2020-2021 XC SKI

[pooriggy]

The snow is back and the forecast is looking good up north for more white stuff.

I skied High Point today with Paul. We hit all the trails and then went back on a few more. The grooming was weak, they don't spend many man hours on it and it shows. I was able to skate ski but lanes were too narrow and soft. With more grooming it should improve.

It still felt great to be out, winter would suck without skis. I love cold snowy winters...bring on more please.

Also, heads up...they moved the lodge and main parking lot up the road. You buy your trail pass in a bigger building (because Covid). Go in main entrance and keep driving past old lodge on the right, the new one is at the top of the hill on the left. Follow signs.

 

[ebarker9]

Think I saw both of you guys out there today. Grooming for skate did look rough but I had a decent enough time skiing on my classic/bc setup.

 

[ebarker9]

Looks like the ski industry is in the same position the bike industry was in over the summer. I was thinking of ordering a skate ski package but at least one of the sites is showing that they're not accepting new orders until they can get caught up on existing orders. Serves me right for procrastinating like everyone else.

 

[phillychris498]

Who says you can’t ride skinnies on XC skis?

 

[ebarker9]

Who says you can’t ride skinnies on XC skis?View attachment 145711

Where's that?

 

[pooriggy]

I skated Minnewaska yesterday with Brain Kelley. Conditions were good, they had about 20" of snow, skate lanes were wide and classic track was set.

The snow was still a bit soft but forgiving, which meant controlling skis was easy. These trails really let you open it up if speed is your thing. There is just enough elevation up and down to work and enjoy. Coming back on Upper Awosting is great to work V2 technique. It's exhausting but the speed makes it bearable.

After two days of skiing I needed a rest day, nothing hurts, just general fatigue.

Get out and ski, you'll be happy you did.

 

[ebarker9]

Any opinions about Fischer RCS vs RCR skate skis? Debating the two packages here:

Skate Ski Packages | CrossCountrySki.com

Shop for all your Skate Ski Packages products and more! We offer free shipping on orders over $199. Shop online or call 800-832-2663.

www.crosscountryski.com

Seems like they're accepting orders, at least for a short time, so I think I'm going to pull the trigger.

 

[pooriggy]

Any opinions about Fischer RCS vs RCR skate skis? Debating the two packages here:

Skate Ski Packages | CrossCountrySki.com

Shop for all your Skate Ski Packages products and more! We offer free shipping on orders over $199. Shop online or call 800-832-2663.

www.crosscountryski.com

Seems like they're accepting orders, at least for a short time, so I think I'm going to pull the trigger.

I bought the RCS ski last year, it was and upgrade from my old SCS skate skis. I love them.



I highly recommend you speak to the guy who is very knowledgeable on skate ski sizing and more importantly flex rating. Like mountain bikes, the quality of the bike/ski is useless if it does not fit you properly. You can play around with shock and fork settings on a mtb, you can't play around with the flex of a ski once you buy it. It is imperative that you buy skis flexed for your weight and ability. Brian Delaney from High Peaks Cyclery in Lake Place is the guy, if you are going to pull the trigger you should talk to him. If you tell him you spoke to me (i bought two pairs of skis from him last year) he should knock off 10%? They usually have a large inventory and they don't just sell you whatever they have.

High Peaks Cyclery - Lake Placid, NY - The Adirondacks Original Multisport Store - Since 1983

www.highpeakscyclery.com

RCR skis are a cold ski for hard snow. Serious racers have a quiver of skis for specific snow conditions. Do not buy these, they are too limited for what you will be using them for.
RCS is what they call a Plus ski, designed to perform well in cold or warm snow.
The SCS or RCS are both good skis, if you have the money, the RCS skis are a nicer ski.

I will say that that like mtbing , skill, technique and fitness make bikes/ skis go fast. Reach out to me if you have anymore questions.

Chris Brawley

 

[pooriggy]

Today looks like the last day for xc skiable snow for awhile. Getting out this morning marks five days on skis for me. Monday I went back up to New Paltz with Paul and skated Mohonk, we did the golf course then over to the lookout tower.


The snow was a bit soft given the mild temps but still skate-able.

Tuesday and today I stayed local and did some laps in Watchung. The snow set up nicely this morning to skate on. Overnight temps firmed things up, around 9:30am the snow softened enough to bite into and skate. The loop I skied was relatively small, about 1K but enjoyable. It's always somewhat of a novelty when you can skate locally, also people watching are amazed to see someone move that fast on snow. I feel like a kid showing off.

 

[ebarker9]

I went out on some local trails this morning but I was a bit too early for the snow to have softened up very much. There were some brief moments of skiing but mostly it was trying not to fall on the icy surface.

 

[ebarker9]

Well. It's been real, snow. See you next year?

(I know that it's early in the season, but still)

 

[shrpshtr325]

Well. It's been real, snow. See you next year?

(I know that it's early in the season, but still)

I mean this year only has a week left sooo.... I'll give it to ya

 

[ebarker9]

So in the interest of ensuring no more snow in the northeast this season, I pulled the trigger on the Fischer RCS skate package. I have to admit that I was pretty far along with the purchase decision before asking for advice, but did talk to someone at the place that I ordered from out in Michigan. They recommended 186cm skis and a medium flex which seemed to make sense based on what I'd seen online. I'm about 5'11/155lb for reference.

So now the real question: what the hell do I need for waxing? My total experience is down to using Swix X4 glide wax on my BC skis. From the handful of things I've read/seen I need:

-Iron (our clothes iron has holes for steam and it seems like that isn't ideal, not to mention...do I really want to be going back and forth between clothes and skis?)
-Scraper/groove scraper
-Some kind of brush
-Probably a couple of different waxes. During the rare times when we get snow it seems to be a relatively narrow range of temperatures so it seems like it's unnecessary (at least to start) to go with the full crazy assortment of varieties that are out there. Well aware of what a crazy subject this is inside of XC skiing circles.
-I'll probably just make something to hold the skis for now vs buying any kind of stand

I'm sure I'm missing something.

 

[pooriggy]

Saul has a lot of good videos on waxing xc skis. It's important to build up off of a base wax to protect the bases and provide a good foundation for temperature wax.

He talks about restoring structure at the start but you have new skis, so you will not need to do any restoring. Also he talks about cleaning with a hot scrape, again new skis don't need this however it is good to learn because at some point you will need to do some of these things. The more you learn and know, the better imo. If you search Saul on youtube he has a lot of good info. Finally he is waxing classic skis in video and not applying wax to the kick zone, skate skis get glide wax on the whole bottom of skis.


You'll need a bench to hold your skis, I went the diy route, it's simple, cheap and effective. Googling will turn up a bunch of different plans.


I'm not sure if they put any travel wax on your skis, but I like to start out clean. I use this to clean any oils or impurities in the bases. Again, you can Google xc ski cleaners, Swix sells this for a lot more money then home depot.


You'll need a waxing iron, brass brush, nylon brush, scrapers and wax. So for what you paid for those skis, you dont want to fuck them up. Buy a good waxing iron with a temperature setting, you do not want to burn your bases.


I'll use a brass brush at the start of the year to remove old wax and then clean with solvent. Periodically I'll do a hot scrape to remove dirt if I've skied a lot or I've been in old snow.

You'll need the scrapers to remove wax and the nylon brush to clear surface wax. The videos show you what to do. Watch the video, watch different videos, everyone does something slightly different. It's good to understand what the process is all about.

I use a base prep wax at the beginning of the season and then apply temperature wax, usually red or blue depending on snow temps. Things are a bit simpler these days since hydro fluro(HF) waxes are gone. The choices are easier, chloro hydrocarbons(CH).

Fortunately we do not have snow right now, there is no need to rush the learning process. Part of the fun is prepping skis, I love the smell of CH wax, it smells like skiing. Let me know if you have questions.

What flex number is on your ski? There should be numbers in the center 186 is the length a serial number and then a two digit flex number.

 

[ebarker9]

Appreciate all of the information. I've watched a few videos but hadn't come across Saul's (although I've watched most/all of his ski technique videos).

Like you said, no rush right now and definitely do not want to fuck up the expensive new skis so I'll invest in the right stuff and take my time learning.

If I'm looking at the correct value the flex number is 84? I couldn't find a ton of information about those values online and what I did find was mostly for classic skis.

 

[onetracker]

I skated Minnewaska yesterday with Brain Kelley. Conditions were good, they had about 20" of snow, skate lanes were wide and classic track was set.

The snow was still a bit soft but forgiving, which meant controlling skis was easy. These trails really let you open it up if speed is your thing. There is just enough elevation up and down to work and enjoy. Coming back on Upper Awosting is great to work V2 technique. It's exhausting but the speed makes it bearable.

After two days of skiing I needed a rest day, nothing hurts, just general fatigue.

Get out and ski, you'll be happy you did.
View attachment 145758

Good to see you got your XC ski on! I saw Brian at Minnawaska the Monday after you guys went skiing. He said you guys had a great day. I tend to go during the week to avoid the crowds. Great conditions and the grooming was superb!

 

[pooriggy]

If I'm looking at the correct value the flex number is 84? I couldn't find a ton of information about those values online and what I did find was mostly for classic skis.

Yeah, there is not much on the internet with regards to these numbers. I'm 145 lbs and have the 186 length with 74 flex, for me its a nice balance, I feel more control with this ski. I was on a 88 flex which was really fast and lively however I didn't feel as confident on the downhills.

 

[ebarker9]

Yeah, there is not much on the internet with regards to these numbers. I'm 145 lbs and have the 186 length with 74 flex, for me its a nice balance, I feel more control with this ski. I was on a 88 flex which was really fast and lively however I didn't feel as confident on the downhills.

Downhills should be interesting. I've gotten used to surviving, barely, on metal edge BC skis so this is going to be something. I'm hoping that the process of learning the skate technique will help with step turns, which I can do but I'm not super confident in especially in bad conditions.

 

[pooriggy]

Made it to Prospect mtn in VT. There is plenty of snow up there. It seems grooming is more geared toward wknds, I got there Thursday and trails were not touched, Friday was better but the Piston Bully didn't go out until 10:30am. Meh, for $22 trail pass I can't be too annoyed.

 

[ebarker9]

So...who would take a chance on these conditions with new skate skis? Given that I'm just looking to get in any possible experience this year, should be a short section of acceptable coverage for some practice, no?