The San Juans of Colorado can have an air temperature change of up to 30 degrees/per day when the intense sun is out and depending on the aspect. When storm or weather systems flow through it can be over 50 degrees in a week, along with broad relative humidity swings. Waxing for the Week Ahead can drive you nuts if you enjoy optimal glide and are trying to determine what wax to use to achieve your goals, especially several days out for a trip or to not have to wax again until after several outings. Fortunately, the snow temperature changes at a much slower rate.
Fortunately, wax companies like Briko-Maplus & Toko base their wax temperature system on snow temperature which fluctuates far less dramatically. The downside is determining what the snow temperature will be.
I’ve had pretty good luck focusing on the overnight low trends and using a wax bracketing or below the low temperature forecasts. Generally, it is better to err towards colder than warmer waxes. To bump it up a notch, also considering the humidity level is also worthwhile. Also, the Briko-Maplus, among other waxes do perform well outside of their stated optimal temperature ranges. Experimenting over time will help you decide on what seems to work best for you. That said, everyone loves a ‘one size fits all’/’silver bullet’/all-temp answer, but like all-mountain skis, it may never be just right for any given set of conditions.
Ask yourself, ‘What is the typical low temperatures during the night?’ Use that as a ‘guide’ for snow temperatures. Get the wax or waxes that are optimal for that range, test drive and then tweak. If you are willing to spend all the time, energy and expense dialing in your quiver, why night dial in a wax quiver to optimize the performance of your gear and outings where your boards meet the snow. The higher the grade of wax, the higher the durability and could last over a handful of days, depending on how aggressive the snow is and the amount of vertical.
Relative to the above Forecast for the Low Temperatures and Humidity, the following options I’d consider the following options:
- Brainless, but Good–Briko-Maplus Universal Red
- Better -Briko-Maplus Racing Base Soft/Medium 40-60 (also useful for base prep protection under performance waxes)
- Better Still –Briko-Maplus BP1 Purple
- Best –Briko-Maplus LP2 Purple