I have to admit that this is not what I envisioned for the first update of the season. Nevertheless, here is a summary of today, but the numbers:
3:30 - the time my alarm went off this morning
-16 - the temperature in Edmonton
1,000 - the number of questions asked by the friendly US customs agent
3 - the number of times we had to "reboot" the plane to try and clear a warning light.
110 - the number of minutes we sat on the tarmac in Edmonton
450 - the estimated weight in pounds of the lady across the aisle from me. Seriously, this was legendary.
27 - the number of times the guy in front of me loudly announced he could call AMA to boost the plane while we waited.
2.5 - the number of hours my flight to Denver was late
30 - the number of minutes for which we sat on the tarmac in Denver waiting for a gate
30 - the number of seconds by which I missed my Bozeman connection
70 - the number of dollars it cost me to book a shuttle from Bozeman to West Yellowstone due to having missed my ride
0 - the amount of compensation in dollars offered by United to pay for my lunch
So, in summary, it's been a bit of a rough one so far. More to follow...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Paraffin
Since it's come up a number of times at the shop lately, I thought I'd put together a short list of some of my favourite glide waxes. I've also included notes from discussions that Zach and Nathan and I have had on the topic. Note, the waxes aren't listed in any particular order - I think that all of these are excellent.
Base Layers
1. Ski*Go LF graphite - If you want your skis to be fast, the bases need to be hard and the wax needs to be durable. This product is one of the easiest ways to make that happen.
2. Solda S30 - Go out right now and buy ten containers of S30. It sells out every year and I promise you will use it up. Amazing in new snow, old snow, cold, warm - always worth testing as a base layer.
Cold Paraffins
1. Swix LF4 - One of the two best glide waxes from Swix. Always a safe bet when it's cold.
2. Holmenkol Matrix Green - Zach and Nathan's runaway favourite among cold paraffins last year. Consistently killed everything in testing. Runs quite a bit warmer than might be expected
Medium Paraffins
1. Swix LF6 - The other excellent glide wax from Swix. Low liability - if LF6 doesn't win the test it is never far out. Runs a lot warmer than you'd think.
2. Solda F31 Violet - The temperature range on the box says -4C to -14C. In reality, the range is probably even wider. Any time the temperature is below zero but not squeaky cold, F31 violet is worth testing.
3. Holmenkol Matrix Blue - Picks up where Matrix Green leaves off. Similar temperature range, but for higher humidity.
4. Ski*Go Violet - This was called Ultima under the old Ski*Go naming convention. Wicked fast in aggressive or man made snow. Mix it with Ski*Go yellow (242 under the old naming convention) in greasy snow.
Warm Paraffins
In these conditions, the paraffins usually make less of a difference.
1. Solda F40 Yellow - Amazing when it is super wet.
2. Holmenkol Matrix Yellow/Black - when the crystals are course or the snow is dirty, get this in a test.
3. Swix HF8 - Runs warmer than most other reds. Good stuff.
4. Holmenkol Matrix Red - Runs colder than HF8, more universal. Really nice.
Other Stuff
1. Ski*Go Green - Sometimes crazy fast, sometimes not. Too inconsistent to use without testing.
2. Swix HF6 - Inconsistent. LF6 is a much safer choice and rarely far out.
3. Swix HF7 - Seems to prefer newer snow, but don't use it if you can't test it.
Base Layers
1. Ski*Go LF graphite - If you want your skis to be fast, the bases need to be hard and the wax needs to be durable. This product is one of the easiest ways to make that happen.
2. Solda S30 - Go out right now and buy ten containers of S30. It sells out every year and I promise you will use it up. Amazing in new snow, old snow, cold, warm - always worth testing as a base layer.
Cold Paraffins
1. Swix LF4 - One of the two best glide waxes from Swix. Always a safe bet when it's cold.
2. Holmenkol Matrix Green - Zach and Nathan's runaway favourite among cold paraffins last year. Consistently killed everything in testing. Runs quite a bit warmer than might be expected
Medium Paraffins
1. Swix LF6 - The other excellent glide wax from Swix. Low liability - if LF6 doesn't win the test it is never far out. Runs a lot warmer than you'd think.
2. Solda F31 Violet - The temperature range on the box says -4C to -14C. In reality, the range is probably even wider. Any time the temperature is below zero but not squeaky cold, F31 violet is worth testing.
3. Holmenkol Matrix Blue - Picks up where Matrix Green leaves off. Similar temperature range, but for higher humidity.
4. Ski*Go Violet - This was called Ultima under the old Ski*Go naming convention. Wicked fast in aggressive or man made snow. Mix it with Ski*Go yellow (242 under the old naming convention) in greasy snow.
Warm Paraffins
In these conditions, the paraffins usually make less of a difference.
1. Solda F40 Yellow - Amazing when it is super wet.
2. Holmenkol Matrix Yellow/Black - when the crystals are course or the snow is dirty, get this in a test.
3. Swix HF8 - Runs warmer than most other reds. Good stuff.
4. Holmenkol Matrix Red - Runs colder than HF8, more universal. Really nice.
Other Stuff
1. Ski*Go Green - Sometimes crazy fast, sometimes not. Too inconsistent to use without testing.
2. Swix HF6 - Inconsistent. LF6 is a much safer choice and rarely far out.
3. Swix HF7 - Seems to prefer newer snow, but don't use it if you can't test it.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Fleet Evaluation
I spent the past two days in Canmore working with Kate Brennan on her fleet of skis. Kate is a Madshus sponsored athlete and has amassed an impressively large ski bag over the past few seasons. However, having a large fleet brings inherent challenges and Kate has experienced frustrations in deciding as to which skis to test and ultimately race on for a particular day. Come along for the ride and see what we determined...
One more thing before we get started - as many of you know, I am terrible when it comes to taking pictures. I brought my camera with me to Canmore this weekend with the best of intentions and proceeded to take precisely no photographs. However, using the magic of the internet I have pieced together a few photos of what this process looked like.
Let us begin (for real this time)...
The first step in the process was to spend some time with Kate discussing her fleet. We focused on the general feeling of the skis, when certain pairs worked or didn't work, what she like about her favourites, etc. It is important to understand what the athlete thinks about their skis and what they like. They might not be correct, but it is still important to know :)
(Patrick and Lorris discussing preferences in skis)
(This is Zach and Noah discussing skis in West Yellowstone last year. Kate and I looked exactly like this, only I am taller than Zach and Kate is different than Noah. - photo Nathan Schultz)
While I'm in West Yellowstone I will pick up my fleet of test skis, as well and Reid's and Paul's new skis. They look like this:
(Yes, those are our actual skis. Only six pairs are mine and the rest are Reid's and Paul's. - photo Erik Nilsson)
One more thing before we get started - as many of you know, I am terrible when it comes to taking pictures. I brought my camera with me to Canmore this weekend with the best of intentions and proceeded to take precisely no photographs. However, using the magic of the internet I have pieced together a few photos of what this process looked like.
Let us begin (for real this time)...
The first step in the process was to spend some time with Kate discussing her fleet. We focused on the general feeling of the skis, when certain pairs worked or didn't work, what she like about her favourites, etc. It is important to understand what the athlete thinks about their skis and what they like. They might not be correct, but it is still important to know :)
(Patrick and Lorris discussing preferences in skis)Next, each pair of skis was scraped and evaluated. All the skis were first measured by hand to check overall quality and a number of other characteristics. The classic skis were also put up on the flex tester and the pockets marked.
(This isn't actually the flex tester in question, but you get the idea - photo Nordic UltraTune)
With all the information now in hand, I began to make notes on each pair of skis. Thoughts on when to pull them out of the bag, skis to test in conjunction with, etc. Ultimately, a couple of pairs were removed from the fleet either because they were just plain bad or duplicates of other skis. All of this information was summarized on a sheet and Kate and I met again to discuss my findings.
(This is Zach and Noah discussing skis in West Yellowstone last year. Kate and I looked exactly like this, only I am taller than Zach and Kate is different than Noah. - photo Nathan Schultz)At this point, things took a turn for the worst. Everything we have done so far is purely academic - speculation based on the best information we have available. While we can do a pretty good job at this, ultimately the results of our discussions will need to be corroborated using on snow testing. However, given that Canmore's Frozen Thunder is nothing more than a 1km loop covered in tons of people, on snow testing wasn't really possible this weekend.
(Had there been an opportunity for on snow testing, it would have looked like this. - photo Zach Caldwell)
By now you are probably asking yourself what is the point of this whole process. There are a few mains goals. Obviously, the first goal is to ensure that the athlete's ski bag is complete and that there are satisfactory skis for a variety of conditions. Perhaps more importantly, however, we are attempting to provide the athlete with some information to reduce race day stress. Kate's situation is not uncommon and frequently athletes are unsure as to what they should do with their skis. It is the job of the technical staff to work with the athletes to provide clarity and ensure that they have confidence in their equipment.
Next week I head to West Yellowstone for the opening races of the season. West Yellowstone looks like this:
(West Yellowstone, 2009 - photo Erik Nilsson)
(Had there been an opportunity for on snow testing, it would have looked like this. - photo Zach Caldwell)By now you are probably asking yourself what is the point of this whole process. There are a few mains goals. Obviously, the first goal is to ensure that the athlete's ski bag is complete and that there are satisfactory skis for a variety of conditions. Perhaps more importantly, however, we are attempting to provide the athlete with some information to reduce race day stress. Kate's situation is not uncommon and frequently athletes are unsure as to what they should do with their skis. It is the job of the technical staff to work with the athletes to provide clarity and ensure that they have confidence in their equipment.
Next week I head to West Yellowstone for the opening races of the season. West Yellowstone looks like this:
(West Yellowstone, 2009 - photo Erik Nilsson)While I'm in West Yellowstone I will pick up my fleet of test skis, as well and Reid's and Paul's new skis. They look like this:
(Yes, those are our actual skis. Only six pairs are mine and the rest are Reid's and Paul's. - photo Erik Nilsson)Not a bad update for a guy who didn't take a single picture!
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http://fasttraxproteam.blogspot.com
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http://fasttraxproteam.blogspot.com
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Site Changes Complete
It’s been a long time coming, but with the race season just two weeks away there have been some nice changes to the website. Of note, there is some new and added functionality, including the following:
- A search field to find that valuable nugget buried in a previous post
- Link on the left sidebar to send me a message
- Link on the left sidebar to subscribe to updates (if you received this email then you are already subscribed)
- Updated schedule of winter trips
- Links to both Facebook and Twitter profiles
- Slide show of pictures near the bottom of the page
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Updates coming
Hi everyone...
Nothing much has happened on here in a very long time.
Stay tuned for some changes to the site and updates to come in the very near future.
Patrick
Nothing much has happened on here in a very long time.
Stay tuned for some changes to the site and updates to come in the very near future.
Patrick
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Trials Month
I'm in the Quebec airport right now waiting for my delayed flight. I guess this is the reality of air travel in Canada. In other news, the Quebec airport is more or less brand new and is phenomenal. Other airports should take note: free wireless internet, high backed chairs in the waiting area, power for laptops integrated in the the chairs, food options on the secure side of the departure area. Boom.
It's been an intense but awesome month. It looks like the academy has qualified nine athletes for international trips including the Olympics. U23 and World Junior championships, and the OPA tour. Considering that our team includes twenty athletes that seems like success.
There have for sure been a few highlights so far:
- Gord's win in the skate at Sovereign Lakes, so close right up to the end
- Madeleine's win in the classic race in Canmore, honestly the best day of my life to date. That is not a joke.
- Heidi's utter domination of the junior sprints in Quebec
- Emily's final heat where everything finally just clicked and her skis were "so much faster".
- Marlis' decisive victory in the 10km classic to stamp her ticket to worlds
There have also been lots of success stories from a technical point of view. Overall, we've made really great skis and on a few days really stood out from the crowd. Out of all the races I'd say we only missed the mark once so far (skate sprint at Sovereign). The testing has generally gone smoothly and we've executed the plan.
There has for sure been some learning along the way and areas for improvement:
- Ski selection is huge. For sure the most important factor in overall speed. That has become more apparent to me than ever in the context of a large team.
- Hand structure is huge as well. Probably the most important factor that we can change after ski selection.
- Camber height and and closing weight are two different things. In other words it is quite possible that a 0.5mm ski could be softer than a 0.3mm ski. Something to keep in mind when selecting race skis.
Congratulations to all the Academy athletes. It's been a pleasure so far and I'm excited for more.
Force fate. Game on.
It's been an intense but awesome month. It looks like the academy has qualified nine athletes for international trips including the Olympics. U23 and World Junior championships, and the OPA tour. Considering that our team includes twenty athletes that seems like success.
There have for sure been a few highlights so far:
- Gord's win in the skate at Sovereign Lakes, so close right up to the end
- Madeleine's win in the classic race in Canmore, honestly the best day of my life to date. That is not a joke.
- Heidi's utter domination of the junior sprints in Quebec
- Emily's final heat where everything finally just clicked and her skis were "so much faster".
- Marlis' decisive victory in the 10km classic to stamp her ticket to worlds
There have also been lots of success stories from a technical point of view. Overall, we've made really great skis and on a few days really stood out from the crowd. Out of all the races I'd say we only missed the mark once so far (skate sprint at Sovereign). The testing has generally gone smoothly and we've executed the plan.
There has for sure been some learning along the way and areas for improvement:
- Ski selection is huge. For sure the most important factor in overall speed. That has become more apparent to me than ever in the context of a large team.
- Hand structure is huge as well. Probably the most important factor that we can change after ski selection.
- Camber height and and closing weight are two different things. In other words it is quite possible that a 0.5mm ski could be softer than a 0.3mm ski. Something to keep in mind when selecting race skis.
Congratulations to all the Academy athletes. It's been a pleasure so far and I'm excited for more.
Force fate. Game on.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Testing
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