Competition Ski Prep

Most everyone is now very close to their peak of competition for the season – the races that count the most are upon us all. Whether it is VT state championships, Junior Olympics, US Nationals (Whiteface, NY), FIS finals (Nakiska, CAN), or NCAA championships (Dartmouth, NH), everyone wants to reach their peak for the season in the next 30 days.

Your effort, hard work, dedication, training, and the efforts of your program & coaches have all gotten you to this point. Paying attention to the details can help to turn a good result into a great one. At Holmenkol, we believe that the skis preparation is worth 5% of the total time. 95% is all you. The other 5% can be worth 6.5 seconds over a 1:30 downhill course!

Here’s a checklist of things to look over right now, while the last period of training is underway.

• Look closely at each pair of skis you race or train on. Check your base & side edge angles the whole length of the ski. Inspect for base wear (using a true bar) to be sure that all of your skis are equally flat across the base. If your skis are not all the same, with a good structure (that has been run in), consult your coach immediately. You may seek out a fresh stone grind, followed by an overnight hot box wax treatment, if necessary. Remember, the goal of incremental daily maintenance is that your skis don’t need to be flattened or changed before competition.
• I like to apply an inexpensive fluoro crème wax to the topsheet and sidewalls (about $10). This repels water & abrasive spring snow, making you noticeably faster!
• Check to be sure you have the right waxes for spring in the right quantities: cleaning wax, warm & cold hydrocarbon training (alphamix & betamix), fluor base wax in both warm & cold, and high fluor waxes in the appropriate ranges (SF 0/2, SF 0/7, SF 0/10).
• Talk to your coaches to determine who purchases & applies overlays. Know what you need and know whether you or your team is buying so there are no surprises!
• Remember, if you apply fluoros, you need to remove them after racing to keep your skis fast!
• Be sure to have a new role of Fiber Fleece. Use this to remove dust & dirt just before waxing each layer. Most folks skip this step, and end up pushing quite a bit of dirt and dust back into the ski, making it slow.
• Most importantly, stay focused and have fun! Remember, the fastest thing you can put on your skis is you!