Top Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home › Masters Blog

Archive | Masters Blog

MNC Skiathlon Wax Tip

By on 10 January, 2025 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

Wow, we have SNOW and things are looking awesome for the Skiathlon on Sunday. This is a classic race, followed by a skate race, all together (switching skis in the “exchange zone” in the stadium). It can be overwhelming, but the weather looks stable and perfect for nice classic skiing and smooth skating.

Be sure to start with clean skis: that means glide zones, too! Make sure to use a dedicated glide zone cleaner (not to be confused with a more potent chemical kick wax cleaner).

With bases all cleaned, a great paraffin layer would be Toko Red, Swix 7, Rode R30/40, or any other simple mid-range glide wax. If using a Toko or Swix spray, put this on the night before and let it sit until race morning, then scrub with a nylon brush.

For kickwax, it looks to be hardwax in the purple/red range. Start with a hardwax binder like Toko Base Green ironed in, and then feel free to stop by the MNC bench for help with the wax of the day…coaches will be testing and helping application.

See you at the race!

 

Bogburn Wax Rec

By on 2 January, 2025 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

Some snow has fallen in the hills, and it looks like moderate temperatures for the Bogburn on Saturday.

Just a quick note, however, that this wax recommendation is coming to you from 5F and dark Anchorage, AK so please take all notes as a “best guess” scenario without knowing the actual snow condition. MNC coaches never apply kickwax for a race before the morning of the race itself, when we’ve had a chance to size things up!

Look for the MNC tent and team area with coach Liz, coach Sara, and coach Kristen on race day up at Rikert!

The snow report indicates very little new snow from the recent storm system. Therefore expect a mostly machine-made/transformed base with temps in the 20s, meaning snow could start icy and become sugary.

For glide wax, a simple warm/mid-range option like Toko Red or Swix HS8 would be safe. For kick, klister could very well be involved so please hold off on applying a hardwax binder. Coaches will likely be able to apply a quick spray klister or roller klister binder job if it is called for.

Masters starts on (and in) the snow!

By on 9 December, 2024 in Masters Blog

We had a great start to the Winter 24/25 Masters season last week! Despite unfortunate construction and renovation closures at the Range, we are super grateful to Sleepy Hollow for helping us still train in the evening with lights and snowmaking. For afternoon Masters, Tomasi Meadow has also been a phenomenal resource.

Even more good news though: we had real snow to train on! It has become increasingly rare to kick off the season on snow, much less more than a small loop of artificial snow. We almost had too much of a good thing for Masters training, with heavy snowfall impacting the driving conditions on both Tuesday and Thursday.

Lots of snow happening during the ski Tuesday

Thursday brought difficult classic conditions with snow that Coach Kristen aptly described as “corn starch” in consistency. On top of the artificial snow, this was particularly tough: then add in another snowstorm and you have a recipe for winter chaos! It was still a beautiful night though, with fair temperatures and good spirits. The lights at Sleepy Hollow just have that slightly more “warm” feeling than the “industrial” vibes up at the military base…no surprise, I guess, but it’s a welcoming glow over in Huntington for sure.

We are dreading the upcoming rain on Wednesday, but given the snowmaking systems in place and the loop already created by Eli we’ll be hoping to keep our skis on for Thursday!

You can always view the latest at the Masters Training Doc.

Craftsbury Opener(s) Wax Rec

By on 5 December, 2024 in Junior Blog, Masters Blog

Winter looks to be ON for these races! With fresh snow accumulating a little bit each day, and cold temps keeping it around, the wax forecast for this weekend should be pretty straightforward (especially on glide).

SkiReg: Saturday SK

SkiReg: Sunday CL

Saturday (Sprints)

Low of 13 overnight, high of 22 on race day. 2″ of snow forecast for Thursday.

The course will feature a lot of artificial snow in the stadium/cabin area and therefore should remain quite fast despite it being a little chilly.

Glide wax recommendation

Two layers of Toko Blue and X-Cold powder, Swix PS5, or other green/blue range glide wax. Scrape and brush between layers, and brush thoroughly after the final application. It’s important for our bases to be “hardened” for cold conditions, hence the recommendation for 2x layers.

Topcoat recommendations

  • Star Next Cold liquid or wool block
  • Rode RL/RXL cold liquid, let dry thoroughly and buff
  • Toko Blue spray…apply it the night before OR allow for at least 1hr of drying time at room temp before brushing

Sunday (Classic Distance)

Low of 12 overnight, high of 31 on race day with flurries.

This course will be more natural snow if utilizing more trails distant from the center.

Glide wax recommendation

See above: the glide wax recommendation is the same for Saturday and Sunday

Kick wax recommendation

In a very rare New England event these days, it looks like green, blue, and violet hardwax will be on the menu! A binder such as Toko Base Green is recommended, but we will likely test binders on site and if a more rugged option (like Start Base Extra, which contains some klister) improves things we will let people know.

A good place to start would be Rode Super Blue or Swix Extra Blue. If more kick is needed, try adding layers or jumping up to Toko Red or Rode Violet. If more glide is needed, try dropping down to Toko Blue or Rode Blue Multigrade.

Visit the MNC trailer (lower parking lot) for any questions or assistance on race day!

 

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial