Skiing is one of the things to do during the winter, here in Canada. It is also cheap and easy to start, since there are ski-tracks almost everywhere and it is possible to find used skis for less then $50. Skis are pretty simple in design. Originally they were designed just as the snow shoes, though today they are much more advanced. (Wikipedia) Skis can be used just after you bought them, without doing anything to them. However, if you want your skis to perform to their best, simple maintenance needs to be performed. One of the best and easiest way to do so is to apply wax. One can be confused at first by the variety of waxes available on the market. To see that, just check ski section in local Beaver Sports store. In reality, just one or couple waxes needed to get started. I'm going to explain how to wax your skis for the diagonal stride technique and what exactly waxing does to the skis.
Ski structure
Cross country skis are bent vertically. That allows for using different kind of wax depending whether person is sliding or kicking.
When buying skis, you should choose ones that are made for your mass. If they are for bigger person, skis will be less bendable, thus area of contact will be only on the ends. If they are for smaller person, skis will be unbent most of the time. That is not very good, because it would slow the person down. Ideally we want all the area of the ski to be in contact with the snow when pressure is applied and middle section off the snow when sliding.
Friction is force dependant, meaning it changes depending on force applied.
Ff = F * μ
Glide wax is applied to the front and the end of the skies, this way when person removes force from one leg, friction becomes less and ski slides.
The ski is unbent when force is applied to it. Friction between snow and wax in the midsection increases so that it grips enough for a kick. Coefficient of static friction of the kick wax is only big enough for "the snow irregularities dig into wax irregularities just enough to give a motionless ski bite, or grip." (Brady)
At the moment when ski gains velocity, it is not at rest anymore, and since μk is less then μs, friction is not big enough to hold the ski.
Whether zipping along a winding trail, flying through the open flats, or powering up a steep hill, snow machines and the rider need to use physics to stay in control of the machine and themselves. The main components are the track, engine, skis and riding. Snowmachine tracks are essential to making a snowmachine move. Ever since snow machines first originated in the late 50's, designers have been finding ways to improve traction in a variety of conditions. Some of these conditions are driving on groomed trails, not groomed trails, overflow, and deep snow.
Another type of wax is applied to the "kicker". The kicker is the area under the bindings. In other words the kicker is the area where most of the gravitational force of the skier is applied. Skiers apply a type of wax to the kicker that will cause the friction coefficient to increase. This allows skiers to be able to push off and ski uphill.
Next to a Ski doo the Polaris may look a little more intimidating and scary and this is even more true when you open the hood of the two sleds. The Skidoo has a more rounded motor and it is a little more flat unlike the polaris that is more bulky and looks like two cannons under the hood pointing up. The bigger motor is definitely more powerful for getting unstuck. Sitting along side the motor is the Polaris clutch and the main piece that every snowmobiler knows is the best on the market, (“Polaris Sled Review” Nov. 4th 2013, Nov. 28th 2013, Snowest.com) T...
As a simple case, consider the simulation of document . In the frictionless case, the only force acting on the skater is gravity. Therefore, according to the conservation of energy, the sum of the kinetic and the potential energy remains constant. As the skater climbs the ramp, his height increases. According to document , as the skater’s potential energy is proportional to his height, the skater’s potential energy increases. However, the skater’s velocity also decreases as he climbs the ramp. Again, according to document , as the skater’s kinetic energy is proportional to his velocity squared, the skater’s kinetic energy decreases. The interplay between these two energies is such that their sum remains constant and the law of conservation of energy remains
Next, take a few steps up a slight incline with your front foot in the snowboard binding and your back foot out. Make sure that the snowboard is perpendicular to the incline. Take one step with your foot that is not attached to the snowboard, then lift your foot with the snowboard attached to it and take a step with the entire snowboard. Keep taking baby steps until you are up an incline. The process can become tiring after a while, but for beginners the ski-lift is not quite recommended at this point. You should be looking for beginner slopes with a very small incline.
He had been dreaming of skateboarding down the snowy mountain when he bolted two wood skis together side-by-side. At that time, they called it snurfing. The snurfboard started out looking like a fat ski with a rope tied to the nose of the board to help the rider keep their balance. The rope was more for looks as it didn’t help at all. Crashes were inevitable and they happened often.
Skates used to be more like skis. Players glided on the ice rather than actually skated. Artifacts also show the use of animal bones as skate blades as well. Currently, steal blades are used. There is a small arc groove on the blade that provides the friction needed to counteract the slipperiness of the ice (Haché 37). The boot of the skate is hard enough to protect the foot from puck impact but also flexible enough “to allow the calf muscle to push forward and to ease knee bending when the player crouches” (Haché 35).
Pieter and I were determined to become proficient water skiers, while Rhea had knee issues that limited her participation. The Gibson Girl only had a forty horsepower motor, which wasn’t sufficient power for faster skiing or for doing tricks like skiing barefoot. I remember using the Comfort for some of our skiing before Dad traded the outboard for a sixteen-foot Gar Wood Junior, which had an inboard motor and more power. Pieter and I spent hours practicing the basics of getting up efficiently, skiing across the wake and then jumping the wake. It wasn’t long before we developed a passion for mastering slalom skiing. I wanted to ski all the time during that period.
Once in the water, one should slip their feet into the boots and adjust them for a proper fit by tightening them securely around one’s ankles for support. After the boots are secure, the driver will hook one end of the ski rope to the boat and toss the handle to you. When you have the rope in your hands, bend your knees a little bit with the board at a ninety degree angle in front of you. As the driver slowly accelerates, the rope will tighten, pulling you forward a bit. At this point, it is your responsibility to signal to the driver that you are
Snow is a concept that only a few people really know about. It seems like most people hate snow with a burning passion. However, the true northerners praise every day that it snows; mostly because it does not happen a lot. At one point everyone that participates in a snow sport has to hope that it will snow every winter. Unfortunately, our hopes and dreams do not always come true. That was why snowmaking was developed in the 1980s and has been upgraded every year so maximum snow production is possible. The first reason was to fill in the gaps that Mother Nature left out. However, now the amount of snow we receive is drastically less than what it used to be. Instead of making snow to fill in the gaps, we have to make most of the snow we ski
Skiing, as a sport has existed since the early 1800’s, although depictions of skis have been discovered throughout Europe dating back thousands of years. Skiing as a recreational activity became popularized in the mid 1800’s however it did not arrive in the United States until around 1841. Once the concept of skiing reached the states, it took off. The United States continued to power advances in skiing for decades, with the introduction of rope tows, then actual ski lifts. By the 1950’s several ski areas had begun snowmaking and trail grooming, two American born inovatio9ns which ensured better skiing conditions and launched the US far ahead of Europe in ski technology (Fry 38). Skiing continued to evolve throughout the 1900’s, constantly changing and adapting to improve athlete performance and recreational experiences. Skis and equipment changed quickly and frequently, ski bindings, which...
... the player’s shoes must have good traction, friction that allows movement. Good traction means that the coefficient of friction between the shoe and the floor must be high. A player must also use static friction when planting their feet in order to stop and turn without sliding across the floor due to static friction being greater than the sliding friction.
Preventing skidding during braking increases the drivers control of the car and greatly reduces the chance of a crash.
Challenge plays an essential role in defining a sport; it provides the individual with the feeling of achievement in success. Skiing poses challenge even in its simplest foundations. Skiing on a poor quality hill, with icy snow and poor upkeep can sometimes create more challenge than a well-groomed slope. Skiing in the backcountry away from lifts and other people in freshly fallen snow provides an opportunity for the best of skiers to test t...
loved it too..." (2.1, 10-11). He is referring to the color of his ski n