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Waxing Guide
When is the time to apply more glide wax to my skis or board?
Normally, your equipment will tell you when it needs a drink of wax: Glide will be slower than what you're used to. The timeframe depends on a great number of factors, including the amount of days spent skiing, snow conditions, quality and type of the previous wax job, etc. It's impossible to give an exact trail mileage or number of slope days. Those who ski infrequently certainly do not need to pay their ski bases this much attention; some people will wax their skis once a season, others will wax them thirty times. The more you ski or ride, the more attention (in the form of wax) your boards will require. You'll also expect more performance out of your equipment, and the frequency of your wax applications will reflect this.
That said, it's a good rule of thumb to freshly glide wax your board(s) prior to each day (or weekend) of skiing or riding. Just as you would clean and relubricate your mountain bike chain after a muddy ride, so should you wax your skis after the winter equivalent.
To do a visual check, flip your boards over and examine their bases; a black base with lots of white streaks on it is rather dry, in contrast with the smooth, polished look of the freshly waxed. Over time, friction and pressure pull the protective wax out of the base, causing the plastic base material to oxidize and dry out; this is the same fundamental process that rusts your bike chain (well, that coupled with your continually leaving it out in the rain). Alpine skis and snowboards often get what we call "base burn", manifesting itself as a series of white streaks near the edges where pressure is greatest during turns. Ugh-lee. As you become more experienced and more discriminating, slow skis will reveal themselves to you more readily.
