The Waxless Dilemma

(More blog entries from ryan)

Am I just lazy?

I have a couple different pairs of skis. OK, I have seven pairs of cross country skis that I would consider "active." Probably more than the average person. OK, a lot more. It's all work related.

Anyway, I think that I've discovered my favorite pair: Fischer Superlight Crown. (Available at Great Glen Outfitters.) They have great kick and are surprisingly maneuverable for a waxless ski. They're fun. I can just grab them and go without giving any thought to choosing a wax.

Here's the dilemma: They are definitely slower than any of my waxable skis. Thus, I won't be using them for Nordic Meisters (unless the waxing conditions are really tricky), because I need all the speed I can get and then some. But I've only skied on my waxable skis once so far, so I haven't really had much practice. It takes practice to really get your waxable skis to kick. It's both an art and a science. Now, while my waxless skis are great, they don't take as much effort or skill to make kick. Aye, there's the rub.

Maybe that's the reason I like my waxless skis: you just jump in and go. You don't have to have perfect or even great technique. You don't have to worry about kick wax. You just go ski. You just don't go ski very fast. And most of the time that's OK. In fact, I like to take it easy. I guess the conclusion is: Yeah, I'm just lazy.

- Ryan

Comments

Re: The Waxless Dilemma
by Christine on Dec 20th 2007, 9:10 am

I love my waxless skis too. As a matter of fact, I still use a pair of Rossignol used rentals I bought for a song way back in the 90's. I also have a pair of Madheus (sp?)I won in Nordic Meisters. What I like about waxless is the complete freedom to just put on the skis and ski. No fuss, no stress, just pure natural pleasure. Being lazy isn't a sin; it's a guilty pleasure. Happy holidays!