# Fresh snow - board's not sliding very well :(



## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

So the forum won't let me simply search for "wax" in the titles of threads (I guess the word's too short) and can't find any info, so figured I'd post it. Sorry if this has been asked before.

Just moved to Colorado and got out riding 8 times so far. Sunday was my first day riding on actual fresh snow (Keystone got about a foot and a half the 2 days before I went). It felt like my board was actually sticking to the stuff and it was driving me nuts. I hot waxed my board before I went, and use the Hertel Super Hot Sauce all-temp wax. This wax was fine for east coast riding, but do I need to change it up for out here?? Or is that just normal for fresh snow and I just need to stick to steeper slopes to keep moving? I found it really strange.


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## zk0ot (Nov 9, 2009)

fresh snow is the stickiest... so if youre feeling some friction thats a normal-ish... make sure your scraping the wax off very well.


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## dfitz364 (Jan 10, 2014)

Is it possible it wasn't fully scraped? I know my boards can get like that if I don't scrape them completely? My only other guess would be try matching the wax to the temperature you are going to ride in? That or your board could just need a solid base grind. Those would be my guesses, but then again Ohio doesn't get anything that resembles this "powder" people speak of >


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## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

Ha! The "powder" is real, I promise! Came from riding Pennsylvania myself, so I understand questioning it's existence!

Definitely scraped it all off really well, and then followed up with a horse hair brush like I always do. Been hot waxing my own boards for 20+ years but this was a strange one. I guess the conditions were just right where it didn't agree with my wax. 

May have to hit up Clark W. Griswald for some non-caloric, silicon-based kitchen lubricant...


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## dfitz364 (Jan 10, 2014)

Le tItS now said:


> Ha! The "powder" is real, I promise! Came from riding Pennsylvania myself, so I understand questioning it's existence!
> 
> Definitely scraped it all off really well, and then followed up with a horse hair brush like I always do. Been hot waxing my own boards for 20+ years but this was a strange one. I guess the conditions were just right where it didn't agree with my wax.
> 
> May have to hit up Clark W. Griswald for some non-caloric, silicon-based kitchen lubricant...


"Burn some dust and eat my rubber!!!"


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## psklt (Jan 5, 2016)

you'll definitely stick a bit more to low angle pow compared to groomers even after a fresh wax. It should get better after a few runs though. I used to use the Hertel all of the time, recently switched back to the Purl all temp (purple) and found it to hold up a little better. I too rode Keystone this past powder day and had the same sticky feeling only on the first run or two. If you were in the outback you'd have noticed pretty much everyone getting stuck on that flat...it just happens.

Sometimes if it's going to be a bit colder I'll all temp the middle and cold wax the edges


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## TLN (Sep 7, 2010)

How do you carry your board to the mountain? What do you do first when you got there? 
Do you have board INSIDE the car and once you get to parking lot you just throw board on the snow? 
If yes - then it's fresh snow melts on a warmer board, and freezez. Thati's PIA to fix, and rides exactly as you described.


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## DaveMcI (Aug 19, 2013)

Buy Buy a copper brush or brillow pads to buff the base after scraping. It will help alot. Or go to a shop and ask for a base grind with a structure good for pow.


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## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

dfitz - Awesome! LOL

All great info, thank you! It's good to know it's sort of a thing, but it definitely did not get better after a couple runs... 

psklt - Yup, definitely noticed everyone getting stuck (and walking) on that flat in the outback. Myself included...

TLN - I have roof racks, so the board is outside the whole time. It does get pretty gross on the nose from road grime, but I bring a rag with me and wipe it off. Interesting with having the board in the car, though. Never thought about that.

Dave - I thought about getting a copper brush as well, but most things I read say it's for prep BEFORE you hot wax, so wasn't sure if it would scrape the wax out of the pores at all after... The horse hair does require some elbow grease sometimes in certain areas, so maybe a copper brush would be a good thing to try before horse hair?


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

Well, it's soft snow so it will slow you down. Ride faster.:grin:


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## MMSlasher (Mar 18, 2016)

Le tItS now said:


> Dave - I thought about getting a copper brush as well, but most things I read say it's for prep BEFORE you hot wax, so wasn't sure if it would scrape the wax out of the pores at all after... The horse hair does require some elbow grease sometimes in certain areas, so maybe a copper brush would be a good thing to try before horse hair?


From what I have gathered, it brass/copper brush first, wax, scrape, nylon (or similar) brush, then horse hair. So I think you have the right idea. If I am wrong, someone let me know.


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## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

speedjason said:


> Well, it's soft snow so it will slow you down. Ride faster.:grin:


Problem solved! :grin:



MMSlasher said:


> From what I have gathered, it brass/copper brush first, wax, scrape, nylon (or similar) brush, then horse hair. So I think you have the right idea. If I am wrong, someone let me know.


Yeah, everyone seems to have their own thoughts on this as well, but that's also mostly what I've read. Personally, I've always used a liquid base cleaner, hot waxed, let it cool, scraped, and horse hair brush. It's always worked great with no problems, but the snow is very different out here! (Read: "There is actually snow out here") I'm thinking I may need to adjust for the conditions as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach, I just don't know what that might be... :embarrased1:


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

So last Sunday was super cold. What was the high temp? Maybe 5 degrees? I don't think Bert got much above zero if at all on Sunday. Temps in the single digits make for grippy snow. All temperature wax is anything but that. Even cold temperature wax is not great in those temps. What wax were you using? I suspect is wasn't a cold temp wax. The temps coming in this weekend for the storm do not look as cold. So you may have a better experience. Welcome to Colorado and it's serious temperature swings.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

Wax quality has to be addressed as well. If your buying the cheapest stick from Sport Check it will most likely be paraffin based and pretty slow, in my experience flouro wax is usually the fastest as well as the most expensive. You can't go wrong with some Hertel Hot Sauce.

And yeah cold wax on a not cold day will be hella slow. All temp wax is a safe way to go.


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

freshy said:


> Wax quality has to be addressed as well. If your buying the cheapest stick from Sport Check it will most likely be paraffin based and pretty slow, in my experience flouro wax is usually the fastest as well as the most expensive. You can't go wrong with some Hertel Hot Sauce.
> 
> And yeah cold wax on a not cold day will be hella slow. All temp wax is a safe way to go.


All temp wax isn't a magical wax. It's still a relatively hard wax good to around 15 degrees F

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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

killclimbz said:


> So last Sunday was super cold. What was the high temp? Maybe 5 degrees? I don't think Bert got much above zero if at all on Sunday. Temps in the single digits make for grippy snow. All temperature wax is anything but that. Even cold temperature wax is not great in those temps. What wax were you using? I suspect is wasn't a cold temp wax.


^ This.
I'm very lazy with waxing. My boards hardly ever get fresh wax. But if I see that a very cold weekend is announced? I always make sure to get cold temperature wax onto the decks


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Colder wax on a warmer day still glides better than warm wax on a Colder day. Like a all temp wax on a 10 degree Fahrenheit day

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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

The one other thing to look out for that people dont always know: sometimes between the car and the top of the hill in the morning, you can get little bits of ice on your rails or base. These will come from a drink or wet spray or something and they are like little sharp bits of ice (blowing snow outside onto a board that is inside car temp). If its anywhere below freezing and the snow is nice and powdery here like usual, the snow doesnt have enough friction or heat to wear this off, and it will grab and make u stick. You have to physically grab a scraper and get this off or u will stick. (I usually use my pass since its on a lanyard on my belt)

its a sort of odd thing but it happens to me about 2x a year and I see it happen to other ppl too.


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## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

Awesome info everyone, thank you! I am using the Hertel Super Hot Sauce All-temp wax (See here: http://a.co/gWhar8w). It doesn't even mention numbers for the temp, it simply says all temps are covered. 

Yes, it was definitely cold on Sunday, so I'm thinking the conditions were juuuuuust right to ef with me. Perhaps a cold wax would have been a better choice, and sounds like I may need to have some on hand. Not sure which cold wax to go with... Any suggestions?

snowklinger - Very interesting! I never even looked at my base/edges on Sunday... didn't even think about it. It makes sense if droplets of water freeze under there that it would act like sandpaper. I'll be sure to give a quick glance from now on for sure.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

For the most part during this time of year in Colorado, all temp wax kind of sucks. We usually don't get much into the 20's this time of year. I'll use whatever flouro wax I can find on sale. It isn't usually until sometime in February that I start to consider using all temp wax.

Take it with a grain of salt. It is only really bad during those super cold days, which we just experienced. I doubt you'll have problems this coming weekend looking at the weather report. It's just something to keep in mind that with the high altitude here we get some of the coldest day time temps in the US during parts of the year.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

For the most part during this time of year in Colorado, all temp wax kind of sucks. We usually don't get much into the 20's this time of year. I'll use whatever flouro wax I can find on sale. It isn't usually until sometime in February that I start to consider using all temp wax.

Take it with a grain of salt. It is only really bad during those super cold days, which we just experienced. I doubt you'll have problems this coming weekend looking at the weather report. It's just something to keep in mind that with the high altitude here we get some of the coldest day time temps in the US during parts of the year.


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## AmberLamps (Feb 8, 2015)

Le tItS now said:


> So the forum won't let me simply search for "wax" in the titles of threads (I guess the word's too short) and can't find any info, so figured I'd post it. Sorry if this has been asked before.
> 
> Just moved to Colorado and got out riding 8 times so far. Sunday was my first day riding on actual fresh snow (Keystone got about a foot and a half the 2 days before I went). It felt like my board was actually sticking to the stuff and it was driving me nuts. I hot waxed my board before I went, and use the Hertel Super Hot Sauce all-temp wax. This wax was fine for east coast riding, but do I need to change it up for out here?? Or is that just normal for fresh snow and I just need to stick to steeper slopes to keep moving? I found it really strange.


That snow was super wet, sticky, heavy. It wasnt fast on any boards, not your typical poweder we get out here.

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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

tanscrazydaisy said:


> All temp wax isn't a magical wax. It's still a relatively hard wax good to around 15 degrees F
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


True, but if your going to buy one bar of wax it's the safest way to go.


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## Le tItS now (Nov 2, 2015)

Hopefully this weekend will be better. It's definitely supposed to be warmer. Thanks again for all the info everyone!


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

1. Stop waxing
2. Get a structure in your base that's appropriate for CO snow conditions
3. Don't ride flat pow.


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