Wax Recommendation

The Crested Butte Alley Loop is a fluor-free wax event. Event website

Base Glide Layer

Rode Graphite R100G or Holmenkol Syntec FF 21

Application: Iron in at recommended iron temp, let cool, scrape, brush with fine steel or bronze/brass brush.

Race Paraffin Layer

Rode R20 mixed with Rode Endurance 50/50 or Holmenkol Syntec FF Blue 

-or- Rode RX32 Word Cup Violet for a warmer ski option.

Lower-price option: Holmenkol UltraMix Blue or Rode R20 Blue or Rode R30 Violet

Test Results:

Paraffin test 9AM snow temp -18C to -16C. Old snow, squeaky styrofoam.

1. Rode R20/Endurance 50:50
2. Rode Rx32/Endurance 50:50
3. Rode Rx32
4. Rode R20

Rode R30, Holmenkol FF Blue, Holmenkol FF Green, Holmenkol FF21 all unranked but close.

Application: Iron in at recommended iron temperature, let cool (10-15min), scrape with a plastic scraper, brush with fine steel or bronze/brass, then polish with nylon or horsehair brush.

Powder

For the 42km, fluor-free powder will help with durability, speed and dirt repulsion. It is probably not worth it for shorter races.

Holmenkol FF Blue Powder

Application: (apply powder over race paraffin, before topcoat)

1. Sprinkle powder on liberally to coat the base.
2. Iron in at recommended iron temperature.
3. Let cool. 10-15 minutes should be adequate.
4. Scrape powder off, then brush with stiff nylon, followed by horsehair.

View a video on powder application (video is for fluoro powders, but the application is the same for fluor-free powders)

Liquid Topcoat

Rode Racing Liquid WC (RxL) Cold -or- Holmenkol FF1 Blue Liquid

lower-price option: Holmenkol FF2 Liquid Blue or Rode Racing Liquid Blue (RL)

Test Results:

1. Rode Racing Liquid Extra Med (Violet)
2. Rode Racing Liquid Med (Violet)
3. Rode World Cup Racing Liquid Med (Violet)
4. Rode World Cup Racing Liquid Cold (Blue)
5. Holmenkol FF1 Liquid Blue
6. Holmenkol FF2 Liquid Blue
7. Rode Racing Liquid Cold (Blue)

Application: Apply liquid on brushed ski, allow to dry, polish with a roto wool, roto fleece, or felt brush/cork. The liquid layer should be the final wax layer (over paraffin layer or powder layer).

Structure

Structure will be an important part of the race, with the old snow making it ski warmer than the temperature. We recommend either our cold universal S1.3 grind or S2.2 grinds. Fischer Factory Plus is also running well. A fine hand structure such as the Holmenkol cross structure tool with one roller (remove one of the two rollers) is improving speed dramatically. If you  have a warmer pair of skis, run the Holmenkol cross structure tool with both rollers. That was running fast as it warmed up (snow temp still cold at -14C)

Kick Wax

Start with an ironed-in base layer. We recommend Vauhti super base for the most durability. Other good options are Rode Black Base, Holmenkol Base or Swix VG30.

Once the binder has cooled, apply 3-5 layers of the wax of the day. As of Wednesday afternoon, the forecast seems cool enough to keep kick waxing pretty simple. If it is warmer than forecast or the new snow is coming in wetter than we might expect, you may look to layering warmer waxes and covering with a shell layer for speed.

Waxes to try:

• Rode Blue Multigrade or B310
• Rode Super Weiss or B17
• Holmenkol Blue Spezial
• Holmenkol Blue Extra

Updates

We will update this recommendation Thursday evening and Friday morning after testing on-site.

Race/Application Notes

Check back in for our update Friday midday after testing Friday morning. This looks like perfect stable weather for a fairly normal Alley Loop with a cold forecast and no significant new snow forecast.  Temps are forecast to hit the low at 11PM which means the snow will get cold and likely stay cold for the entire race, even while the air heats up after 11AM.