Yellow Snow Conditions (Wet, Slushy, Old Snow, +20°C to 0°C)

Friction Characteristics: Physically, the wet snow crystal structure has the most rounded edges. This means kinetic friction is very low. The main source of friction in this snow type is suction friction from the vast amounts of liquid water between the ski base and the snowpack. The top priority for glide waxing for these conditions is getting rid of water from the bottom of the ski base. Waxes for this temperature range are tend to be physically softer (soft waxes are more hydrophobic than harder ones) but in recent years, glide waxes for this temperature range have become much harder to help keep ski bases free of dirt. Fluoro compounds were massively hydrophobic so anything with fluorination was super good for 'yellow' conditions. In the fluoro-free world, different waxes continue to be released for wet conditions but still struggle to be at the point that fluoros were. Adding aggressive structure to your ski base with a rill tool will have the biggest benefit to glide as the grooves and channels will give water an escape route. Often waxes with dirt-repellent compounds have a leg up on others since dirt builds upon the surface of the snow as it melts. Waxes with molybdenum or graphite tend to stay fast in yellow conditions over long distances.

Kick Waxing: Snow crystals in yellow conditions have melted into round, wet, blobs. This makes finding a grip wax that is able to stick to snow crystals very tricky. The water surrounding the snow crystals acts as a lubricant, which is the equivalent of having oil on your brake pads. This means in order to find a kick wax that gets grip in this kind of snow, you'll have to get something as soft and sticky as possible. This means: break out the klister! Hard wax is a no-go when the snow gets this wet, but rub skis (hairies or zeros), skin skis, fish scales tend to work quite well if klister isn't your thing. Again, a klister with dirt and water-repelling compounds will help your grip wax glide.

If you have them, your clear/red/white-based skis will be the best option for these days. These bases tend to be harder than standard black bases. The harder the base, the better the dirt-repellence of the skis. Since this type of base is mostly used in warm weather, you don't need to be afraid to put deep structure into the skis as well. If black bases are your only options, the more structure you can put on the skis, the better. Gliding pressure zones should be long for softer snow to help float over and not dig in. A classic ski should have a higher camber to accommodate klister. A zero ski could be applicable at the colder end of the yellow range.