Wondering what the proper wax for Mt Hood summer ski camp is?
Conditions
Skiing on the Palmer Glacier in summer is a lot like late spring skiing conditions at most American ski resorts: dirty and very variable. Therefore, to get the best performance out of your skis it is important to take the proper ski wax for Mt Hood with you to camp. When skiing on the Palmer Glacier at Mt Hood you need to protect your skis from abrasion. Dirt and dust particles attach to the glacier snow pack and very sharp ice crystals form from the salt used to keep the surface hard. The snow is very dirty and cycles every day from very hard to very soft and back again.
At summer ski camp, the ski racers are waxing and tuning their own skis daily under the guidance of their coaches. Waxing their skis every day at ski camp is important to keep the bases clean and gliding well in a variety of temperatures and on chemically treated snow. The temperature on the glacier changes every day from air temperatures 20°F – 30°F first thing in the morning to 60°F – 70°F by 11am or noon.
Wax
CH7X (Swix) (purple/violet) is the best all-around wax for Mt Hood summer ski camp. It is hard enough to protect the skis in the morning on the cold and chemically treated snow, yet still gives good glide later in the day when the temperature gets warm with strong sun.
If you are going to ski camp at Mt Hood for 2 weeks you will need a minimum of one (1) 180 gram bar of Swix CH7X. Two (2) 180gm bars of Swix CH7X wax should get you through 10 days of skiing SL and GS at Mt Hood. Make sure you seal the wax up in a ziplock bag when you put it in your gear bag to fly to camp. If your luggage and/or plane sits on the tarmac and things heat up the wax may melt. Proper packing before flying will save you the time, effort and expense of trying to find wax at camp and a lot of clean up later.
After Camp
Despite daily waxing at camp, the salt and abrasive conditions can still dry the ski bases out. We recommend thoroughly cleaning the bases and tuning and waxing your skis after any summer ski camp. Subscribe to our blog to read our upcoming post that talks about cleaning your skis and what to do with your skis after summer ski camp.
