From wax to etiquette, make the most of your ski experience

HATCHER PASS — It’s not hard to get Ed Straebel to wax poetic about cross country skiing.

The longtime owner of Mountain Streams Bed and Breakfast and president of the Mat-Su Ski Club has spent nearly three decades building, maintaining, grooming and enjoying Nordic trails on his property and around the Mat-Su Borough. Skiing Alaska’s pristine backcountry has evolved from a necessary mode of transportation to a favorite winter exercise sport.

When out on the trail, one thing that can make or break your excursion is proper maintenance of your equipment, Straebel said. That begins with the wax.

Waxing your Nordic skis has evolved over the decades and for the recreational Nordic skier, is one of the most important — and easy — things to do to make sure you’re prepared to run the local trails. For the two basic types of cross country skiing — classic and skate — you want to make sure your skis are waxed appropriately, he said. Skate (where the skier uses skies like ice skates, pushing off from the edges) requires glide wax, while classic uses a combination of glide and grip wax.

“Wax makes the skis much more efficient,” Straebel said. “Skating requires better energy output and just like ice skating, you push off with the sides. You put glide wax all over the entire bottom and it makes the skis really slick. You’re able to use your skis like ice skates. That’s probably the most difficult concept for people to get. For classing skiing, skis need to be fitted properly to the individual and you put grip wax on the middle third of the ski — on the middle third; the tips and tails have glide wax.”

While many veteran skiers like to do their own waxing, Straebel advises the most effective and least-intrusive option is to have a reputable ski shop wax your skis for you, then you can touch it up yourself.

“My suggestion is to take them to Backcountry Sports in Palmer, or contact one of the high school ski teams and make a donation and have them wax for you,” he said.

But if you must do it yourself, classic skiers can easily touch up a professional waxing with grip wax using a stick he says that resembles a giant Crayola crayon. It’s something you’ll want to do each time you go out, but the glide wax on the tips and tails is something that typically will last most of a season.

One mistake many new to the sport will make is buying what are advertised as “waxless” skis, he said.

“They end up getting those waxless-type skis, but for Alaska, that’s probably a poor choice,” Straebel said. “If you’re only going to go out a couple times a year, yeah, that’s no problem. But if you’re going to use them for regular exercise, you need a ski you can wax.”

What if you think you can get along without waxing?

Don’t, Straebel said. Like driving on icy roads, a ski without wax is like a tire without studs or tread.

“You’re going to slip and you’re not going to get the traction if it’s all worn off,” he said. “Really, waxing is very simple. In fact, we just held a clinic on it. I get by on one tin of wax, and it’s like a fat Crayola and you put it on the way you would color on a Big Chief tablet.”

Elegant etiquette

Once your skis are properly waxed and you’re on the trail, Straebel has some etiquette tips to make your — and everybody’s — outing safe and fun.

“The first thing is if it’s your first time skiing a particular location, if there’s anybody else around, go up and ask if there’s anything you should know about the trail system,” he said. “People have gotten killed or killed others skiing in the wrong direction. That’s like driving in on the outbound ramp on the Glenn Highway.”

Another rule is, depending on which type of skiing you’re doing — classic or skate — stay in the appropriate lane on the trail, he said.

“If you’re skating, you need to stay in the skate lane,” he said. “If you’re classic skiing, you can also stay in the skate lane, that’s no big deal. But don’t chew up the classic tracks with skating.”

In the Valley, the Mat-Su Ski Club maintains trails, but skiing on them too soon after maintenance can also damage them, Straebel said. Allowing some time for the trails to set up after grooming makes a world of difference.

Skiers can check online at matsuski.org for trail maintenance schedules and conditions.

“It really does mess up the trail if somebody skis or walks on it right after it’s groomed, because the snow’s still soft,” he said. “Just check the website so you don’t come out to (the same trail) that’s getting groomed.”

Another often overlooked point of Nordic ski etiquette is making sure dogs stay out of the classic trails. Like skating, dogs running free in the clear, smooth classic trails can chew them up quickly, he said.

“Dogs just love those classic tracks because they’re smooth,” he said.

And for experienced skiers, in general, the slower and less experienced have the right-of-way, Straebel said.

When coming up on another skier on the trail, “it’s best to go ahead and let them know you’re going to pass on the left,” he said. “For the most part, faster skiers should get out of the tracks, announce they’re passing on the left and go past the individual. You shouldn’t make the beginner skier get out.”

And of course, common sense is the best policy on downhill areas, where the skier going downhill always has priority. Many times in Alaska, Nordic skiers are sharing trails and the outdoors with snowmachiners, Straebel said. Always be careful and look out for motorized recreationalists. The state is expected to open up Archangel Road to snowmachines this weekend, he said, so be careful.

Although humorist Dave Berry once wrote that “skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face,” that doesn’t have to be the case.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.