jnshapiro Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Yesterday we were up at Kirkwood. I didn't get as much riding in as I'd have liked as my wife and I were taking turns watching our daughter (she just turned 3) and my son (5 yo) was in his first ski lesson. But that was ok. We have season passes and so I'm not worried about maximizing my lift ticket $$. So I spent the morning doing Norm and Norm 2 drills on the freshly opened beginner trail. Turned out I didn't have any trouble with either. When I moved over to the intermediate run, I had a lot of trouble keeping the edge locked in. There was a fair bit of sliding going on, but also some good carving too, but nothing resembling a laid out turn (I have a lot to learn). Conditions weren't great. The snow was very hard and somewhat icy. I wasn't able to get locked in. As I was putting the board in the back of my pickup and noticed that there were 2 inch wide strips on each side of the base, just in from the edges, that were without wax. I don't recall ever seeing that before. I must have spent more time carving than I realized . Today I changed the angles of the edges a little (1 on base, 1.5 on the side) in hopes for more edge grip (of course, it could be me ). And I rewaxed the board paying much more attention to the sides of the base near the edges. Anyway, I found those 2 strips running down the sides of the base to be rather interesting, and perhaps a good sign for my learning to carve. I also think I need some stiffer boots. It'll have to wait for next season, my bank account is tapped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 If you were doing "the norm" on a steeper slope, ie just leaning and letting the board work, youre likely too upright, and the excess inclination will push the board out of the carve. this is one of the flaws in my riding. learning to sink down and angulate the way some of the guys here do will help you carve on steeper terrain. as for the wax wearing more near the edges...heh...that just means you spent a lot of time on edge. Exactly what you're looking to do! I dont think you can really avoid that...Ive tried waxing more in those areas and it still wears the same. Saturating the base with a soft wax over multiple hot scrapes might help a little? try to ride with someone who is better than you, see where that gets you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Adding a little Swix CH3 (hard wax) will help. I lightly apply along the edges after dripping whatever base wax I am using. I suppose you could melt the base wax in then apply the powder and melt again. Product Description: Special hydrocarbon powder increases hardness of all waxes it is mixed with. Use for abrasive, cold snow. https://www.artechski.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=A&Product_Code=9062&Category_Code=090 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 I'm looking at my board from yesterday and I have the same base burn on the side. Welcome to the world of carving! The wax will just wear faster there ... putting a harder (cold) wax down the sides near the edges might help a little, if you're on warm (softer) wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar(angel Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 are the bands or "strips" at the edge of someones tires that show no wear or use, usually meaning they don't get over all they way when riding. This used to be what we'd look for when we were about to race another guy back when I was street racing. Another give away that you were about to smoke someone pretty easily was a guy who still had the "nipples" on the edges of his tires too. I remember more than once guys talking trash about how great of a rider they were, and they'd have about an inch of rubber left on their edges! Ah, good times, good times..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnshapiro Posted December 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 I'll try a harder wax near the edges next time I wax (as in later this week). Thanks for the suggestion. On the up side, it sounds like I'm on the right track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Half the time I wax my board, I don't scrape it. The wax on the edges comes off anyway; as for the wax in the middle, I'm not riding on it much so who cares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted December 5, 2006 Report Share Posted December 5, 2006 Half the time I wax my board, I don't scrape it. The wax on the edges comes off anyway; as for the wax in the middle, I'm not riding on it much so who cares? Nate, if you ever ride at Timberline or Mt Hood Meadows, you'll want to scrape the middle. Lots of flat spots. I used to scrape *only* down the middle 'cuz I knew that's where it cakes up; nowadays I'm more of a Wax Whizard kind of guy so I don't scrape at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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