Tag Archives: alpine wax

20 November, 2015
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Powder Skiing, Uncategorized

Tips for powder skiing

trav powder

You wake up on Tuesday morning and found 10 inches of fresh POW fell overnight. What do you do?

  1. Call in sick to work
  2. Break out the powder skis
  3. Rush to the mountain

Why a powder ski?

These skis are designed to keep the skiing on top of the snow. Depending on the type of powder ski, they can offer agility and maneuverability. They resemble water skis in shape, with a noticeably rockered nose to provide lift over the fresh snow. Their large width allows the ski to float over deep snow. They are usually fat, meaning having a waist of greater than 100mm and have reverse camber (the waist sits at the lowest point).

Now that you are at the mountain and geared up, make sure you understand the mountain terrain and understand the dangers associated with skiing on un-groomed terrain. Skiing powder has a different feel and does not behave the same as groomed trial, although the adrenaline rush of floating on the snow and the powder flying by makes it all worthwhile.

Here are some tips to ski powder.

  1. Maintain your balance. Keep equal pressure on both skis. Devin, a Green Ice Wax brand rep says “make a platform with your skis keeping weight distributed 50/50 over each ski” Keep the skis close together about shoulder width apart.
  2. Keep your hands up with your elbows in front of your torso. Do not lean back as you will lose balance.
  3. Keep your head up and do not pressure your edges as you normally would on groomed terrain. This will cause the one ski to dip further in the snow than the other.
  4. Maintain speed to keep from sinking and steer the skis into the fall line as you go down the mountain.
  5. Wax your skis. Powder tends to be more granular then groomed snow. The sharper the snow crystals, the more the need for wax. A sharp structure will cause more friction. Green Ice Wax makes safe and eco-friendly ski and snowboard wax which is long lasting and stands up to the rough shape of fresh “POW”.

 

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11 December, 2014
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Uncategorized

Would you ski this line?

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9 December, 2014
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Uncategorized

Travis Ganong Takes 5th at Beaver Creek – Dec 5th

US Ski Team athlete and supporter of Green Ice Wax, Travis Ganong, takes fifth place in the Birds of Prey Downhill last weekend at Beaver Creek Resort.

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27 March, 2014
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Reasons to Wax

Preparing for the Off-season

It’s that time of the year. We have changed our clocks and spring has begun. Mountain road bikes replace skis and snowboards. But before putting your equipment in the garage for the summer, remember properly stowing your equipment will make for a much easier transition come fall. The base is made of a plastic, which dries out over time. The steel edges will rust and pit, and the bindings can “gum up” and stick. In order to preserve your equipment’s integrity, it is recommended that you prepare your investments in the off season. We have put together five simple steps to protect your skis/board in the off season.

1. Wax the ski or board with a soft hydrocarbon wax. Be sure to cover the entire surface of the base. A soft iron-on wax like our GI HC warm or rub –on like our GI FE are of the best choices. Let the wax cool without scraping. Leaving a coat this coat of wax on the base for the summer will hold moisture in the plastic and keep the base from drying out.

2. Cover the edges with wax. If you used enough wax in step one the base, the edge will already have a decent amount of wax on it. To cover the remainder of the edge, rub the wax bar along the side edge. Be sure the wax is adhering to the steel. This will prevent oxygen from oxidizing with the steel edge, forming rust. If the edge rusts, the rust can begin to penetrate further into the steel. At this point, tuning and filing will not remove the rust causing a burr to remain on the edge.

3. Put the skis together using ski straps. If you do not have straps, a soft cloth wrapped with tape will suffice. This will keep the bases from rubbing against each other.

4. Cover the bindings. If you are looking to go the eco-friendly route (and we hope you do), find some used paper or plastic shopping bags to cover the bindings. Fix the bags to the skis with some tape. If you do not have any bags, plastic wrap from a local grocery store will suffice.

5. Store your equipment in a dry, clean area until next season.

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