Styrofoam Wheezing

Today I was reminded of the importance of two things while skiing:
1. Wax
2. Technique

After a 3-hour meeting, I needed to get out for a ski. It wasn't a bad meeting, but it was 3 hours. Count 'em: 3. So therapy was in order.

The snow at Great Glen is on the verge of super, perfect, awesome. Not quite there, but close. It snowed about 9 inches on Wednesday. When I headed out this afternoon it was starting to get cold. It was in the low teens, and the snow had that familiar crunch: the sound of styrofoam. For skiers, that styrofoam sound means slow, cold snow. I was skating, and my skis were in need of waxing. And, the last couple coats where fairly warm. This made my skis really, really, really, really slow. When skating, you want a lot of glide. Today, I had none. I actually stopped halfway down a short hill. Climbing every hill was like climbing double. I should have waxed my skis.

The other deal with skating is that it is really based on technique. My technique is OK. I know all the basics: I can V1 all day, my V2 alternate is solid, and I can V2 pretty well. Well, I can do all those things fine for a random dude off the street. For someone who claims to be a skier, I suck. The key is efficiency, and I'm not very efficient. Like I said, I can handle all the basics, but while being basic I flail. It's good times. So, with my slow skis and flailing technique, I wheezed and panting my way through a half hour today.

I mean, it was fun.