The difference between snow shoeing and skiing is glide. Glide is what makes skiing fun. In order to glide, skis should be waxed. Even waxless skis should be waxed for glide. Here is short description of the fundamentals of hot waxing skis for beginners.
No Wax Wax
A single application of glide wax will usually last for about 40 km. When the wax starts looking white as in this picture it is time to wax again.
Purchase glide wax at a local shop. A Universal Wax is okay for beginners. A racing glider is best and the LF6 shown in the picture works great on the Grand Mesa.
You'll also need a brush, two types of scrappers, and an old iron.
Wipe your skis clean with a rag. If there is old glide wax on the skis, you don't need to remove it, unless it was bad wax. Swix offers a wax remover if you need to remove old wax. If the glide wax that was on the ski was good, but just needs another coat, then no need to remove it.
Melt the wax off the tip of the iron on to the ski. Do not apply glide wax on the kick zone where no wax (waxless skis) or kick wax will be applied.
Use the iron to smooth the wax on the ski. The smoother you iron it, the easier the scrapping will be after the wax cools. Keep the iron moving over the ski so that you don't overheat the ski.
After the ski is cool use the groove scrapper to remove excess wax in the groove.
Use the plexi-glass scrapper to smooth the wax. In the picture below the scrapper is moving from right to left with quick, even stokes. Don't use the scrapper like an ice or paint scrapper or you will remove too much wax and never get the wax smooth.
Use the brush to give the wax some texture. Skis glide on water. The texture brakes the hydro-static cling. The texture gets the water molecules tumbling over themselves like ball bearings. The Swix brush used here has both nylon and brass bristles. Either one works fine.
Use a rag to wipe away the dust.
If you have waxable skis, you will need to apply kick wax to the kick wax zone or wax pocket. (Don't apply glide wax in the kick zone, apply only kick wax.) Blue or Extra-Blue works on the Grand Mesa 90% of the time. Just rub the kick wax on the kick area and smooth it out with a scrapper or cork. (I don't like the cork because it tends to fall apart and pieces stick in the wax.) I have a second old iron and I use it to smooth the kick wax.
The wax pocket is
usually marked on your waxable classic skis on the side or the bottom of the
ski.
You can
determine your wax pocket and mark your skis. Stand on your skis with equal
weight on each ski on a hard flat floor. Have your partner slide a sheet or paper
under the ski and mark the spot where the paper stops at the front of the ski and
at the rear.
Blue wax is
all you need on the Grand Mesa, but Extra Blue and Green waxes can be useful.
Application
of the wax.
A cork can
be used to smooth and rub the wax in.
An
alternative to cork is to use a scraper to spread the wax. The stroke in
the picture is from left to right.
Another
alternative is to use a hot iron to smooth and spread the wax. (Best choice but
don't use the same iron that you use for your glide wax. Second hand stores are a
good place to buy an old iron.)
There are waxes designed for the "waxless" part of the ski to increase the glide. These are usually liquid and are simply spread on grip area. The pictures below show typical wax for "fish scales". Although some people use this wax on the entire ski, this is not recommended. This wax is slow compared to hot wax and wears off quickly.
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