Mark Waechter is the owner and operator of Nordic UltraTune, a full service stone-grinding shop in Winthrop, WA. He is working ski service with the Slovenian National Team at the World Cup races in Canmore, ALB. He will be posting additional updates at www.ultratune.net.
Jan 21 – Canmore World Cup Races
Hello from Canmore! Very cold here this morning at -28C (about -15F).
We're delaying further testing til mid-day so things can warm up a little.
Yesterday's testing and ski prep was long and productive. Focus was
primarily on glide waxes for the pursuit race on Tuesday.
The waxroom for Slovenia is busy and international. An American (me), an
Italian (Gianluca), and a Slovak (Stefan) working without much
intelligible conversation… …plenty of chatter and laughter, but I'm
not sure if anyone understands the words!
I visited for a few minutes with Kate Arduser from USA/APU/Rossignol out
on the race trails. Kate was testing skis and noted that the XC01 from
Ultratune was her fastest grind so far; it has been very cold, fine, dry
snow.
It was good to see many familiar faces and meet/greet at the hotel and on the trails. We're staying at the Radisson, along with Norway, Sweden,
Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, etc… …it's a “who's who” of
european ski racing. Buffet meals and hallways lined with boots drying
outside the rooms.
We're preparing skis for 4 athletes, and with 3 servicemen it's a lot of
work but manageable once everyone gets in the groove and figures out how
to work together. So far everything is smooth, though the cold weather is
a challenge.
Funny thing… …I got my race accreditation yesterday and the hang tag
is spelled “Marco Vachter”, which is just about as far from correct as
anything I've ever seen. We all got a good laugh and decided that
Gianluca must have been responsible for the error.
Later today, when it warms up a little bit, we'll be doing more glide
tests and testing some grip waxes for durability. Tomorrow is the first
race – the Pursuit.
