I'm regressing

As I hope you are aware, we're in the middle of an awesome winter here in the Northeast. The ski conditions are fantastic. When the conditions are this good cross country skiers throw on some hard wax and go.

OK, what the hell am I talking about? For the traditional stride of cross country skiing you need something to grip the snow to propel you forward. The kick zone, as it is called, is in the approximate center of the ski. It is either made up of a fish-scale-type pattern carved into the base of the ski or hard wax. Hard wax is a cross between candle wax and honey. The result is a color coded system of waxes. Each color works at a different range of temperatures. When the snow is powdery and cold, it's all about hard wax. (Yes, I've really oversimplified this, as waxing can be very complicated and is best performed by a cross of Einstein and Jackson Pollack.)

This afternoon, I looked at the thermometer, applied a hard wax and went for a ski. This is only the second time this season that I've used hard wax. The rest of the time, I've been on my waxless skis, i.e. the pair with the fish-scales. Waxless skis are easier to kick and don't require you to have good technique. This was evident today as I could barely get the wax to work. I'm 90% sure that I had the correct wax, but I just couldn't make it stick. It was really frustrating. I had to give every hill everything I had to make the wax work. Often, it did not and my ski would slip out from under me causing great pain and suffering to my groin, quads and subsequently, my knees. What a downer. My easy ski turned into a painful fartlek-esque experience that left me pining for my waxless skis. Of course, the downhills are much faster on my waxable skis, and they handle really nicely. When you nail the wax, it's the only way to go. Or if you actually know how to ski and can make wax work. I've regressed into a lazy, techniqueless skier. grumble

To remedy this, I waxed my skate skis tonight. I'm not a very good skate skier, so if I'm equally frustrated tomorrow, I may not ski again this winter.