Before you can go skiing you have to prepare you skis. in this Article i will explain the basic preparation skills.
A cross-country ski is divided into three different zones.
Grip zone
That is the part of the ski where you have to put the wax on. This part only touches the snow during kicking. –> you need grip to move the ski!
Hard wax
We used alway hard wax to get the grip.
You put on 2 or 3 thin layers of wax and cork it into the base. But the wax has to fit to the conditions of the Snow and the temperature.
Snow conditions
On the ski wax you find two different types of snow New fallen and old snow. New fallen Snow has nice crystals with and gives a good grip. When the snow get older the crystals get more round and loses the grip.
If the snow ones melts and freeze again during the night the snow has no crystal form anymore. they are round and have no armes anymore –> no grip left.
–> so you alway have to check the snow and the temperature first then choose the proper wax !
What if the wax doesn’t work?
- Try to put on a new layer.
- Try a warmer wax. –> you can put a warmer wax on top of a colder on but not the other way round
- Use Klister –> it is a nasty sticky glue –> hard to get off again
What to do If you slip backwards a lot?
increase the grip zone. first forward then backward.