Climbers and Waxes - part 1

Articles In This Section:

· Climbers and Waxes - part 1

· Climbers and Waxes - part 2

· Climbers and Waxes - part 3

The running surface of the touring ski is always protected from direct contact with the snow by a composite coating called, in general, wax. This coating serves a triple purpose: to protect the wood from absorbing water, to facilitate sliding, and to aid climbing. Base wax,—The first coating is the "base wax," and must be applied before the start of the tour. This is intended to be durable, to adhere tightly to the wood, to "take" well the running and climbing waxes later applied, and to slide well if these should be worn off. Many commercial bases are available, some of which are rapid-drying lacquers. The wood must be dry and absolutely free from wax before such a lacquer is applied. This is a minor disadvantage in repairing the coating if it is injured. A waterproof varnish is stronger but takes longer to dry. A very satisfactory base for touring can be made by melting together pine tar and flaked orange shellac, about equal parts, to give a mass that can barely be indented with the thumbnail at room temperature. A thread pulled out of the melted mass should not be too brittle, but should bend slowly. If it is soft or sticky at freezing temperature, it needs more shellac; if too brittle, more tar. This wax can be melted on to the ski with a warm—not too hot—iron, but a better coating is secured if it is dissolved in denatured alcohol, warmed by setting in a can of hot water, and then painted on to the ski with a brush, two or three thin coats. If, after it is dry, it is lightly flamed with a torch, it becomes toughened. Smooth with steel wool or fine sandpaper if desired. A good base wax such as this need be applied only once or, at most, a few times during the season of skiing.

Climbers.—A ski tourer has need of two qualities in his skis that might well seem utterly irreconcilable; he would like his skis to stick without backslipping while climbing and also to run downhill as freely as possible. Even in level going he would like them to slide only in one direction. This was achieved in the prehistoric period of skiing by fastening to one ski, the "push" ski, a coating of sealskin with the hair pointing backwards. The other and usually longer ski was the sliding ski. This method is still popular, but is now practiced by fastening long strips of sealion skin or plush to both skis, either by pasting them on with wax or by attaching them with straps or metal clips.

The waxed-on skins are much lighter, and the absence of side straps allows them to slide forward freely. Their chief drawback is that it is more of an art to apply them. That is, of course, no deterrent to a person who enjoys making an art of ski touring. If your skins have been precoated with the right wax, all you have to do is to stand the ski so that the sun can warm its under side, hook the strap over the tip—if your skis have no tips, you can equip them with short bolts with wing nuts through a hole—and stroke them down with the hand. Do not stretch them. If there is no sun, put the skins between your shirt and your own skin for a while, dry the under surface of the skis and stick the skins on quickly, one at a time. Skis so armed slide forward very freely, downhill or on the level. Of course, one cannot do any of the turns that require the skis to skid; the only turn that is feasible while sliding forward is the step turn, but this is the ski tourer's favorite.