A Tale of Two Skis
By Mariah Frye
Over the last 13 years, we at Cross Country Ski Headquarters have witnessed a massive evolution in classic, no-wax cross country skis. Since then, ‘skin skis’ – skis with a mohair grip section, rather than mechanical “fish scales” or pockets for grip wax – have saturated the classic ski market.
While a robust range of skin ski models are now available for recreational and fitness skiers, skin skis started as a niche product for racers.
Indeed, nearly every competitive skier has purchased at least one pair of high-performance skin skis. This is largely due to the promise of a more reliable solution for fast, classic race skis than what other classic skis can deliver. With few exceptions, we have found that, particularly in challenging wax conditions, skin skis do indeed provide great benefit to classic racers.
However, as it happens with any new trend, we have noticed an ever-so-slight correction back towards classic waxable skis for some skiers. While skin skis still dominate sales in our shop over waxable skis, many of the seasoned racers I see are back to the art and science (and witchcraft?) of grip wax.
So there I was, looking at the weather for the Forbush Memorial Classic, a 10k classic race in the Michigan Cup race circuit. The forecast was cold, and I knew there would be fresh snow and excellent grooming. A perfect opportunity for me to use my Fischer Speedmax Classic Wax race skis! We followed the wax recommendation to a “t”, and sure enough, I had excellent skis. In fact, they were perfect, what dreams are made of. I even tested them next to my Fischer Twin Skin Carbon Pro skis, just to be sure, and the winning pair were obviously the waxable skis. I had an awesome race and loved every minute of it.
So there I was, looking at the weather for the Forbush Memorial Classic, a 10k classic race in the Michigan Cup race circuit. The forecast was cold, and I knew there would be fresh snow and excellent grooming. A perfect opportunity for me to use my Fischer Speedmax Classic Wax race skis! We followed the wax recommendation to a “t”, and sure enough, I had excellent skis. In fact, they were perfect, what dreams are made of. I even tested them next to my Fischer Twin Skin Carbon Pro skis, just to be sure, and the winning pair were obviously the waxable skis. I had an awesome race and loved every minute of it.
Emboldened by this experience, I decided to sign up for the Black Mountain Beauty – a 31k Michigan Cup classic race through the hills of Black Mountain in the Cheboygan area. The weather looked quite different than the race at Forbush: icy, old snow, sunny, with temps around 30 degrees. Once again, we prepared my classic waxable skis with the wax recommendations. I arrived at the start and tested them against my skin skis. The difference was far less noticeable, and after swapping back and forth a few times and fiddling with the bindings, I chose the slightly better glide I was getting with the waxable skis. Only time would tell if this was the wisest choice!
The race started, and my first 10k felt very strong as I led the women. At about that time, however, embarking up a massive hill, I noticed that I was slipping back considerably when I went to kick. I attempted to change my technique and get my hip forward more, nailing the pocket down more precisely as best I could. The gains in grip cost me considerable exhaustion, though, and I wasn’t able to keep it. Regardless, the worst case scenario was unfolding before my eyes, or rather under my feet: my grip wax was coming off, and I had 20k left to go.
A woman’s hips knows no intensity like that of childbirth. Several paces behind that is skiing 20k of hills on classic skis with no grip wax. Did I bring extra grip wax? Yes, but I didn’t think the time it would take to apply it well enough to get me to the finish would be worth all the lost time (I was wrong). Did I wish I had chosen my skin skis? You bet your klister I did.
One pair of skis, two markedly different experiences. My take is that passionate classic skiers will do well to carry a solid wax ski and a solid skin ski to races. Make a trip to Cross Country Ski Headquarters and to demo our selection of skin and waxable skis, and no matter what, cultivate good judgement on which to choose on race day!