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I have some Dan's Fastwax (skifastwax.com) high-flouro paste wax. It's handy stuff. I have one tin which is now 2 seasons old, and the wax has become too hard to smear onto the ski. Any thoughts on how to soften it?

I'd say that when it is too cold, it's just not productive to train at L3 or harder. But there are still many very pleasant, sunny clear days when it is below 0F, and you can still enjoy a fun ski. You can also do strength work, if you keep your pulse and breathing reasonable. Below 0F, I wear Woolr...

I'm planning to ski the Prince Haakon with family and classic Birkie alone (well, with several thousand other nuts who didn't learn anything from last year's slush). It'll be my kids' first Birkie event, and I was planning to skip the Birkie to join them... but now I won't have to.

I had read FastWax recommendations to cover klister with anti-icing; I went with Swix Uni klister, and a covered with a Toko wipe-on glide wax. It was great for about the first fourth of the race. Snow in the tracks was translucent, as though it was considering turning to slush, but just hadn't made...

Looking at the posted seeding criteria for the 2016 Classic Birkie, it appears that the cutoffs have been moved-up a bit this year, by about "3% back". It seems as though like these cut-offs are designed to "flush" a decent percent (54% to 76%) of skiers down to the next lower wa...

I did the Birkie Classic, and was going to do the Fastwax rec. I had a Swix blue klister binder, with four layers Swix green hardwax on top. I tested it without the blue or blue-extra, and it was great. So I just added two more layers of green and went with that. Kick was great... Not "the best...

I seem to see two opposite approaches in layering kickwax, between different manufacturers' recommendations. Some will recommend a colder wax for the full pocket, then build-up a pyramid, especially using a warmer wax "under the toe". That's more-or-less what I grew up with. Others will ta...

I tore a meniscus in one knee 12 years ago; could barely walk for a few months; took me about a year until I could jog 1 block. Just pressing the foot sideways against a wall or object was painful, so... no snowplow allowed. I switched to just tiny step-turns, and found that it was good enough (Noqu...

Ouch! Sorry to hear of it. Nothing as bad as that, but I crashed and sprained a thumb last year. The full-hand glove-style ski loop had gotten twisted under the pole, and my weight came down on the pole; the pole seemed to act like a lever (OK, well, it is a lever). It definitely forced my hand in a...

I did have a funny misadventure: I got a lift from Marquette to the start. At about the old Airport (Negaunee), I realized that I didn't have my bib on. Pulled over to check my bag, and it wasn't there, so headed back to Marquette, found the bib, then back to Ishpeming for the race start, but knew I...

Sorry to hear that. I had just asked the night before if it would be OK to pick a ski pair at the race start, and then leave the other pair at the school. They said the skis should be safe, but that it wasn't worth the drive out to get them, so I should throw them on the truck. I wasn't going to do ...

For me, the prime passing spots are: - every feed . Go to the far-end. Everybody else stops at the first volunteer they see. You can also bring food and a water bottle, with just enough to skip the first feed. (I've brought more, but it just freezes). The first feed has the biggest traffic jam. - ev...

My training peaked in August, then life happened. But that's OK, training is more fun in summer anyways. Winter is for skiing. You gotta take a break from training sometime. I do think it helps me to do some light intervals/speed work, right up to about 48 hours before. Just get the blood hammering,...

I'm trying to imagine the mighty Klistretommel, son til Odin, Norsk god av skismør

Speaking of klister cushions, how do others put hardwax over klister without mixing? I have tried softening the wax and crayon-on, with no corking, but the surface looks too rough. My impression is that the wax would have to be skied-in quite a few kms to smooth out. It seems like one of the spray-c...