It’s February, and the mad dash toward championship events is underway. Our schedule gets a little bit complicated from here on out. This post will tell you everything you need to know in order to keep sending us your business.
World Championships
Amy returned last week from working as part of the US waxing staff at World Junior / U23 Championships in Liberec. It was a great opportunity for Amy to fulfill her longtime ambition of visiting the home place of our good friend Lenka Palanova. The sun even came out for an hour during her ten-day stay in Czech, and she got to eat a lot of very nice white food.
Fair is fair, and now I get my chance to travel to Val di Fiemme for World Championships with the US Ski Team. Trentino is kind of a bleak place, and it’s not even where Lenka is from. Fortunately the World Champs organizers have produced a series of survival guides, which I’ve been studying. Here’s one on food:
I will be gone from February 16th, returning the evening of March 4th. This has almost no impact on day to day operations here at Caldwell Sport,exceptthat we won’t be running any final structures on the grinder during that time. Here’s what you need to know:
Grind Batches
All skis received for grinding by Monday, February 11th, will be shipped out or available for pickup by February 15th. All skis received for grinding after February 11th will be flattened and polished by Amy, and then finished with final structure when I return on March 5th.
New Ski Sales
We have some gaps in our inventory, but are generally in good shape on new skis. We are currently grinding a selection of our new inventory skis with conditions-appropriate grinds in order to be able to quickly fill orders without waiting for final structure on March 5th. On these new skis there will be no charge for grinding or heatbox work (just think of the value!).
Wax and Tools Sales
We’ve been pretty busy lately on the wax and tools front. It’s been a busy winter testing the Vauhti wax line that we import, along with Star and Start and the other products that we carry. We’ve reordered Vauhti wax from Finland four or five time in an effort to maintain a reasonable inventory. Amy will continue to fill orders as they come in, and as our inventory allows!
American Birkibeiner
Last season I had a great trip to the Birkie working with a handful of Salomon athletes and in cooperation with Start wax and Riverbrook ski shop. We collected individual victories from Tad Elliott and Holly Brooks, as well as a handful of additional top-ten finishes. All things told, it was one of the most satisfying race service trips I’ve ever made. But because of World Championships I won’t be able to attend the Birkie this season.
However, since it’s the most important race in the universe, we’ll take a stab at some remote Birkie service. We’ve got a handful of new skis (skate-only, no classic skis) ground with last year’s Birkie winning S1-0X, and we will ship those to interested customers on Monday, February 18th. But wait – there’s more! These skis will ship with a full race-wax job, including heatbox, race hardening, LF/HF race paraffins, pure fluoro powder application, and fluoroblock top-coat at no extra charge. (disclaimer: nobody can nail the wax from 1200 miles away and six days out without getting pretty lucky. The current long-term forecast is for stable conditions, and we’ve got a lot of Birkie experience, but this will be strictly a “best-guess” wax job. Which is also what you’ll get from most of the official wax recommendations out there. But, under the circumstances, we can’t make promises or guarantees, which is why we won’t charge money for the wax job – only for the skis (which you get to keep!)).
We will also make a wax recommendation for the Vauhti line early in the week, and will be able to ship wax out Monday or Tuesday of Birkie week.
NCAA Championships
Middlebury is hosting NCAAs on new courses, and supported by a new snowmaking system. It’s an exciting thing for the East to see a long-time race venue upgrade to full viability – this is what it takes these days! Because of our proximity to NCAAs we will make an effort to support this event on-site. Skis received for grinding prior to the 5th will be receive final structure on the 5th. We will drive to Middlebury on the 6th and hand-deliver freshly ground skis after they’ve had a night in our heatbox. We will also plan to do some wax testing on-site, and be available to consult on structure and wax for the first NCAA cross country race on the 7th.
Junior National Championships
We’ve had emails from a handful of potential JO skiers about grinding prior to the Fairbanks JOs. For New England juniors who can handle the transport of skis, this is a possibility. Any skis received by March 1st will get final structure in the batch on March 5th. Most JO Team athletes are flying on the 7th or 8th. You’ll need to arrange to pick-up the skis – since we’ll be driving to Middlebury on the 6th, shipping skis will be very difficult.