Post Race Report by Swix Tech, Kris Thoreson
Posted on February 9th, 2010
Boulder Mountain Tour- Post Race Report
This past weekend, Feb 6, 2010, the Sun Valley, Idaho area was host to the 35th edition of the Boulder Mountain Tour. This race is one of the premier races in the country offering exceptional views of the Boulder Mountains along the 32K course. As a point to point race that decreases in elevation from start to finish the pace is fast and furious and having good skis throughout the course is essential. As in past years, Swix technical representatives have provided accurate wax recommendations based on testing matched skis with different combinations of waxes through a speed trap. This year, SNTRs Eric and Joe Jensen did an excellent job of testing skis and recommending the perfect wax for the day’s race.
Snow conditions in this part of Idaho are typically dry and abrasive. Evening temperatures tend to be very cold with a sharp rise in daytime temperatures. Humidity is usually very low and as a result, one must be careful in recommending pure fluorocarbon waxes. Glide testing at the start area on Thursday morning before the race revealed that Swix LF6 covered with Swix HF6BW was performing very well. Swix HF6BW covered with Swix FC78 Super Cera was also performing well but not significantly better than the HF6BW alone. Based on these results and the upcoming weather forecast, a recommendation was made for HF6BW with the FC78 as an option if pure fluorocarbons were to be used. While overnight temperatures were forecast for the mid to low teens, daytime highs of mid to upper 30s were expected. On Friday afternoon temperatures soared to near 40. This vast fluctuation in temperature caused many skiers to change their wax and wax warmer than they should have, a decision they may regret later.
At the start on race morning, the air temperature was in the single digits with a clear blue sky. Snow conditions were squeaky and dry as is so typical for this area. Several skiers on race morning tested skis waxed with HF6BW against skis waxed with a topcoat of FC78. In most cases the HF6BW felt better. The difficult issue is determining whether or not the FC78 would be a better choice lower in the course where temperatures will be slightly warmer. Since the course is well shaded for most of it length this consideration may be negligible. In conditions such as this structure is very important, with a fine linear structure being the best choice. Another good option would have been to use Swix LF4 as a durable base layer.
Skiers that followed the recommendation for wax and structure established by our testing procedures reported having good glide despite the dry snow. It is often tempting in conditions of widely fluctuating temperatures to panic and change your wax for race day. In this case, a strong local knowledge of how snow conditions behave in these situations proved to be invaluable.
