A wet and manmade snow weekend! Bring your raincoat!
Note: NO FLUOROS are allowed for this weekend. This includes LF and HF waxes. CH/”Non-Fluoro” only!
Glide wax for Sat and Sun: Start with a blue wax like Toko NF/Base Performance Blue or Swix CH5 or CH6 to harden the base against dirt. Scrape and brush, and then apply your favorite yellow non-fluoro. This can either be a traditional (iron/scrape/brush) or liquid method.
Kick wax for Sun: This is going to be a fun one. Plan on a klister/hardwax combination if you are using wax. A great plan is to arrive with a klister binder on your skis (this can be done easily with Swix or Toko spray base klister). FOR MASTERS SKIERS this could be a great race to use skin skis or waxless fischscale racing skis.
On a weekend, Craftsbury is the hub of Eastern skiing where you’ll find clubs from all over, tourists exploring what Vermont has to offer, and hardcore racers getting in their season tuneups. Thanks to the scope and layout, all of these ski groups can find what they need, and on Saturday MNC was a big group that had many different representatives on snow for different reasons.
Early in the morning, all three of our programs (BKL, Juniors, and Masters) were out in force. Practically filling up the entire lower field, our teams gathered to prepare for their workout and training; Juniors and BKL on classic skis, Masters on the skate boards.
Masters group!
Also sharing the wax room with us upon arrival was the UVM team, who was out to fire off a classic timetrial. UVM assistant coach Perry and UVM senior Lizzie had both worked with our groups a fair amount over the summer, and with alums like Bill, Greg, and Conor all skiing for the Cats it feels like a group we can have a great casual interaction with. They’re all super-fast, but they’re all just skiers like we are!
The Juniors had a tough workout on the menu, with 20 straight minutes of 30/30s (30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy). This is a workout we’ve built up to for a while, and perfect for dialing-in the final tuneups of technique, tempo, and power before the racing season starts. Everyone looked GREAT!
Junior squad on a cooldown lap
The bonus was having the UVM team use a similar section of trail for their timetrial. There was a good amount of overlap, and after the intervals we even sought out some of the Cats late in their race to follow them on the trail and match their skiing.
But the morning workouts were just the start of the day. It was also “Demo Day” and so a host of tents were positioned in the upper field (including our supporters and friends at Skirack) to let skiers try out equipment. Many MNC members headed over there after the morning session to try out some stuff, whether for a new purchase of just for fun.
At lunchtime, we had what I believe was one of our biggest coach gatherings ever! It’s great to get everyone on the same page, both in terms of technique and training but also philosophy. Our group of Junior, Masters, and BKL coaches all spend some time working on various drills, games and challenges before taking a lunch break to watch video and hash out the logistics of MNC. Thanks to everyone that came out to learn!
A gathering of some of our great coaches!
Even later in the day, MNC faces kept popping up either in the lodge or on the trails. Coach Sara was diligently helping folks try new equipment at the Skirack tent, while others switched to a different technique after their lunch break. Coach Rick and I got to even take a lap of our own, a rarity on days like this when there is so much going on! One of the last to leave was Carly, who was taking advantage of the demo day to help figure out just what she was looking for in a new pair of classic skis. I had left just as the sun was rising, and it turns out I was leaving Craftsbury as the sun was beginning to dip down low. I caught this quick photo of Carly showing that alpenglow lighting that so often blankets the Northeast Kingdom in the winter months.
And then…it was back home before getting ready for another great week of skiing!
This coming weekend (the 14th and 15th) we have the Craftsbury Openers coming up! These are great events for any age and ability, including a BKL Race on Sunday! Some of the first Club Cup points are on the line for the season, so come and race for MNC and get the season underway!
If you are new to Nordic skiing, the lineup of waxes from a company like Toko can be daunting. That being said, Toko is actually one of the easiest systems to get to know! Most all waxes, grip and glide, are based on a 3-color system of Blue, Red, and Yellow. Using this as a guide, I put together a short video displaying some of the most useful products and “what you really need”. I will list those products, with informational links, below the video. At the very bottom I will also link a great series of videos from Toko displaying specific waxing techniques.
Note: to purchase Toko products at a great discount, visit the MNC Apparel Page below to download the Toko Order form. Email your completed order forms to Toko Representative Dave Boucher (davidnboucher@comcast.net)
After melting in and ironing wax, you will need to scrape and brush the wax. This requires 3 tools: a groove scraper, a plexi scraper, and a brush.
Things can get complicated with a multi-brush procedure, large oval brushes, and rotary brushes. The simplest way to think of it: the larger the brush, the quicker the job. But the smallest brush will be cost-effective and work just as well for 99% of skiers! If you purchase just one brush, a metal brush is recommended.
First, use the groove pin to clean the wax from the center groove of the ski:
Next, use the plexi scraper in a pushing motion (with two thumbs on either edge of the groove) to scrape the bulk of the wax off, tip-to-tail direction:
Finally, use your brush to finish getting the finer wax particles out. Mark an arrow on your brush, and only use it in that direction. With metal brushes, move tip-to-tail direction only.
For the simplest wax purchase, I recommend sticking to only Base Performance/NF BLue and Base Performance/NF Red. These waxes will cover most conditions. You can also make life even easier by supplementing with a liquid glide was such as Express Wax. Once per week (say, on a Sunday) apply your hot wax with an iron and scrape/brush. Then, for the rest of the week, just run on a little Express Wax before each ski. At the end of the week, re-wax with the traditional iron method.
Toko has a handy resource of videos on their website, and at MNC we are working to also create similar content. Here are some recommended basics videos:
Take note! Our annual Toko order is here…this is a chance for MNC members to get a great deal (30% off!) on almost all Toko products. You can find a link to the order forms at the bottom of the Apparel page right here:
Toko has changed some names and formulations of products.
NF/Non-Fluoro is now known as Base Performance
LF/Low-Fluoro is now known as Performance
HF/High-Fluoro is now known as High Performance
For all BKL skiers, please purchase Base Performance wax only as all BKL races (including the BKL Festival) are fluoro-free.
The Base Performance and High Performance waxes also come in spray forms in addition to traditional iron/scrape/brush methods. You cannot order the Base Performance liquid just yet, but you can order the High Performance. Both of these waxes are a form of paraffin, NOT a pure-fluoro topcoat. For those using liquid waxes, we still recommend re-waxing with a traditional ironed-in wax for every 3-4 applications of liquid.
The storm outside is raging, and even before this most recent snowfall many MNC members got their first taste of winter this past weekend up at the Notch Road. The sun was shining Saturday, and even after some melt-off on Sunday the Smuggs side was still skiable and bustling with diehard skinny-ski folk enjoying the change from running and rollerskiing. Here are a couple photos…
Sun and skating on Saturday
The first snowman of the year
Ava was busy getting 5TH PLACE (top Vermonter) at New Englands for XC running on Saturday but happy to be on skis again Sunday
Julia and Julia comparing headband styles
Thin cover and a crew on a mission
MNC Masters Renate, Jen & Jim along with others were out in force also.
