Toko: National Championship 10.15k Skate Report

Although I did a really poor job today on the photos, this was probably our most successful day ever for wax. The wax tip of HF Blue covered by a mix of JetStream Blue powder and XCold powder, both ironed in together was super for the women. For the men, it was the same except a good application of JetStream Blue Bloc on top was even better. It was -9f this morning and there was an inversion, but not as strong as yesterday. The snow stayed very cold and was faster that one would think considering the temperatures. We added in the XCold powder to the blue powder because it was faster. It hardens the JetStream Blue up and makes the skis really slippery on the climbs especially.

To do this, obviously after brushing out the HF Blue, sprinkle the JetStream Blue on the ski, then sprinkle almost as much XCold Powder and then heat it in really well like you are ironing HF Blue (a few passes with the iron on about 300f/150c). Then after it cools completely, lightly scrape it, brush it out with horsehair and then nylon polishing. You might need to scrub a bit. It is super durable and fast when conditions are cold and slow.

Next up are the mass start distance classic races. The major challenge is going to be durability. It is extremely abrasive out there and the courses go up Hermod’s hill each lap (4 laps for women and 6 for men). I think many racers are going to have bare bases after even just two laps. We tested green klister ironed in, then frozen (hardened), then covered by base green binder which was then ironed into the klister and smoothened with the iron. This yielded both the best rated kick and the best rated glide of everything we tested and was the most durable. I think it’s going to be the ticket as there was no wear. We will test more for durability tomorrow as we will have more time to do this. Until Sunday then!

For a few more photos, click here. Next time I will find a better spot with fewer people.