We can also use sandpaper to create a waxless ski – a pair of “hairies.” Much like waxless “fish scale” skis, we can use these to kick off the snow without hard wax or klister. Unlike fish scale skis, hairies are only used in certain variable conditions – when there is new snow falling right at zero Celcius. In these conditions, traditional kick waxes may ice, slip or work perfectly – all within 100 meters. Hairies allow us to mechanically kick off the snow. We use a piece of 80-grit sandpaper and sand a small pattern of circles down the kick zones to start, and then finish by sanding randomly through the kick zone. When you’re done, the sanded area should feel like peach fuzz. This can take a while – a hand-held orbital sander is a life-saver if you’re doing more than a couple of pairs of skis. Finish the hairies by lightly torching the kick zone, to toughen up some of the hairs, and by applying silicon spray to prevent icing.
Watch. Listen. Learn. ™
