Autumn Masters Biathlon Camp
/Join Olympic hopeful biathletes Casey Smith and Raleigh Goessling for a 3 day biathlon training camp in Washington State's Methow Valley.
Read MoreSummertime
/It's past the 4th of July holiday, and time for die-hard skiers to turn their gaze toward winter. Summer fun certainly doesn't need to be 100% ski focussed for competitive Masters age group skiers and recreation skiers, but it's not hard to ad
Read MoreAssessment and Preparation
/The first days of skiing are in the log book now (hopefully!).
Whether you were at West Yellowstone, or Silver Star, or on the local 2 km Gerbil Loop, you've gotten a chance to put some km's on your skis. At this time of year it's important to assess the performance of your skis and prepare them for the next races.
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| Brian Gregg got a podium spot at West Yellowstone. Photo Credit - Ian Harvey / Toko |
If you have several pairs, then it's important to make sure you've got the majority of situations covered to get the maximum performance from your available pairs of skis.
In the first half of the season, especially in the Western USA and Canada, emphasis on good pair of skate and classic skis for cold/dry conditions is a must. At altitude and in dry climates, the fine structures perform much better than the universal grinds that come on new skis.
For cold new-fallen snow, high altitudes, and dry snow, the Nordic Ultratune S1 will run well and performs down to the FIS limit. Try the S1 on skate or classic skis - it's very versatile in cold/fine conditions and has excellent top-end speed. The S1 has already proven itself this season with top results in West Yellowstone SuperTour races.
The S2 makes an excellent cold climate all-around grind. If the snow hasn't been through significant thaw/freeze cycles and humidity is low, then the S2 will perform up into the upper 20's (F), with a bottom end near 0F.
The S2 makes an excellent cold climate all-around grind. If the snow hasn't been through significant thaw/freeze cycles and humidity is low, then the S2 will perform up into the upper 20's (F), with a bottom end near 0F.
Another tried-and-proven performer is the Ultratune XC02, which is a long-time favorite among skiers and is a great choice for anyone with a dedicated pair of "very cold" classic or skate skis.
Turn-around times on grind work continue to be fast. Skis arriving at Nordic Ultratune by Thursday will be shipped back out (or ready for pick-up) by the following Monday - just 4 days later.
Be ready for your big events. Get the skis up-to-speed now.
Adjustment and Allocation
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The ski season is in full stride now.
Whether you're skiiing the SuperTour series, or were at Sr Nationals in Anchorage, or the Double Birkie, or on your local Wednesday Night World Championships, you've gotten a chance to put a lot of km's on your skis. At this time of year it's important to review the performance of your skis and adjust and allocate skis for best performance before your biggest events.
Here's a picture of Anna Haag, © ATOMIC Austria GmbH, from La Clusaz last December.
If you've got a few pairs of skis, you'll need to decide if your favorites have the structures to match the skiing that you've got planned. If you're a competitor you have to try to match the skis with the conditions - this can require a bit of weather forecast review and guesswork. If you have several pairs, then it's important to make sure you've got the majority of situations covered to get the maximum performance from your available pairs of skis.
In the second half of the season, especially in the mid-west, emphasis on a couple of good pairs of skate and classic skis to cover the conditions spectrum is a must. In cold conditions, the fine structures perform much better than the universal grinds that come on new skis. Also, in the transformed or wet thaw/freeze snow that's been dominant in the west and great lakes region, a good transformed snow structure is equally critical
In conditions around freezing, the Ultratune D5 has been very successful, and the Ultratune M1D has been super for even warmer/wetter situations. The D5 has been the grind of choice on skaters at SuperTour events in the Northwest and the Midwest in mid-January. If you're skating a marathon in January or February, it might be the ticket to a faster race. The Ultratune M1D is a super klister grind for very transformed snow.
If there's a cold snap, try the Ultratune S2 on skate skis - it's very versatile in cold/dry conditions and has excellent top-end speed. If the snow hasn't been through significant thaw/freeze cycles and humidity is low, then the S2 will perform up into the upper 20's (F), and down to near the FIS limit.
If anticipated conditions aren't likely to dip below 10F, try the Ultratune i5. The i5 is exceptional in new snow (including falling snow) and machine groomed snow that hasn't been through thaw cycles. It's a bit more aggressive than the XC02 and S2 and handles a bit more moisture.
Turn-around times on grind work continue to be fast. Skis arriving at Nordic Ultratune by Thursday will be shipped back out (or ready for pick-up) by the following Monday - just 4 days later.
Keep in mind, though, that Nordic Ultratune will be working on skis at the Olympics and there will be no commercial grinding from Feb 9th - 28th!
Be ready for your big events. Get the skis up-to-speed now.
Whether you're skiiing the SuperTour series, or were at Sr Nationals in Anchorage, or the Double Birkie, or on your local Wednesday Night World Championships, you've gotten a chance to put a lot of km's on your skis. At this time of year it's important to review the performance of your skis and adjust and allocate skis for best performance before your biggest events.
Here's a picture of Anna Haag, © ATOMIC Austria GmbH, from La Clusaz last December.
If you've got a few pairs of skis, you'll need to decide if your favorites have the structures to match the skiing that you've got planned. If you're a competitor you have to try to match the skis with the conditions - this can require a bit of weather forecast review and guesswork. If you have several pairs, then it's important to make sure you've got the majority of situations covered to get the maximum performance from your available pairs of skis.
In the second half of the season, especially in the mid-west, emphasis on a couple of good pairs of skate and classic skis to cover the conditions spectrum is a must. In cold conditions, the fine structures perform much better than the universal grinds that come on new skis. Also, in the transformed or wet thaw/freeze snow that's been dominant in the west and great lakes region, a good transformed snow structure is equally critical
In conditions around freezing, the Ultratune D5 has been very successful, and the Ultratune M1D has been super for even warmer/wetter situations. The D5 has been the grind of choice on skaters at SuperTour events in the Northwest and the Midwest in mid-January. If you're skating a marathon in January or February, it might be the ticket to a faster race. The Ultratune M1D is a super klister grind for very transformed snow.
If there's a cold snap, try the Ultratune S2 on skate skis - it's very versatile in cold/dry conditions and has excellent top-end speed. If the snow hasn't been through significant thaw/freeze cycles and humidity is low, then the S2 will perform up into the upper 20's (F), and down to near the FIS limit.
If anticipated conditions aren't likely to dip below 10F, try the Ultratune i5. The i5 is exceptional in new snow (including falling snow) and machine groomed snow that hasn't been through thaw cycles. It's a bit more aggressive than the XC02 and S2 and handles a bit more moisture.
Turn-around times on grind work continue to be fast. Skis arriving at Nordic Ultratune by Thursday will be shipped back out (or ready for pick-up) by the following Monday - just 4 days later.
Keep in mind, though, that Nordic Ultratune will be working on skis at the Olympics and there will be no commercial grinding from Feb 9th - 28th!
Be ready for your big events. Get the skis up-to-speed now.
Menu Updates
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With the addition of the new Mantec grinding machine, and also as a result of collaboration with serviceman Stefano Vuerich of Val di Fiemme, Italy, the grind menu has been updated with 4 new offerings.
I've been working with team Slovenia at World Cup events since 2005. Through these channels I first became familiar with the quality of the base structures produced by the Mantec equipment. It was Gianaluca Marcolini who suggested that I get in touch with Stefano Vuerich, the leading World Cup ski serviceman who grinds a big percentage of all the skis on the World Cup circuit.
Since late winter Stefano and I have been working to get the new Mantec Ski Numericontrol 140 arranged for Nordic Ultratune. The machine went in last week, and along with the machine are some of the successful World Cup grinds from Europe.
Here's a brief summary of the changes:
Updated World Cup Structures:
- D5 - universal layered cross structure; typically 0C to -5C
- i5 - angle-biased structure for medium conditions, typically -2C to -10C
- S2 - fine, symmetrical pattern for cold conditions; typically -5C to -20C
- M1D - warm, wet, transformed conditions. Skate or classic klister grind.
Linear Structures from Ultratune will remain unchanged:
- LJ03 - linear grind for temperatures near 0C.
- MVL - general purpose linear grind for classic skis, finer than LJ03
- XC02 - for cold & dry snow; linear grind with a secondary polishing stage
- XC01 - for extreme cold conditions; linear grind with a secondary overgrind
The grinds that have been added to the menu are proven structures that are fast and also very versatile. Some of the new World Cup structures are good on classic skis as well as skate skis. These structures are all grinds that I've used and tested on the World Cup, and the performance data and race results attest to their quality.
Download a workorder form, and send some skis! Racing starts in less than a month, and with the SuperTour schedule featured in the early part of the season, there's no time to waste.
