With the holidays behind us, the racing season is in full swing. Many section 8 teams did manage to compete over the holiday season. On December 30th most of us were at the Blueberry Hills Invite hosted by Deer River or at the Northland Arboretum in Brainerd on the 2nd of January.
The Blueberry Hills meet was a 5 KM skating event. The boys race was won by Bemidji's Zac Oelrich in a time of 15:33 and the girls event was won by Summer Ellefson in a time of 18:32. It was a cool day with new snow and freshly groomed conditions. This meant some hard glide wax to get any type of ski to move quickly. The Northland Arboretum meet was a 6 KM skating event. The boys race was won by Conrad Roberts (Battle Lake) in a time of 16:11 and the girls race was won by Little Falls Beth Hauer in a time of 19:27. Another very cool day with race time in the single digits.
These cold days with fresh snow are more conducive to northern Minnesota skiing. This requires the ski base to be prepped with a hard/cold wax to glide. The hard wax causes friction between the ski base and the sharp snow crystals thus giving a small amount of water to allow the ski to glide. Some of our favorite waxes for these conditions are; Start Green, Rex Green, Toko Blue, or Swix Green. The Start Green wax seems to be a real favorite of many skiers.
Start Green needs to be applied in multiple layers to get the best results. Each layer should be scraped cold and brushed out thoroughly to get the best results. A sharp scraper and multiple light passes with the scraper give the best/safest method of removing such a hard wax. It should shine up very black and glossy if the finish is good. Good luck and stay warm.
Coach W
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