SkiPost Newsletter

weanswer@skipost.com

Dear SkiPost;

Occasionally I have noticed a whitish/gray flash areas on the bases. This tends to occur after skiing on either very cold ( low single digits or less ) icy trails or on man made snow. The flash disappears after cleaning and rewaxing the bases.

What is going on ?

Thanks

Hello,

Some skis that are well-conditioned with wax will show signs of drying when they are subject to very abrasive snow conditions. The white areas are often where the ski is seeing constant contact with snow, and will go away when you brush/wax the skis again. Making sure the ski is well-saturated with wax is going to reduce the frequency of this type of result, but it might still be present when skiing on very sharp snow crystals.

Being sure you have plenty of base layers (the Saab Salomon Factory Team tends to use LF 7 as a conditioning layer on their race skis) will allow your skis to be better prepared to handle such conditions. When you apply a harder wax for the day of a race (LF3 Powder works very well in cold conditions) your ski base should harden to best deal with the sharp snow crystals.

It is important to brush your skis before waxing them with base layers. The white material is simply the base's reaction to having much of the wax removed. When you brush your skis you will open the base up, and this allows it to accept more wax during your base preparation phase. It also gets rid of the junk you might have picked up on race day (sap from trees, dirt, etc).

Since many snow conditions will require/benefit from using floro waxes, a good base wax is one that contains a low floro. The LF7 is soft enough for the base to accept, but is also hard enough to act as a good first layer for your colder waxes.

Hope this helps you out, and keeps you gliding during your longer cold-snow races!

Dear SkiPost;

I use my skate skis several times a week. In between the ski sessions, do I
need to put on a layer of wax to protect them from drying out?

Hello,

This goes along well with the question above. We recommend that you put wax on your skis after every use. This is, at the very least, a great way to get your skis saturated with wax. As mentioned above, the Saab Salomon Factory Team uses SWIX LF7 as one of their base layers, because of its diversity in many different conditions. There are several great Base Prep waxes that SWIX offers, and these are great for your ski's conditioning as well.

It is nearly impossible to put too much wax on your skis, so if you are looking for fast skis that will get faster over time, you are most certainly going to benefit from waxing after every use.

Report From U23 World Championships

By: Tad Elliott
Saab Salomon Factory Team

I have just arrived home from Praz de Lys, France after the U23 World Championships. I had a tremendous time but I am happy to be home in Durango Colorado. Once arriving in Geneva we had a short drive to the hotel. We arrived around 7:00 p.m. and immediately went to dinner in the hotel restaurant. I honestly don’t remember what I ate for the main course but for dessert they served us these huge wedges of cheese and bread. I was super pumped on this, and hoped they would serve us cheese for dessert every day. I would not have been disappointed. We ate cheese and bread every day for breakfast, sometimes lunch and sometimes dinner. Every time we ate cheese there was a different age or a new type to try.

My hotel room was nice. The bunk beds were a little narrow, but I got over it. We had a kitchenette and a dinning room table that led out to the neatest part of our room, the deck. Since we were on a corner room on the top floor our deck looked out over the competition stadium. The morning of the races I could sit and drink coffee and watch the start, lap, pit exchange, and the major hill of the women’s race while I was preparing for my own race. My roommate was my good friend, Noah Hoffman. This had its perks. Noah went to a local French Cup race earlier in the week since he had some time to kill before the junior races. He won the OJ field and came back with this huge basket of goodies that contained chocolate, a Kilo of some good cheese, some sparkling lemonade and sausage. Noah was super nice to share and I ate more than my fair share of his winnings.

The skiing was great with amazing views from the ski trails that looked out over the valley, and you could see the picturesque mountains rising out of the valley floor. On one of my longer training days I skied up over the mountain pass and down to the resort of Sommand with Simi Hamilton and Karl Nygren. This was the one day of horrible weather. It was right in between snow and rain. I missed out on the great views from the top and Simi, Karl and I struggled to get down off the pass. We could not see out of our glasses and when we took them off the sleet hurt our eyes so much that we had to squint and could barely see. They had a better time of it than me and I got dropped. In the end, was unable to follow their red jackets. I ended up going off the trail and face planting in the snow. The two others were kind enough to wait for me. The hot chocolate I drank at lunch sure tasted amazing.

When it came time for the races, the US Service Team was outstanding. I had a stress free time getting in a proper warm up and getting to the start line. The coaches made sure everything was taken care of. We had two feeds for a 2.5 km loop on each the classic and the skate portion of the pursuit. My skis were so fast I dropped a kid by 20 meters on a downhill that outweighed me by 50 pounds. I do not think that anything could have been improved by the US Service Team and I would like to thank them for the tireless hours working on my skis and running skis to the start, and taking care of every task no matter how trivial it might have seemed. I really appreciated their hard work. I can not thank them enough. Also big thanks to the juniors who were out cheering on the U23s during our races knowing that they had a races to get ready for in the next few days. This is the type of support and love of the sport that is going to take US skiing to the top level.

One of the highlight of the trip for me was during my last night in Praz de Lys at the opening ceremonies. Local kids were carrying a flag from each country represented and Matt Whitcomb cave me a US Ski Team hat to give to the kid carrying the American Flag. I gave it to the kid and helped him put it on in replacement of the hat he was wearing. The smile the young kid had after receiving the hat was the biggest one I saw all week and was not wiped off for the rest of the night. He even came back for a picture with the US Team.

I am now back at home getting ready for the next big competitions. I now BIRKIE FEVER and am looking forward to checking out the event for my first time. See you in Hayward.

SWIX Wax Reports - Weekend 2/6/09 - 2/9/09

Wax Recommendations for the weekend of 2/6/09 - 2/9/09

New England

Featured Product

SUUNTO t6

Last week we posted two graphs of Michael Sinnott's race graphs, and there was a link that did not work. Please find the links below to a .PDF file. The files are worth having a look at, and truly illustrate the amazing capabilities of the Suunto t6 heartrate monitor!

Events/Clinics/Announcements

Waterville Valley, NH
Saab Salomon Factory Team member Justin Freeman will be hosting two clinics

ALSO:
NENSA will be hosting a ski with Saab Salomon Factory Team member
Justin
Freeman at the Stowe VT SuperTours Friday Feb 6.

Check out www.nensa.net for more info.

Feb 15 at 10 AM (subject to change)
Skate technique and training clinic.
________________________________________________________
CXC is happy to work with SkiPost in offering the following products to
help make this year faster than last! Your purchases and support will help
shape the future of Nordic skiing in the US.

TRAINING LOG FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES. LOG IT! - NEW
Provides a template for recording daily training throughout the year, broken into 13 four-week periods, interspersed with photos and stories to inspire your training. Take advantage of the introduction to help build a plan for your season, then record and adapt your training over the year as your fitness progresses. The log is written by US Ski Team member and with forward by US Ski Team head coach Pete Vordenberg.

CXC ACADEMY (WEB BASED) – NEW
Training plans for high school, Junior Olympics, college, elite, masters and Birkie skiers with daily workout examples. Video of technique progressions, ski specific workouts, interviews and other useful materials.

“CXCAcademy.com is one of the best things to happen to XC skiing in the United States. Anyone who participates is truly rewarded with excellent training programs and technique examples”.

CROSS COUNTRY TECHNQIUE FUNDAMENTALS (CD-ROM)
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.

WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO TRAIN (DVD)
70 minutes of exclusive interviews with US National Team coaches, drills and
technique, fitness testing, sports physiology, core strength, training volume, intensity levels, race footage, and much more.

X-COUNTRY (DVD)
The inside story on one of the toughest sports around by top World Cup racers.

COMPETITIVE CORE TRAINING - REAL TRAINING FOR REAL ATHLETES (DVD)
Competitive Core Training provides the exercises and workouts that will help athletes of all ages, abilities, and sports develop a strong, flexible core that is essential to athletic performance and success.

Visit the CXC Store at:
www.cxcstore.com
and CXC Academy at
www.cxcacademy.com
_____________________________________
Ski and Tea
is a women's year-round ski-specific training group in the Birkie Trail area (Cable, Hayward, Seeley) founded by Linda Cook and Juli Lynch. Our group goal is to have every woman who comes "Be and Feel Successful and Proud To Be a Skier!" We are a mix of abilities and ages with a motto of "No Woman Left Behind!" Our first day of training together was January 4, 2008 with 8 women showing up. We now have over 104 women on the mailing list for our weekly newsletter.

The next clinics scheduled are:

Ski and Tea Hosting Clinic #5 With CXC Elite Women Clinicians Maria
Stuber, Kristina Owen, Jojo Winters, and Heather Zimmerman

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
00 Warming Hut
8:00 - 12:00
Cost: $50.00

Updated Clinic Description:

Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Instruction in both Skate and Classic Technique. This clinic will be special in that four of the CXC Elite Women will be present to help out. Participants will be split up into smaller groups and will have the option of focusing on skate only, classic only, or both techniques. Most of the fundamentals learned at previous clinics will be reviewed; however, the CXC ladies have come up with some new, innovative ways to help you ingrain good technique. Afterward, all participants are invited to join the CXC Elite Women for an optional Birkie/Korte race strategy question and answer session at Mooselips coffee shop in Seeley, WI. This Clinic was to be led by CXC Elite Skier Caitlin Compton. However, we are proud to announce that Caitlin made the World Championship Team and will be traveling to Liberec (Czech Republic), to compete at that time! The Clinic will be led by the other four of our CXC Elite Skier Women! Congratulations Caitlin and thank you to Maria Stuber, Heather Zimmerman, Kristina Owen and Jojo Winters for stepping up to the plate, and to Ski and Tea for helping these Women accomplish their dream and goals. All of the revenue for these clinics goes to the CXC Elite Skier Women to help them pursue their dreams and goals!

Contact Linda Cook for registration information - lpcook@chibardun.net
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The Equinox Ski Challenge
March 21-22, 2009
Rendezvous Ski Trails, West Yellowstone, MT.
www.equinoxskichallenge.com

Relay team or solo / 6, 12, or 24 Hour / freestyle
Sam Newbury
(406)-209-3533
equinoxskichallenge@gmail.com

THE 3rd ANNUAL EQUINOX SKI CHALLENGE: How Far Can You Go?

The Equinox Ski Challenge is a season finale of a nordic ski race to be held on March 21st and 22nd at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone, MT.
Similar to the 24 Hour mountain bike races, skiers complete as many laps as they can, either as a solo entrant or on a relay team in the 6 Hour, 12, Hour or 24 Hour division. Team can be composed of 2-8 skiers. This event is ingrained with camaraderie, challenge, and commitment to the well being of the local community.

The course is a rolling 9 kilometer loop groomed by Doug Edgerton and is located just 100 yards from several hotels. Toko will have a wax technician present to help skiers wax for the changing conditions. A warming hut is also available at the start/finish. The current 24 Hour soloist record is 326km set by Snorri Einarsson in 2007. The 24 Hour team record was also set in 2007 by a trio from Big Sky, Montana at 395km.

This event is dedicated to supporting local organizations that are keeping our communities mentally and physically healthy. For the third year in a row, the Equinox Ski Challenge will donate a portion of the proceeds to the West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation and to Manaia Youth Programs. Participants can also earn raffle tickets by bringing food donations for the West
Yellowstone Food Bank.

The festivities will include a potluck with beverages on Saturday evening and an all night bonfire at the start/finish line. Complete details, race updates and online registration are available at www.equinoxskichallenge.com

How far can you go?

For more information contact:
Sam Newbury
Equinox Ski Challenge
P.O. Box 184
Bozeman, MT. 59771
(406)-209-3533

equinoxskichallenge@gmail.com

SkiPost is a cross-country skiing informational, educational and motivational service, brought to you through a partnership with the Saab Salomon Factory Team and the Salomon Athlete & Event Force.

The goal of SkiPost is to make the sport of cross-country skiing easier and more enjoyable for all who choose to participate. If you have questions on Cross-country Skiing see www.SkiPost.com or email us at mailto:weanswer@skipost.com

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Enjoy Winter,
Justin Easter
Editor - SkiPost