Treating Those Skis Like Gold

With 2 weeks to go now until Cory's participation in Special Olympics British Columbia Provincial Winter Games, and those 3 qualifying races he'll be competing in, we'll take a look at some of Cory's behind-the-scenes work that he hopes will carry him to the top of the podium and a chance to compete at the National Games in Alberta in 2012.

Besides the 3 times per week training and racing, Cory makes sure his skis are always in top condition by tuning and waxing them after each use. Having raced yesterday at Whistler in his fourth Kokanee race, it's time for another tune and wax.




First thing to do is use large rubber brake retainer bands to hold the ski brakes in place and out of the way:




Then a gentle brushing with a nylon brush to remove any dirt, wax residues, etc.





First is to sharpen the edges in order to remove and burrs and nicks. Race ski edges are not square, they are bevelled according to the racer's abilities. Cory uses a 3 degree side edge:




The sharpening stone on the opposite side:





And it's simply a matter of sliding the multi-tuner along the side edge of the ski. This is everyday tuning and 3 or 4 times per year we bring the skis into a ski shop for a machine tune:




A similar procedure for the base edge, the part of the edge that lines the base on either side of the ski, but with the base edge, Cory uses a 1 degree bevel, or an 89 degree angle:

With the sharpening stone in place:

And again it's simply a matter of sliding the multi-tuner back and forth and let the sharpening stone do its work:





Once the edge sharpening is done, a quick wipe to remove and bits of metal:





Then it's time to wax. Using an iron specially made for ski waxing,




it's a matter of dripping wax onto the ski, making sure to provide enough wax to cover the ski and to ensure the iron is not so hot that it damages the ski:




And then ironing the wax into the base of the ski, again being careful not to overheat the ski base:




This leaves a flat layer of wax on the base, that needs to be scraped off.






The idea is over time and repetition, the wax penetrates the base and provides a longer lasting layer of protection that allows the ski to glide more effectively over snow. The type of snow and its temperature determines the type of wax to be used. Warmer temperatures that create more moisture require a softer wax while colder snow with less moisture requires a harder wax.

To begin removing the wax, we use a specially made plastic scraper with a notch in one corner:








And simply scrape it across both the side edge and base edge to remove the wax:





Next, using the same scraper to remove as much wax as possible from the base:




Then brushing the base with a nylon brush. The will give the ski "structure", basically grooves in the waxed base of the ski that acts like tire treads and moves the moisture in the snow away from the ski base, allowing the ski to glide more efficiently across the surface of the snow:





Once the ski wax has been brushed (we finish with 10 full-length strokes of the ski with the brush), the wax is polished using a clean cloth. The amount of polish depends on the temperature, the colder the temperature the more polishing is required. Less polishing is required on warmer snow to allow for deeper structure to handle the increased moisture.





This leaves the base of the ski with obvious grooves - the structure - that will take moisture away from the base:




And that's about it. With Cory doing this after every training session or race, he hopefully will have skis to race on that will carry him to the top of the podium on March 4th and 5th.

We'll know soon enough.