As the snow disappears from our Midwest ski trails, it’s not too early to take the first step to making next year’s skiing more enjoyable. That means having fast skis. Most of us have had a day where our skis are much faster than that of our skiing pals. But we’ve also had days when our skis were just dogs compared to our buddies’ planks. I’m sure you’ll agree it is no fun to have to work harder on the flats and uphills while everyone else just glides along.

I know there’s a lot of information online about glide waxing and ski prep. But most of it is produced by the wax companies and, while very informative, no effort is made to reduce the amount of glide wax that ends up on the floor. There are times when copious amounts of wax on your bases is appropriate and other times when it is a waste of time, effort and money. I hope to point out the difference.

If you do what the so-called experts tell you to do, you’ll spend most of your spare hours in the wax room and up all night getting your skis ready. It doesn’t have to be that way. I can help you avoid the trap of becoming a full-time waxer on a part-time schedule.

So what can you do this spring to make sure you have fast skis next winter? The concept is simple: Make sure that your bases are in good condition and completely impregnated with wax. Then forget about them until next fall. Come November, I’ll return to the subject to show you how to make waxing easy, using much smaller amounts of the “glide wax of the day.”

Step 1: Cleaning the bases

First scrape off all existing wax and brush the bases until no residue remains on your bases. Start with a metal brush and work your way to a horsehair brush. I use a copper hand brush and then rotobrush with a stiff horsehair brush till nothing more can be removed.

Most instructions to clean the bases are to hot wax the base and then scrape while the wax is still semi-molten. While that certainly helps remove imbedded grime, I’ve had good luck skipping this step. But if you want to be extra sure that your bases are squeaky clean, hot wax and scrape before going through the above brushing sequence.

Step 2: Touching up the bases

Now examine the ski bottoms and look for nicks or gouges. If the damage is more than minimal, you may want to have your local ski shop repair them. If you’re lucky, this could be as simple as having your skis stone ground. If unlucky, the skis might require p-tex repair.

If you are handy enough with a steel or razor blade-type scraper, you can refurbish the bases yourself. However, I’d strongly recommend you let the experts handle this.

One safe alternative is to sand the bases. Start with a rougher grit and work your way out to 400 grit for the final smoothing. I’ve seen a lot of criticism of this method as it supposedly clogs up the pores and inhibits wax retention. But sanding is cheaper and safer than a metal scraper and I haven’t found pore clogging to be significant. However, if you don’t want to take the chance, get the bases stone ground.

What kind of stone grind, you ask? If you have more than one pair of skis, you can get different grinds for different temperatures. But with one pair, choosing the grind can become a dilemma. Too much structure and the skis will be dogs in cold weather. Too smooth and they will develop suction in wet snow and be ultra-doggy.

If you have only one good pair of skis, I suggest that you get the coldest grind possible. Then your base will be as smooth as it gets – guaranteed to have removed all discernible small hairs.

Then next season, you can use a press-in type structure tool to apply the structure of the day. Do not use one that cuts your ski bottoms, however.

In my column next November, we’ll look at this process in greater detail: how to remove pressed in structure without shaving off your precious p-tex.

Step 3: Impregnate the bases with wax

There are two basic ways to saturate the bases with wax. This step does require copious amounts of glide wax. Both ways start by covering your entire bases (except the kick wax zone of classic skis) with a thick layer of the warmest non-fluoro wax you can find, then place them in a hot box for several hours. If you don’t have your own hot box, many shops offer this service.

If you want to make your own hot box, Google “build hot box skis.” I just nailed four long boards together to form a box with open ends, with just enough room for two skis. I then nailed some insulation around the outside. For heat, I positioned an electric heating fan to blow in one end and a plain fan on the other end blowing out. It works fine, holding a temperature of 160 to 180 degrees. I’ve even seen recommendations to use hair dryers to heat the hot box. If the temperature is lower, it will just take a longer time for the wax to penetrate.

When I started using a hot box, I was amazed at how a thick layer of wax just disappeared into the bases. If that happens, melt some more wax onto the surface and put the skis back into the hot box.

If you don’t have access to a hot box, the old fashioned methods still work very well. Run an iron over the bottoms until the wax is molten. Allow the skis to cool and repeat at least five times. There is no need to scrape between heatings. This works fine if you only have one or two pairs of skis. It can be a headache if you have three or more skis to prep. Then the hot box is the best solution.

Now to the really old fashioned way. I remember reading that elite skiers in the early 1980s stored their skis in the attic over the summer, a natural lower temperature hot box. Some even leaned their skis against the inside surface of a glass window to let the summer sun do its thing.

Whatever method you choose, when you are done you can put your skis away till next season, comfortable in the fact that you’ve done the major work needed to have fast skis every time they hit the snow.

Next November, I will continue on the topic of waxing. We’ll see how we can have fast skis, avoid long sessions in the wax room and save a lot of money in the process.

While the column above is geared toward skating skis, the same principles apply to the glide zones of striding skis. But fast glide wax is not nearly as important for striding skis as it is for skating. The reason? Kick wax so overpowers the smaller differences in glide wax that hitting the correct kick wax is much more important. You want great kick but also great glide. Often this becomes a compromise. So if you are a strider only, make sure your glide zones are prepared and waxed with care, but then spend most of your time getting the kick wax zeroed in.

Lee Borowski is a past USSA Nordic Coach of the Year, Badger State Winter Games Athlete of the Year and the coach for several junior, senior and collegiate skiers of the year. He has also coached many master skiers who have won both national and world championships. Borowski is the author of several books and articles, and producer of four videos on cross-country skiing technique. He runs the Web site thesimplesecrets.com/.

To order Borowski’s “NEW Simple Secrets of Skating” or “The Simple Secrets of Striding,” demonstrated through footage of Olympic and world champions, and available on VHS and DVD, send $25 plus $1.75 shipping to Lee Borowski, 4500 Cherokee Drive, Brookfield, WI 53045. Wisconsin residents add $1.27 tax.

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