Ski Waxing as an Art Form

Although the mosquitoes are not yet with us, as the days grow longer and the temperatures moderate, one cannot help noticing the growing proliferation of that other curious species, the skibug.

I used to do some downhill skiing, but gave it up when I decided that broken legs were too much of a price to pay for a little fresh air. And cross-country skiing--well--I've never seen the point of trying to climb mountains with those slippery things strapped to your feet when you could just as well walk. We have a cross-country trail passing through our property near Ester, and I can get a whole Sunday's entertainment out of watching the plight of skiers coming down off the well conditioned trail and hitting our icy driveway.

But I'm developing a growing respect for the true addict. I came across an article the other day that leads me to believe that, if you're going to be good at this thing, not only must you be something of an athlete, but part engineer and chemist as well.

I found out, for instance, that the "camber," or humpbacked shape of a ski is not built in just to keep it from curling up around your head, but that it helps the cross-country skier in his kick and glide motion. The reason for this lies in the fact that expert skiers use different kinds of skiwax on different parts of the ski.

As any skier knows, the proper selection of the type of skiwax to use is dictated by the type of snow, which in turn is often dictated by the temperature.

The consistency and structure of snow crystals varies at different temperatures. The cross-country skier should try to use a wax whose consistency is just slightly softer than the snow crystals themselves. If this is done, the edges of the crystals penetrate into the layer of wax during the time the skier is pushing off or "kicking." Then the bond breaks, and the ski glides forward on a very thin layer of water created by the heat of friction between the ski base and the snow.

This is where the camber comes in. On the "kicker zone" of the ski--the high point directly beneath the foot--a stickier wax is used. Then, when the skier's weight flattens the ski during a kick, he is able to maintain better contact with the snow. When he begins to transfer his weight to the other foot, the camber serves to partially lift his weight off the sticky central part of the ski and distribute it to the ends, where "glider" wax is used.

Competitive racers have been known to step out of a race, sacrificing precious seconds, to rewax their skis if they feel that they are sticking too much or gliding too easily. If the sun comes out during a long race, for example, and the temperature rises 20 degrees, the wax used to start a race would be virtually worthless because the ski would hardly grip the snow at all.

For the recreational cross-country skier, who would prefer to spend more of his weekend skiing than waxing, there are waxless skis that perform reasonably well in almost any type of snow. Most have a pattern in the kicker portion stamped directly into the polyethylene which provides traction when the skier pushes off.

Personally, I'll be content to just sit back and watch the show when the more stalwart come down that trail and hit the icy patch in our driveway.