nekdut Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Okay, we got more than 2.5 feet of snow yesterday, and it was coming down in many inches per hour at times. I went out with a shiny new (well new to me) Prior Khyber, clipped in, took a step forward and tried to get to the lift, but I fell flat on my face! The board was absolutely stuck in place and would not slide forward. The bottom was completely crusted with thick iced up pow and I was unable to chip it off with my gloves on. I removed as much as I could and rode up the lift. Once again, I face planted when I got off of the lift because of all of the crap on the bottom. I was unable to ride down because of this. The board itself seemed to have a healthy base (no oxidation, etc) so I didn't wax it before heading out. Air temp was in the high teens and it was deep pow everywhere. Did I simply have completely the wrong wax on my board? I plan on doing a few all-temp wax passes on it tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Crazy! When you rode the lift did you pass over snow guns? Was the board warm when you rode up the mountain? Either of those things can cause snow/ice to stick to your base, particularly if both happen in combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 probably either had no wax or prep wax on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've had this exact thing happen to me before a few times. I'm not sure exactly what the culprit is (soft, thick wax and sharp cold ice crystals poking into and sticking? Or board was warm when you took it out of the car, and the snow melts and then freezes hard as the board cools?) But what I've found is that if you can find a scraper (or credit card) and muscle off all the stuck snow (maybe repeat once) everything should be fine after that. e.g. when I go heli or cat skiing, when getting ready to go, I will take the board, smack it down in a pile of powder, turn it over, and if any snow is stuck, scrape it off. Do it again if necessary, and then you are basically ready to go after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 that is weird...I have never worried about wax on pow days given that I have ridden unwaxed wood boards in powder and not stuck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. T Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Sound like it was due to a warm base that got snow frozen too it and prolly cold snow conditions. Kind of weird that it did not improve with scraping and more time for the base/core to cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcarver Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Have gone out on cold days in pow with universal wax and had problems with speed on cat walks. Nothing quite as bad as what you describe but I had to skate this season on a run that I have not had to do that in 5 yrs. So I think wax can cause some problems if it is exceptionally cold and your wax is for a warmer temp. Cold snow = dry snow. You need friction and heat to melt the snow under your base which creates a very thin layer of water to hydroplane on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buell Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 nekdut, the last wax I applied to that board was the summer storage wax. It was either a warm wax or an all temp. It had not seen the snow since the summer waxing until you bought it. I find fresh snow to be particularly picky about having all wax brushed off the base. It's funny because I just picked up a Dupraz that seemed well cared for as well. I brushed it super well with a wire brush and wax whizarded an all temp. After two days of painfully slow riding, I finally did a hot scrape, a hot wax and and the wax whizarded cold temp wax. Ah, finally works! Buell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Have gone out on cold days in pow with universal wax and had problems with speed on cat walks. Nothing quite as bad as what you describe but I had to skate this season on a run that I have not had to do that in 5 yrs. So I think wax can cause some problems if it is exceptionally cold and your wax is for a warmer temp. Cold snow = dry snow. You need friction and heat to melt the snow under your base which creates a very thin layer of water to hydroplane on. I think the issue with very cold snow is not so much that you can't melt it beneath your base, but rather that cold snow is far more abrasive than warm snow, and that all temp wax tends to be a great deal softer than cold weather snow. So when you ride with all-temp wax in cold snow the crystalline structure "sticks" to the softer wax much the same way that sandpaper would stick to clay ... and causes friction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have about 10 different waxes but I've gotten to the point where I don't even look at the colour or temp rating of the wax anymore. I just slap it on and Wax Wiz it into the base. I feel zero difference from one wax to another. I even tried paraffin. No difference. And I would say I glide a bit quicker than most of my riding buddies. Maybe it's just my bulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Mammoth freshies did that to my Burton really badly. I had to get it pointing down and the snow would "roll" off. Was it sticking to your boot soles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 prechill your board prior to snow contact. It wouldn't hurt to rewax with a temp appropriate wax just in case its got parafin storage wax or something on it. a warm board will always stick up with snow. A prechill will also help keep snow from building up on the topsheet:lurk: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 It sucks that it happened on a powder day but the same thing happened to me. I think my problem was that I had been riding my local mountain a few days before I went up north to Vermont to ride a mountain called Pico. My local mountain day temps were in the low 30's with all recent man made snow. When I went north the temps were in the single digits and mostly natural snow. My board stuck to the slopes as if it were nailed there. I went in to the local shop and got the board waxed. Yes it did help but as the day went on I found myself sticking again. I thought the problem was the difference in temps and the fact that prior to Vermont I was riding man made snow instead of natural snow. Maybe my base absorbed some funky chemical from the man made snow that made it slower in natural snow. I'm not quite sure but it sucked when it happened to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shrederjen Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 I usually wax with temp specific wax, and sometimes, I am off. I now, keep a small bar of Dominator all temp wax (with the little buffer) in my pocket. It works like a dream when the board 1. needs wax or 2. has wrong wax on it. Got it from Fin at Bomber. Good stuff to have in your pocket or backpack, Menard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seraph Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Stupid question, but you said the board was new, so are you sure there was any wax on the board? Only reason I ask is I had a similar thing happen on my first day with my new board. It literally stuck to the snow and would not move. I had to walk down the run. When I got home and checked it, it was definitely not waxed before hand. I waxed her up and she was fine the next time. I had totally forgotten to check the condition of the board before I took it out and made for a very short and frustrating day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 It sucks that it happened on a powder day but the same thing happened to me. I think my problem was that I had been riding my local mountain a few days before I went up north to Vermont to ride a mountain called Pico. My local mountain day temps were in the low 30's with all recent man made snow. When I went north the temps were in the single digits and mostly natural snow. My board stuck to the slopes as if it were nailed there. I went in to the local shop and got the board waxed. Yes it did help but as the day went on I found myself sticking again. I thought the problem was the difference in temps and the fact that prior to Vermont I was riding man made snow instead of natural snow. Maybe my base absorbed some funky chemical from the man made snow that made it slower in natural snow. I'm not quite sure but it sucked when it happened to me. static can be a problem with fresh pow at those temps. graphite rubbed into the wax or a graphite wax works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Thanks for all of the replies everyone! The board was only new to me. As Buell mentioned, I got it from him and it only had storage wax on there. I didn't take the time to wax for cold conditions, and I probably also did not let the board cool down to the right temperatures before calling it quits (falling on my face repeatedly when going straight was quite frustrating as you can imagine!). The board literally refused to move one inch forward! I'll give it a good all temp wax this evening and hopefully it will be good to go next time. I am just pretty bummed that I missed out on one of the best pow days so far this season due to equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletProof Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I've been using F4 HB Universal for the past years (one of my last purchases at the outdoor store, 1+kg for 40 CAD) without any issues (minus one time not scraping enough). I also keep a can of mint deluxe (F4 paste for a lot cheaper, packaged for snowboard, don't know if still available) in my bag just in case of warmer weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monodude Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 My new Powder Monoski works awsome in the Deep pow without wax. Nobody can keep up. On the green/blue runs most of the boarders have to take a foot out and skate. Even skiers have to pole thru while I just glide by. Cold snow No wax. As far as other times/snow conditions I seem to have the best luck with a Flouro based Cold temp wax for all conditions. Even in warm/slush I out glide my mono buddies who used warm or all temp. Base structure is very important to the glide ratio as well, Prolly more important than wax. I hot wax then buff it in then brush it to remove the wax from in the structure in the base. Don Feed the addiction... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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