the easier of the two.
Ski Bounding/Walking Workouts: A variety of ski bounding/walking workouts can be chosen from below or one can create their own specific workout. Listed below are my favorite ski bounding/walking workouts in Anchorage and can be easily replicated in a different area. Remember to have a specific goal for the workout and tailor your technique to the goal.
“Ski Walking” can be used for recovery and distance training. A variety of terrain can be used. I prefer a ski trail or a tall mountain. Throughout the workout ski walking can be used on the up hills. This allows the legs a rest from the constant pounding of running and stresses them at the same time. These workouts can range from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
“Leikish Pace Workout” is an intensity session used earlier in the season to prepare for the harder bounding workouts later in the intensity period. The workout is done on the 7.5 km loop of the Andrew Leikish Trail at Kincaid Park. This is one of the cities most difficult racecourses and is ideal for continuous bounding. The terrain is rolling with 2-3 min climbs max. The workout can last 30 min to one hour in total duration. The up hills are bounded at a high speed and the down hills and flats at level 2. Effort of bound-Medium power and high tempo.
“Gas line” is the most popular of my bounding workouts and is used though out the training period. The terrain is an up hill step up series and the preferred workout is 5 x 4 min intervals with 2-5 min active rest. Effort of bound-medium power and high tempo. Pay specific attention to the work effort. If the skier cannot sustain a bound for 4-5 minutes, the bound is too powerful. This workout can also be done on a sustain uphill. The overall pace will be slower due to continuous work.
“Speed Play” is a great workout to add to distance workouts or do as individual workouts. The speed can vary from 6 – 15 seconds in duration done multiple times in the workout. For example: 5x15 seconds in a 1:30 run or 12X10 seconds in an individual sprint workout. A skier can vary between high tempo bounds (move the arms as fast as possible) to powerful bounds (jump as far as possible each bound). |
Salomon is happy to provide you with their FIT CHART for the coming season. This will allow every skier to best match their height and weight with the ski that is going to work best for them.
This is the second season that Salomon has provided you with the Pilot Classic system, and this is truly the best way to compliment the new 'heel-toe' system that you will find in the Equipe Classic skis. Give the CHART a look, and locate your nearest dealer to find out what ski will work best for you!
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| Events/Clinics/Announcements |
West Yellowstone Ski Festival
West Yellowstone, Montana
November 20-24, 2007
www.yellowstoneskifestival.com
Here’s an update on the latest Ski Festival developments:
Murray Banks to speak Friday night: We are excited to announce that Murray Banks will be back in West Yellowstone and will be our featured speaker on Friday night, November 23. Murray is a successful endurance athlete and long time motivational speaker. We are looking forward to his return to West Yellowstone!
Try It and Buy It Gear Demo: At this point, all of the exhibitors that you have come to expect to see at the Yellowstone Ski Festival are planning to return this year. They include: Alpina, Atomic, Boulder Nordic Sport, Cirrus Design, Craft, Exel, Fischer, Holmenkol, K2, Madshus, Podiumwear, Rossignol, Swix, and TOKO. There is no better place to demo the latest in Nordic gear than at the Yellowstone Ski Festival.
SuperTour Registration: A race schedule is currently online. We have been delayed in getting our online registration up and running but are working diligently on that right now and hope that it will be available soon. The Men's and Women's Sprint races will take place on Friday, November 23rd. The Men's 15K and Women’s 10K Classic races will take place on Saturday, November 24th.
Kid’s Clinics by the Montana Outdoor Science School: The folks at MOSS have put together another amazing lineup of children’s clinics during the Ski Festival. The clinics will be based out of the Days Inn and pre-registration is required! For more information, visit the Clinics page of www.yellowstoneskifestival.com (scroll to the bottom where you will find a link to the MOSS website).
Stone Grinding by Boulder Nordic Sport and Engineered Tuning: Boulder Nordic Sport (BNS) will again bring a full-service stone-grinding ski shop to the Yellowstone Ski Festival November 19-25. Owners Nathan Schultz and Zach Caldwell will travel to the event with two Tazzari stone grinding machines (skis that are stone ground generally absorb more wax and perform better) and staff to provide professional ski service at the season-opening event.
For over 25 years, West Yellowstone, Montana has played host to cross country skiers during the month of November. There is no better place to start your ski season! For more information, visit www.yellowstoneskifestival.com.
Start your ski season in West Yellowstone, Montana!
The best way to contact Jamie Greene is via email at info@yellowstoneskifestival.com. He work on Ski Festival for an hour or so almost every morning and will respond to your email as quickly as possible. If you need to talk about something, you can leave a message at (406) 646-7097 and someone will return your call as soon as possible. See you in November!
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CXC/RAINBOW RESORT Fall XC SKI Camp
Friday, October 26, 2007 -through- Sunday, October 28, 2007
At Rainbow Resort in Waubun, Minnesota
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Cross-Country Technique Fundamentals CD
Developed by US Ski Team coaches, this revolutionary teaching tool features Olympic and National Team members Andy Newell, Kikkan Randall, Chris Cook, Andrew Johnson, Kris Freeman and more. This CD lays the foundation for both Classic and Freestyle techniques on which we can build a consistent technique program that will continue to develop great cross-country skiers for years to come. For use by coaches and skiers of all ages and abilities, this highly interactive CD-ROM.
Please Visit CXC to Purchase this, and other, CD-ROMs
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Steamboat Springs Nordic Challenge – Race #1
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
December 9, 2007
www.steamboatxcski.org
NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com
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