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.

Special Olympics Ski Racing - January 2008 update and observations

Well, it's now the middle of January, 2008 and there's not a lot new to report. Some disappointing news though - there will be no Special Olympic races for Cory to participate in this winter. He was looking forward to using the new skills he developed at Hurricane Ski Racing camp on Mount Hood last July in a competition against the same athletes who participated in the Provincial Winter Games last February. Just to see how he would do.


But since some of them and a large group of volunteers are participating in the National Games in Quebec City in February, I'm guessing they found it rather challenging to set up a race weekend and travel to it as well as the Quebec City trip.



Cory of course did not qualify for the National Games, so he and the remaining athletes will not have a race to compete in until at least next year.


Cory has participated in two Gatebusters sessions, one GS and the other Slalom. He picked up some pointers from the coaches - looking further down the course in GS, and flexing his knee inwards more in Slalom. And we're planning on getting into a Kokanee GS race on Whistler Blackcomb on February 14th - so we'll update with the results after that for sure.

There's been no further problems with cold feet, those Liion Thermic warmers have been absolutely wonderful.

And those Volkl slalom skis he bought last summer? Cory just loves them - he's told me that if he can't ski in those skis, he doesn't want to ski at all! And he wants me to try to sell his old Head Monsters (old?? he bought them last year!).

So it's great to see that even a new racer like Cory can appreciate the value of great equipment - Volkl Racetiger skis and Atomic RT Ti 100 boots. Just need to convince him to get a pair of GS skis as well, for greater stability at higher speeds.

And interestingly, we just noticed last week that one of Cory's main rivals at Special Olympics has got himself a pair of race skis too - Rossignol 9s Slalom 155s. So Cory's not the only one with a eye on the top of the podium in 2011.


I've dug into our photo archives and thought I would post some photos from some of Cory's past ski adventures.



Here's one of Cory taken in December 2004 at the top of Sky Chair on our home mountain, Cypress Mountain, just north of Vancouver, BC. At this point, he had not yet started racing.











And a shot I took on the same day, through my goggle lens, kind of a cool special effect:

Same day, still at the top of Cypress Mountain, with my first pair of skis, Rossignol Carve something or other, can't remember the length and certainly did not know anything about sidecuts, radius, waists, etc.

Somewhere on Silver Star, I think, near Vernon, BC, February 2005:

That's Cory in the foreground, on our home mountain, Cypress Mountain, in February 2004:

On Cypress on March 2003:

Cory on the race course at the Provincial Games in February 2007, earning one of his bronze medals:

And his mum on the left and a friend cheering him on:

Here with his cousin, Justin, at a restaurant celebrating his 3 bronze medals:

One thing I should add: we've learned a lot about ski waxing, never even bothered with it until this year. We learned quite a bit from Sam and Max at Hurricane last July, and we've done a lot of internet research since.

So after just about every time we've skied this year, Cory and I have been waxing our skis. We start with a good brushing with a nylon brush (though it should be brass - have to get one of those). Then tune the edges using a fine diamond stone, just to de-bur and sharpen both the side and base edges. We used a rougher file on the edges at the beginning of the season to set the correct bevel (1 degree base, 2 degrees side) and since we're about half way through the season now, I just re-did that this week. But most times it's just to fine-tune and sharpen the edges with the diamond stone.

Then drip some wax using a wax iron (learning how much to use is trial and error) and iron the wax into the ski, then scrape while the wax is still warm. Then another wax drip, ironing the wax into the ski, and letting cool for about a half hour. A gentle scrape, then using the brush to remove excess wax and open up the structure (to allow moisture from the snow to escape). Then a polish - depending on expected temperatures.

Cory's been helping though I enjoy doing it so we get it done without any problems.