We're back!

I've been away, paddling in Quetico Park in Ontario, Canada, but now I'm back in town. Quetico Park is a huge protected wilderness area of lakes, rivers, bogs and pine forests in the central part of the continent, just north and adjacent to the Boundary Waters (northern MN).We (Mark & Margaret) spent 9 days paddling a big loop of about 165 miles, with 42 portages. The portages are trails that connect adjacent bodies of water, and on these portage routes the canoe and equipment are carried; on our trip the portages varied from about a mile to as short as the width of a beaver dam.

Much of the trip was spent paddling the historic routes of the Voyageurs, the fur traders who transported goods across the continent on water routes. The canoe routes and portage trails in the Quetico wilderness have been used for literally thousands of years by the original inhabitants of the north woods, and appear almost unchanged today.

Mosquitoes were an issue, thus long sleeves, hats, and long pants. DEET was used liberally. I will resist the temptation to go on a rant about mosquitoes.

For us, our annual canoe trips are a great break from our normal working lives; we try to plan a new trip each summer. For Margaret in particular, this was a big trip since it occurred 11 months after back surgery to replace her L5/S1 lumbar disk with an artificial disk. Margaret was paddling 7-9 hours per day, and shouldering a 50 lb. pack on the portage trails with no problems.

Back in the shop:
I'm back in the shop part time now, getting ready to roll full time in mid-September. There's already a steady stream of skis arriving for service, and I'm getting things ready for the arrival of new skis from Atomic, Madshus, and Rossignol. It's an exciting time at Ultratune, even if the snow won't arrive for a couple more months.

Keep an eye out for more frequent posts here. After a great trip to rejuvenate the spirit, I'm back with a big smile and ready to roll into the ski season.

Anna Haag talks about the 2015 World Championships

This year’s annual FIS congress included the selection for the 2015 Nordic World Championships. The meeting was held in Turkey, and the finalists included Sweden, Finland, Poland and Germany. Sweden was smart. They brought along some of their top athletes to be part of the presentation in their bid to bring the World’s to Falun. Nothing like hearing it straight from an athlete’s mouth.

It definitely worked because Sweden beat their rivals to become the hosts for 2015. Key in that presentation was Olympic medalist Anna Haag. She took a short break from her training to talk with Rick Halling about the World Championships and what it means for the event to come to Sweden.

Anna Haag on the left.
She brought Sweden Olympic medals and the 2015 World Championships.

Rick Halling: Congratulations on winning the bid for the 2015 World Championships. I watched your presentation for Sweden, and I watched Justyna Kowalczyk’s presentation for Poland. It was obvious that the athletes who went to Turkey were not there simply because their federations told them to come. It was quite clear that the athletes truly cared about being the hosts for the World Championships. Why was it so important for you to bring the World Championships to Sweden?

Anna Haag: I was born in the region so for me it’s a dream came true having a new world championship in my home region. I remember the last one, 1993, and I think that my interest in cross country skiing grew just because of that. So, for many reasons, I really want to ski and have a championship in Sweden and in Dalarna (the region).

Rick Halling: Aren’t there also some major drawbacks with the World’s taking place in your own country? You have to admit, there is far more pressure on the home athletes than on the visiting teams. Swedish journalists can be pretty tough on Swedish athletes, don’t you think they will be even tougher when the event is at home?

Anna Haag: I’m pretty sure they’ll be tough, but that is also one of the things that make it even more special and charming. If you can handle the pressure and take a medal at a championship in the home country, you’ve really make something special and really, really fantastic memory for the rest of your life.

Rick Halling: Can you describe your role in representing Sweden at the FIS conference? Do you think you made much of a difference?Anna Haag: I don’t know. But I think that we (me, Emil and Charlotte) helped a bit. We are young and every one of us will ski (hopefully) in Falun, so everything that we said was true. We really wanted the championship to Sweden!! And we did get it!

Rick Halling: You convinced the FIS representatives to hold the World Championships in Sweden. Now, persuade American Masters that it will make for a great vacation to fly to Sweden and attend the Worlds in 2015.

Anna Haag: Oh, that’s a hard one. But to see a ski competion “for real” is something really special. And in Falun 2015, there will be a lot of things to do except just sport. Falun has a lot of culture and a great surrounding with a lot to do and see. I think it will be a great experience!

There will be more than just skiing at the 2015 World’s.
Exciting cultural opportunities can be found a short drive away.

Rick Halling: One thing that prevents Americans from attending events like the World Championships is that they are concerned there will be no place for them to ski when they are there. There may be no trails for spectators or there will only be a very short loop open to the public. Will the World’s in Falun be like that? Or, will average folk be able to find plenty of nice and convenient trails to ski on between watching races?

Anna Haag: If there is a great winter, like the last one, it will be a lot of tracks and cozy trails around in the village and neighborhood.

Rick Halling: I have not seen a schedule yet, I don’t know if there is one. How many days between when the World Championships end and the Vasaloppet takes place? Will that be a realistic option? Can tourists attend the World’s in Falun, stay in Sweden for a few more days and then be a part of the Vasaloppet?

Anna Haag: The management from the Vasaloppet said in Antalya, that if Falun got the WCS they will have to move the Vasaloppet for the very first time in history. Ever since the very, very beginning of this completion, it has been hold the first Sunday in March. Otherwise the 50.th Km and the Vasaloppet will be at the same day. So let’s hope that the Americans can both watch the WSC and ski the Vasaloppet.

Can classic distance specialists like Anders Aukland
take advantage of the proximity of the World’s to the Vasaloppet?
Over 140 km of racing in less than a week!!

Rick Halling: Final question. Let’s say a visiting family goes for a nice ski that morning, watches the races that afternoon, and they are very hungry and want a traditional Swedish dinner that night. What do you recommend they should order at one of Falun’s better restaurants?

Anna Haag: They should order elk and potato, grilled or steaked elk. That’s my favorite!

Elk Steak, yumm, yumm!!

Understanding Variables In Base Structures

Working with machine structures on skis, there are only a few variables that can be adjusted to influence the performance of the ski. Primarily these variables are depth, spacing, interruption, and patterns.

The structure on the ski base is primarily a closely spaced lengthwise pattern of micro-grooves. Depth of the grooves varies from about 0.01mm to 0.05mm or more. Spacing of the grooves can be anywhere from 0.25 mm line-to-line and wider.

Some structures, such as those prepared on the Mantec Skinumericontrol 140, can have line spacing and depth that vary from the edges toward the middle.

Depth of the micro-grooves is critical, and can work for or against the speed of the ski. In large-grained and transformed moist snow, deeper grooves resist propagation of moisture and help to prevent the sticking due to adhesion. However, in dry fine-grained snow, deep grooves create opportunities for increased interlock friction - the fingers and features of the fine snow grains catch in the grooves. This type of friction can be imagined as being like velcro - it can be a noisy and slow experience when deep patterns are used on fresh, cold, dry snow.

Less obvious is the influence of interruptions in the micro-grooves. Interruptions in the long length-wise grooves are important to minimize capillary propagation of adhesive layers of water. In addition, the interruptions help to keep the ski from “tracking” into the snow, and help with release of the ski; this is especially noticeable on skate skis, but at the same time is more subjective and harder to quantify.

Pattern in the structure is typically the result of interruptions (also referred to as interference, or cancellation) being organized in a predictable and orderly way. Often these patterns can be visually seen as diagonal bands or chevron shapes on the ski sole. Some structures that have varying line spacing may show a curved interference pattern. Although the patterns may be at an angle, looking closely you’ll see that the bands are comprised of cancellations or interruptions in the lengthwise grooves, and are NOT diagonal cuts in the ski base.

Interruption or cancellation profiles that cross the ski horizontally and repeatedly (perpendicular to direction of travel) are a negative influence on performance. Thus, designing an organized interruption pattern is important in optimizing the glide properties. Pattern angles of 30 degrees or less are almost never seen. Also, the repetition rate of the interruption pattern affects the performance of the ski (rep-rate can be measured in spacing across the ski).

Nordic Ultratune uses the Mantec grinder . With the Mantec the variables of spacing, depth, interruption and pattern are analyzed with built-in software features. The Mantec offers unmatched precision and control.

Each winter, designing and testing structures is an integral part of my work. Within the limits of each variable, there are infinite opportunities for optimizing the structures. Testing the structures on snow is the biggest limiter in developing effective new grinds. At Nordic Ultratune, designing structures with varying spacing, depth, and groove interruptions is the key to building a set of grinds that will work in a broad range of snow conditions.

The key to fast skis is to have base surfaces prepared with with structures that are fast and versatile enough to handle a broad range of conditions.

SUMMER STONE GRINDING

Stone grinding work continues through the summer. Naturally, the pace and schedule are a bit more relaxed. Typically the turn-around in the summer is a couple of weeks instead of the same-week service that Ultratune provides during fall and winter.

Pick a grind, fill out a work order form, and ship your skis.

NTG Training Camp Preview?

Not exactly a preview of the 2010 NTG Training Camp... ...but a great clip from a training camp in Østerdalen Norway in the early 1960s.



SUMMER STONE GRINDING

Stone grinding work continues through the summer. Naturally, the pace and schedule are a bit more relaxed. Typically the turn-around in the summer is a couple of weeks instead of the same-week service that Ultratune provides during fall and winter.

Pick a grind, fill out a work order form, and ship your skis.


SALE ON REMAINING 2009/2010 SKIS

With the ski season winding down, the remaining Rossignol, Madshus, and Atomic skis and boots are on sale. As always, the skis are top quality and all skis come with a grind and hotbox service at no additional charge. Sale prices are limited to in-stock items. Send email if you have questions.

Thanks for the Thanks

You can help Caitlin as she continues to pursue her skiing ambitions. Click here and help.

Springtime roller ski training can be casual...

In Europe, it appears that some of the spring training on roller skis can be pretty casual.

I've been testing some One Way classic and skate roller skis, but so far I haven't tested the extreme conditions that they have.

Spring Skiing and Summer Service

There was great spring skiing at Sovereign Lake Nordic Center (at Silver Star, or Vernon BC) this past weekend.

Several juniors from MV Nordic, plus Brian Gregg and me and my wife, Margaret, took the trip. Grooming was excellent, and the snow coverage was super. It was prototypical spring conditions, with firm track in the early morning that softened by noon.

As you can see from the pic of Margaret, the vibe was very casual and relaxed. Classic skiing on "rub-skis" (a.k.a. zero skis) was terrific in the soft, moist, snow if the late morning.

After 6 weeks off of snow, it was good to get a few days of skiing! I think there will be another opportunity in Bend, OR (Mt Bachelor) in June, too.


Summer Stone Grinding

Stone grinding work continues through the summer. Naturally, the pace and schedule are a bit more relaxed. Typically the turn-around in the summer is a couple of weeks instead of the same-week service that Ultratune provides during fall and winter.

Pick a grind, fill out a work order form, and ship your skis.



Here's a little video clip showing the Mantec grinder at work at Nordic Ultratune.