Nutcracker Ski Club

I was reading a popular fashion magazine on the weekend and came across an article relating to fashion for a mountain/snow getaway.

What they were suggesting was a choice of cotton tracksuit pants, nylon blend hoodie, gloves, scarf, snow boots and a handbag. Will this be practical and keep you warm in snow conditions? No Way!

Sure, you might look great in a pair of $200 fashion designed track pants, but you’re butt will be shivering before you get 100 meters from the snug warm Lodge! Being this cold, you may not venture outside for the rest of your time and the chances of you having a great snow experience are very slim. Also, cotton track pants aren’t generally waterproof so you will end up with wet legs and bum out in the snow!

I’m feeling cold and uncomfortable just writing that sentence.

So, you end up wasting $200 on track pants that don’t keep you warm and dry, and you’ve wasted your well earned, and expensive, holiday up on the mountain staying indoors. Would you consider going up to the snow again after that? Highly Unlikely. And that would be a shame.

What you take up to the mountain to wear can make all the difference to your snow experience.

It prompted me think about my first time at the snow and what I thought was going to be appropriate clothing for the conditions. From that first experience, and others holidays to the snow since, what advice I could impart to first timers heading up to the snow this year?

This is a very simple guide aimed at first timers to the snow. I’m certainly no expert in snow clothing and I won’t go into depth about brands and clothing technology, that might be something you can research for yourself, but at least you will have an idea of what to expect, how to dress for the conditions and how to have a good experience at the snow without getting cold and catching one in the process!

I’m never cold up at the snow, so I can’t be doing that bad ?

Over the next few days I will post a series of articles on this subject. I will take into consideration all the aspects of going on a snow holiday - what conditions to expect, what activities you may do up on the mountain and the type of clothes you will need to consider. I’ll try to include a couple of examples that you might want to consider purchasing.

For those of you who are seasoned snow bunnies and have any suggestions or comments you’d like to add, they are greatly welcome. As I said, I’m no expert, this is what works for me, others may have different ideas and they would be more than appreciated.

If you want to make sure you don’t miss this series subscribe to our news feed at the top of the sidebar.

Popularity: 11% [?]

This was the video that ski wear manufacturer, Spyder, had on the loop at their display during the recent Ski Trade Show.

The video was shot at Aspen. I think its a good video all round.

Popularity: 6% [?]

My favourite on-line ski shop, Snow Shack, is having a 30% off sale on all regular items.

This includes gear from Burton, Spyder, Giro, K2 and Hot Chilly.

All you need to do is enter the discount code “BLOWOUT30″ when you’re at the checkout.

Snow shack have great service. I highly recommend them.

Popularity: 4% [?]

To quote the famous line from The Karate Kid, “Wax on, Wax off”!

My personal favourite quote is “Always look eye”, but unfortunately it doesn’t relate to this article!

It’s important to maintain your ski’s if you want to get the most out of your skiing and waxing them reguarly is a big part of that. I found a great article on Homeboyski that gives a great run down on how to DIY waxing:

 ”Basic waxing is pretty easy and it doesn’t take much time. Waxing decreases the friction between the ski and snow, and therefore provides better sliding. Before talking about waxing, let’s find out what is needed when waxing your skis.

- time 15-30 minutes
- place to mount your skis
- ironing iron
- base wax
- cold weather wax (-10 centigrade degrees or colder)
- warmer weather wax (-10 - 0 centigrade degrees)
- acrylic scraper
- abrasive paper
- nylon brush
- copper or steel brush

If you are not a racer, basic knowledge of waxing is enough. If you are a racer, you need to develop your waxing skills much further. Anyhow, in this post we discuss about the basics of waxing, which is enough for most of the skiers.

Start by waxing your skis with a hard base wax in order to create a water resisting hard base. For this purpose you can use the cold weather wax from known wax makers, such as Swix, Betamix and Start. The cold weather wax is scraped warm to the ski, after which the extra wax is brushed away. Start brushing with the copper or steel brush, and brush only from tip towards tail, not in the opposite direction! Finally by using the nylon brush you brush the ski slippery. You can test how slippery the ski is by letting the brush move on the ski. If it moves easily, brushing is done well. If it gets stuck, there is still some wax to be brushed away.

Many people are satisfied already in this phase, but if you wish to have your ski even more slippery, continue waxing with the wax designed for the current weather. After you have spread the wax on the ski, wait until it becomes cooler and harder. After that scrape the extra wax away, just like said above.

In order to get the best out of your skiing, wax your skis regularly. Personally I recommend waxing your skis at least once a week if you ski every weekend.“

Popularity: 3% [?]