Blog

Please attend this 100% free clinic on November 19th at the Larkspur Hotel in Truckee.

At the Start Haus, we have reached a distinct philosophy on what it takes to get speed skis to run fast. Our experience has taught us that in combination with hours of prep work, it also takes a considerable amount of snow time for skis to become their fastest. Occasionally there is an element of luck, an unexplainable phenomenon that causes certain skis to run fast right out of production. Luck aside, our philosophy is that fast skis are the product of hard work, diligence and years of experience on and off the hill.

Every new ski receives an inspection of its grind, finish shaping, and overall condition from the factory. Once a ski has been assessed, we can start the shaping process. The base edge is shaped first, with the majority of our speed skis being prepared with a 1 degree base bevel. We then highly polish the base edge for maximum glide. The base is then protected with vinyl base tape to make sure that no metal, aluminum, or fiberglass gets ground into the surface while shaping

Virtually every ski today comes from the factory with a high quality stone grind, and often the base edge is “relieved” from the base material. This is a description for a factory process where the base steel is made roughly parallel to the base material, but set very slightly below the level of the plastic. When you, your coach, or your favorite shop inspect the factory base bevel, be sure to determine if the base side steel is actually angled (and how much) or if it is relieved.

One way to check your base bevel is to lay your true bar across the ski and carefully hold the bar flush against one base edge, testing in several spots along both edges of the ski. If you can lay the true bar flush against the steel, you have a base angle. Does the true bar just touch the corner of the steel & the base material? If so, you have base edge relief. Now examine the gap that is present on the other side of the true bar. Measure this gap in several places along the length of the ski. Ideally, it is

A good friend said to me recently, “wax is like a language.” The best World Cup technicians work with only 1 (about half) or 2 wax languages, never 3. However, waxing and tuning skis is their job, and they are the best in the world (just as their athletes are the best it the world). You should strive to learn simply 1 waxing language.

Take a look at the waxing chart that you are using with the wax you have. Examine how your system deals with the variables: snow temp, snow humidity, event, air temp, air humidity, and snow structure. The nature of the waxing system, its language, will be revealed.

Generally, most systems rely on snow temperatures as the primary info that you need to have. However, how many parents and coaches alike listen to the weather report for race day and make the wax decision based on the weatherman? One good thing in your favor is that snow temperatures are very slow to change, unlike air temps. So a thermometer in the snow at Stowe will be quite accurate (for junior

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

With spring’s arrival comes corn snow, sunshine, and lots of great racing. You are most likely deep into your most intense period of racing right now, with Championships and Spring Series events to attend. If you’ve been following along most of the season, your skis should be in good repair and it should only take you moments daily to keep them good for training, and a little longer for racing prep.

One aspect we have not discussed yet is the use of the BBQ brush. Often thought of as a spring only tool, it is often used year round. Many people approach the use of a BBQ brush as being only for the most skilled technicians, yet its proper use is within everyone’s realm.

In reality, you should have at your disposal 3 options(stiffest to softest) for BBQ’ing your skis: the traditional BBQ brush, the Home Depot Wooster Steel brush, and your everyday oval steel brush.

What exactly does a BBQ brush do? I like to think of it as a structure enhancer – it does not re-structure your skis, but rather

After two long weeks away at industry trade shows, I returned home and headed off to an Eastern Cup FIS speed series in Sugarloaf, ME. The series was men & women, and consisted of two DH’s & a SG on a well prepared course, familiar to many of our readers.

I’ve had a few readers request a complete run-down of what happens to make a ski “race ready”, so I’ll tackle it here. But first, a few thoughts to remember: there is more than 1 way to get to the same result, and the real race is usually always won by the fastest skier that day!

The first two training days offered warm, sunny speed training – not much different than a great day in Colorado, except this was northern Maine. The result was a track that packed down and hardened up nicely when the inevitable deep freeze rolled back in, along with 75mph summits winds and occasional snow squalls. The course offered a relatively mild start, allowing the athletes build into a nice turning rhythm before being sent in the steeper headwall section,

Looking at the snow you are trying to wax for is as important as taking it’s temperature. Snow is as diverse as the all the areas around the world where it falls, yet we can group its shape & structure into a few main categories.

New snow has the sharp edged, crystalline form that is familiar to all. The size of the crystal can vary widely, though all are very delicate. The shape begins to transform almost immediately due to skiers, wind, and being compacted under its own weight. The crystal is harder at low temperatures and softer at warmer snow temperatures. Crystal size can be from 1mm to over 10mm. Generally, there is little friction in new snow, unless it has been compacted (from wind), which will increase its suction effect to the ski base.

New snow “transforms” into fine corn snow as a result of environmental factors, such as skiers, grooming equipment, wind, air temperature change, etc. When this happens, the fine crystal structure breaks off and the crystal becomes more rounded.