Freshman Year Wax Tech

By Paul Choudoir

Before I joined the U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team for the 2023/2024 season, I worked with the U.S. Snowboard Cross Team (SBX) from 2018 to 2023. We tested wax on cross-country skis at the top of a ski resort mountain adjacent to the boardercross course (on groomed trails if we were lucky), and then we applied the winning combo to the athlete's board. Then, the athletes would go head-to-head, four per heat, down a Mr. Toad's wild ride course for 40-60 seconds before ultimately bringing their boards back to us for another application if they made it through the heats. If you have never watched a boardercross race, I suggest you give it a try—it's thrilling, and now you'll know that a few cross-country skiers are helping to make those fearless racers go faster.

During my five seasons with the U.S. SBX team, we had some great successes. We had two World Champions, our team as a whole won the Nations Cup (awarded to the best team in the world during that specific season), and most notably, we won two Olympic gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games. But, a dream opportunity presented itself in the Summer of 2023, and much like the end of middle school, I was ushered into what I would come to view as my "freshman year" as a wax tech on the FIS Cross-Country World Cup race circuit. For those unfamiliar, the World Cup is the highest level of international racing for all skiing and snowboarding.

I was the new kid on the block. I had to figure out who to eat with at the lunch table and what clique I was going to fall into. I didn't know much about my peers or the teachers who'd soon become my family on the road, and much like my actual freshman year of high school, there were growing pains, hurdles, high fives, and so many handshakes. Some seemed more significant than others, but each one stuck with me all the same. I had waxed skis before, many times over many years, so this was not new to me, but every ski I touched during this freshman year as a U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team wax tech was. Initially, I felt uncomfortable and out of place, but I quickly realized the talent of the veteran wax techs and where there were gaps in my own skill set. After I was presented with my assigned athletes' quiver of skis, upwards of 50+ pairs over the course of a single season, I had to immediately learn everything about them, which was overwhelming, to say the least. Then, I was presented with my own athletes' new quiver of skis: upwards of 50+ pairs over the course of a single season, and I had to immediately learn everything about them, which was overwhelming, to say the least. To add a cherry on top, each race weekend was totally unique, with a different race course, snow, grooming, and weather forecasting. With all that said, it felt like a fast-paced game of catch-up that I had to play each week.

So, if you asked me to pick the most challenging aspect of transitioning from SBX to cross-country, it was learning new procedures and mastering the precise (I'm talking down to the minute) waxing and testing schedule during race weekends. So many tasks had to be lined up and well-timed in order to be efficient in and out of the wax truck. Before landing in Munio, Finland, in November 2023, I had no idea how that was going to work. There was no formula, cheat sheet, or one-size-fits-all approach to getting the work done. Instead, it was all about careful planning, communication, anticipation, and flexibility. In my first weeks on tour, it became very obvious that being adaptable, present, open-minded, and honest with myself would be the cornerstones of my work.

The first klister race in which I had an assigned athlete was during the Tour de Ski stop in Toblach, Italy. Prior to this race, conditions for other World Cup classic races had been relatively cold, and we chose to use hard-wax skis for the races. I hadn't touched any of my athletes' klister skis. As a result, I didn't know exactly how long it would take me to apply klister (a much stickier, trickier wax to use) to my athlete's six pairs of brand-new, klister-specific skis. I ended up completing the klister application late, which meant I only had 20 minutes instead of the usual 30 minutes to test before I needed to apply the final race klister to the winning skis. Because I had chosen too many new skis to test, it led to a shortened testing window and some confusion for my athlete and me on the best ski choice for the race. I thought I could make six pairs of quality klister skis, treating them all equally. But I ignored that each was uniquely different and useful in differing klister conditions. At that moment, I was guilty of taking the quantity-over-quality approach.

Later in the season, I would have more success with classic race waxing after I learned to "trust my gut" when it came to ski picking and even more so after I came up with a thorough quality control procedure. But beyond that, and perhaps more importantly, I started asking for help. During my interview with Oleg, the U.S. Cross-Country Team's head of service, I distinctly remember when he said, "Nobody is the smartest person in the room." It's not that I felt I was too smart; I was self-conscious about asking for help. However, once I started asking for advice and absorbing all the valuable wisdom from my fellow techs, I could solve problems more effectively on my own. I began choosing skis with purpose and tested on my own or with another wax tech to eliminate more skis before the athlete performed their pre-race test. Put simply, I discovered that one of the best ways to learn how to wax a ski was to get on the ski and ski it. I also came to understand the importance of being honest with yourself as a tech and taking responsibility for mistakes you make. Overall, I learned so much in my freshman year, and I'm a better waxer and, more importantly, a better person for overcoming the tests and tribulations I encountered this season.

I should mention that the year was not without success! Both of my athletes performed incredibly well so early into their World Cup careers. It was fun to watch them race and be a small part of their successes.

When Roger Knight of BNS asked me to write this article about my freshman wax tech year, I wanted to be open and honest. I also wanted to share a few ideas on how to be a better wax technician. So keep on reading for my three hot takes.

1. Keep It Simple

There is a mysticism about ski waxing that I know overwhelms lots of people. Even I felt it when I stepped into our wax truck (a.k.a. Yolanda) for the first time. There were custom concoctions of kick-waxes and klisters with code names made of numbers and letters. Results of ski testing and measurements were mapped out on an Excel sheet full of data collected from hours of number crunching with resting camber heights, camber height at 50% body weight, camber height at 75% body weight, residual camber, contact distance in the tip and tail, etc. While this information is important and helpful, the vast amount of detail could make it hard to see the forest through the trees.

Take Ruka, Finland, for example. We tested all kinds of stuff on race weekend, and if I remember correctly, our winner for classic race day was Rode Super. It worked great, and that wasn't the last time we'd use a kick-wax which retails for under $20 during the season. Here's the other thing to remember; there will always be more than one brand that works. So, if walking into a ski shop and looking at all the kick-wax triggers an anxiety attack, remember to keep it simple. Pick a brand and get to know its products well. You'll be able to make wax selection easier, and I guarantee that you'll feel empowered when you arrive at a training day or race event, look at the weather and snow, and be able to pick one to two choices instead of testing the whole lot. This thought process works for glide wax, too. Get to know a wax lineup and become confident using those products.

Last pertinent tip. Tried-and-true wax picks are going to be more reliable than the oddball one you take a chance on. I'll take a good batting average over an occasional home run any day. Kick-wax or glide wax; the dependable choices will give you peace of mind when you're waxing the night before the Birkie.

2. Quality Over Quantity

I won't lie; the camera shot of the ski-testing depot at a World Cup always looks pretty cool. There are so many skis lined up for athletes to test, all fanned out on groomed snow. As you have read, early on, I got sucked into thinking that quantity was king. But truthfully, I wasn't ready to provide six pairs of classic skis waxed well enough to be accurately tested against one another in my first few World Cup weekends on the job. In fact, my athletes didn't even have six pairs of skis meant for one specific condition, but I treated them as such. Every variable matters at this level.

My eventual system became one that started by eliminating outlier ski options from a larger quiver on my own, waxing the remaining two to four pairs well and testing the smaller group of well-waxed skis with my athletes in a timely manner. It saved time and mitigated stress that may otherwise contribute to challenges athletes face on race day. So, like learning wax products, I challenge you to keep it simple and focus on quality over quantity.

3. Take Time

One thing I had a hard time doing during my "freshman year" was taking the time to learn how my athletes' skis felt on snow over a longer distance instead of short stints on a 500-meter test loop. We usually have a few days of free test time leading into a race weekend while the athletes primarily train or rest. These are free days for wax techs to learn new skis, courses, and products.

My initial approach on these "off days" was to wax four to six pairs of skis, bring them to a 500-meter test loop, ski a loop on each pair, and decide how each ski felt based on that limited data. Essentially, I was putting myself in a time crunch that didn't exist.

The approach I eventually adopted was skiing on these waxed pairs for longer distances to truly understand how each ski felt on a variety of terrain, snow grooming, and after many more meters than a tiny test loop offers. This tactic brought some joy and satisfaction to the job because it was like making a new friend when I discovered a ski that jived so well on the race course. So, in sum, take some time to go for a ski, pay attention to how it feels, and don't make snap judgments based on one hill.

A New Mindset for Sophomore Year

I'm very lucky to have such an incredible job. I get to travel the world, interact with elite athletes, and wax skis at the highest level of my favorite sport. Living this life is a blessing, and while last season wasn't perfect, it was still peppered with achievements I'm proud of. I can't wait to start the 2024/2025 season, work alongside a stellar staff, make fast skis for athletes, and, most importantly, get back to Yolanda, our wax truck. After all, only good vibes are allowed in Yolanda.

Keep an eye out on our Instagram account @usaxctechs for a behind-the-scenes look into our daily lives on the road and nonsensical moments arising from our delirium during a hectic race weekend.

*Photos courtesy of Paul Choudoir