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the turns that require the skis to skid; the only turn that is feasible while sliding forward is the step turn, but this is the ski tourer's favorite. The strap-on kind are cloth-lined and heavier. They do not slide forward very well, and, under certain conditions, ice can form between the ski and the skin. But this is the kind of skins to get if you are not ambitious to master the stick-on kind, or if you wish to run down after the climb on very fast, hard wax. A simple makeshift is a ski sock, a canvas sack just fitting over the rear end of the ski and strapped over the toe iron. Touring waxes.—For powder snow: The seemingly contradictory demands of high static friction for climbing and low dynamic friction for running can be reconciled by using a plastic wax just soft enough to permit the sharp crystals of powder snow to make microscopic indentations when the skis are firmly planted with no sliding motion, but hard enough to develop heat of friction when sliding to provide a film of water to serve as a lubricant. Beeswax has served as the chief constituent of such waxes. It must have the right consistency to rub thinly onto the ski and at the same time to take a polish when spread smoothly over the surface by rubbing briskly with a cork block or the ball of the hand. The colder the snow, the harder must be the wax in order for the heat of friction to produce the lubricating film. An excellent wax can be made by melting beeswax, if too hard, with just the right amount of a silicone waterproofing liquid. European waxes of this type for snow a little below freezing have been called "medium," and "mix" for colder snow. |
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