Spring is in full swing which can only mean one thing, banked slalom season is upon us! With spring slush comes creative courses, sunshine and good times- the perfect recipe for a great banked slalom event.
The crew at Signal is beyond stoked about the upcoming 6th Annual JLA Banked Slalom at Mammoth Mountain this Saturday, March 17th. The banked slalom board favored by the crew this year is the Yup and we’ve all been ducking into the trees practicing banked turns all week in preparation for the big race.
They often say it’s the rider and their consistency on their board that makes a champion, but we all know that waxing your snowboard to it’s fastest potential helps. We’ve decided to share our secrets and the best way to wax your board for a banked slalom.
- Clean your base with a shop towel and some base cleaner to make sure any dirt or residue is cleaned off.
- Make sure your board is room temperature and the iron is heated up just enough to melt the wax in a smooth fashion over your base.
- Pick the right wax according to the temperature of the snow on race day.
Pro Tip: Loosen your bindings a little because the heat from the iron will heat the bolts up and cause dimples in the base, thus affecting optimal speed.
- Melt the wax onto the base and spread it in a nice even layer, making sure to push it into the base as much as possible so it really soaks in.
- Wait for the board to cool down and scrape with a sharp plastic scraper using long smooth strokes to get the excess wax off.
Pro Tip: Repeat the wax and scrape technique three times and scrape the wax as thin as you possibly can.
- Once you’ve scraped the base, use a bronze bristle brush to remove leftover wax and add small grooves to the base to help with speed.
- Finish off your board with a buffing pad to buff out the rest of the excess wax.
Stay low and go fast! Good luck out there!