Jennings: Ski maintenance important to enjoying powder
Ignoring ski maintenance is a typical behavior among skiers, especially when the conditions allow them to ignore the piste and spend their days in powder and glades. Edge engagement isn’t as critical as on piste. Yet abused, dried out bases create a lot of drag that inhibits your ability to glide or drift in deep snow. Fat skis can magnify the problem because they have a lot more base to neglect. But when it comes to tuning, all skis are created equal.
“The most common thing I see is infrequency of waxing,” said Dan Webber, Snowsport Services manager at REI Spokane. “Good performance lasts about three days on a hot wax and then it diminishes from there. You don’t really notice because you’re slowing down gradually, until your buddy is significantly faster than you are because he just waxed his skis.”
But for wax to work as advertised, the base of a ski needs structure.
“We do a grind over a progressively finer series of belts,” Webber said. “Once we have the base nice and flat and smooth, we run it over a stone, which puts a structure into the ski that looks like a hatchmark design that will break up the surface tension of the snow.
“Think of it as two panes of glass. If you put water between two panes of glass they’re going to stick together. If you put water between two textured panes of glass they’ll slide apart.”
The fine, shallow cuts that create structure allow the wax to penetrate deep into the polyethylene base material.
“Think of the base as a sponge,” Webber said. “Pour oil in the sponge and it will soak it up. As you’re rubbing the sponge across a surface, the sponge is on the surface and the oil inside is lubricating the contact. The base of the ski is on the snow and the wax in the pores of the material provides the lubrication. It’s not the wax that makes the ski fast, it’s the structure of the ski, lubricated by the wax.”
You don’t want a layer of wax on top of your base. That’s why ski tuners try to scrape away any wax left on the surface to fully expose the wax-infused base. Any wax left remaining on the base will create drag that defeats the purpose of the tune.
Webber said he treats snowboards, which have significantly more surface area than a ski, differently.
“What I find with snowboards is they’re not nearly as flat as skis and it can be challenging to get a structure in them,” he said. “A lot of snowboarders prefer not to have a structure because you can end up with a patchy structure. A snowboard with a well-tuned edge can be the most important thing.”
According to Webber, there are as many structure theories as there are car tread designs, as well as endless conversations about what the perfect structure is for a particular snow condition. Some of the patterns I’ve heard about have self-explanatory names like the “thumbprint,” the “barber pole” and the “chevron.” Webber applies what he calls a generic pattern adequate for local snow conditions.
“Most people don’t have to be that obsessive about their equipment,” he said “If their skis or snowboard are well waxed and the edges aren’t too burred up, they’re going to have a fun time and be fine.”
No one knows for sure how long our favorable weather pattern will continue, but now could be the perfect time to refresh the structure on your boards. And work on developing a waxing habit to maximize your fun off piste.