VALLEY GLIDE GUIDE

MAT-SU — Whether you have dreams of Olympic gold or just want to spend some quality time playing in the snow, ski season means play time for local winter outdoor enthusiasts.

Cutting new cross-country paths through the backcountry and navigating the groomed trails in the Hatcher Pass area provide an energetic and exhilarating outlet for expert and amateur skiers, said Ed Strabel, a local cross-country ski guru and Mat-Su Ski Club board member. As another ski season begins, many are rushing to get their equipment in shape.

“It’s a great day to be a skier,” Strabel said Thursday, also offering some basic advice of those looking to make the most of their ski outings.

“What people need to be doing now is get their skis waxed,” he said.

By that, he recommends taking your equipment to a ski shop and have it professionally done. It’s inexpensive and will provide a solid base for keeping your equipment performing at its peak throughout the season.

“Backcountry Bikes and Ski in Palmer is probably a good place to do it, or people can get in touch with one of the high school ski coaches. For a donation, they can wax your skis.”

At Backcountry, manager Josh Berberich said he can tell people are enthusiastic about the budding ski season.

“It’s starting to get busier,” he said. “The high school kids are getting ready for the season. Generally, this time of year you get the wax and edge, basically the tune-up getting ready for the season. Usually it’s a base grind, wax and tune.”

It may seem simple, but a good wax job and keeping the proper type of wax on your skis, snowboards and skates can often mean the difference between having a great experience and a frustrating one, Strabel said.

“It makes like a lot more fun,” he said. “If folks have got waxless skis, they’re going to have trouble. With the dry snow we have in Alaska, you need something (to hold onto the snow). What happens is with the loose snow, even in our groomed ski trail, once people have skied on it, it’s kind of like little ball bearings. The grip wax provides the adhesion to the snow crystals and give you the grip to get up the slope.”

Strabel advises getting a good glide wax job once a year, but keep some wax on hand to use while out on the trails for touch-up.

“When you’re coming down and you’re doing a snow-plow to cut down on speed, if you don’t have the wax with you, what you can do is switch your skis,” he said. That puts the worn areas on the opposite feet. “Use wax and a cork, a synthetic cork, which creates friction on the bottom of the ski and very briefly melts the wax and allows it to spread on out.”

Some like to wax their own skis, but as a general rule, that’s not always the most pleasant experience, Berberich said.

“When you do it yourself, you have to get the vent out in the garage and you have to have an iron, and it can definitely be messy,” he said. “Then the wax can make your house stink.”

At Backcountry, a basic glide wax job costs $10, while a snowboard or alpine wax is $14, he said.

“Wax is super important,” Berberich said. “Not only does it provide glide, it also protects your base and allows your skis or snowboard to last longer. It helps with control, too. You want things to move fast on the flats and it’s like having a car that rolls freely. Especially with skate skiing or classic skiing, it’s all your power making it happen.”

Aside from using properly waxed skis, both Strabel and Berberich recommend making sure you have the proper clothing when out on the trail. That means layers and not overdressing for the amount of work and heat your body will generate.

“Ventilate,” Strabel said, “because going uphill can generate quite a bit of body head and you can get soaked.”

As for how to keep energy on the trail, there are many good snack options, Strabel said.

“Personally, I prefer lobster,” he joked. “If I can get my friends to bring lobster, I can definitely help them lighten their loads. Really though, if you’re going to be out there for several hours, you need some sort of snack that’s not going to (freeze) and become hard as a brick. Trail mix is really good. Mounds bars are good down to -40, I know that for a fact. But Snickers bars, man, those will freeze and break.”

Another tip is to make sure your poles are the right length — usually should be snug under the armpits — and they have performance grips on them.

“What you want to do is have that pole basically attached to your hand so you don’t have to grip the pole all the time, and the performance grips do that,” he said. “That’s one of the first lessons the kids from Palmer High School were learning yesterday. A lot of those kids had cold hands, and they had the old grips.”

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

MAT-SU SKI CLUB EVENTS

What: Classic Ski Clinic

When: Nov. 19, noon

Where: Archangel Road trailhead

Cost: Free

What: Skate Ski Clinic

When: Nov. 26, noon

Where: Archangel Road trailhead

Cost: Free