Yellow Snow Conditions (Wet, Slushy, Old Snow, +20°C to 0°C)
Yellow conditions occur when old snow is thoroughly saturated with water. It's slushy; it's wet; it's warm; it's old and usually coarse-grained and dirty. The temperature range for these conditions is 0C to... the warmest it can be with snow on the ground! 'Yellow' snow is heavily transformed. It has been through a melt/freeze cycle or two and has become corny or coarse-grained. Because the snow transformed, it tends to drain better than 'Pink' snow since the space between the individual ice crystals allows water to drain away. You're still dealing with a lot of water either way, so your main waxing consideration will be to get rid of water from the ski base! The big difference between pink and yellow conditions is the amount of dirt deposited on top of the snowpack. Choosing a wax with compounds to limit the effects of dirt is also key when waxing for yellow conditions.
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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 used 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 are massively hydrophobic, so anything with fluorination will likely be an excellent choice. 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.
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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: hence, klister! Hard wax is a no-go when the snow gets this wet, but rub skis (hairys or zeros), skin skis, and fish scales tend to work quite well if Klister isn't your thing. Again, a klister with Fluoros or other dirt and water-repelling compounds will help your grip wax glide.
Products for Yellow Snow Conditions
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Vauhti 360 ALL TEMP Liquid Glide | 80ml
Regular price $41.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $41.96 CAD -
Save $10.01
Toko Natural Wax Universal
Regular price From $14.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$24.96 CADSale price From $14.95 CADSale -
Toko High Performance Powder Yellow
Regular price $149.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $149.96 CAD -
Swix F4 Universal Wax
Regular price From $24.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price From $24.96 CAD -
STAR SKIN wax PLUS Liquid Pump Spray | (5C/-10C)
Regular price $31.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$39.96 CADSale price $31.96 CADSale -
STAR TARGET K5 - Spring Klister | 60g (0C/10)
Regular price $39.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $39.96 CAD -
Save $61.00
Gallium GIGA SPEED Wet Powder | 30g (10C/-1C)
Regular price $239.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$300.00 CADSale price $239.00 CADSale -
STAR NEXT DARK WARM Fluoro-Free Racing Powder (0C/-5C)
Regular price From $85.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price From $85.96 CAD -
STAR NEXT DARK WARM Fluoro-Free Racing Liquid (Sponge Application) (0C/-5C) | 100ml
Regular price $85.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $85.96 CAD -
Vauhti RACE OLD SNOW BLACK Block | 12g
Regular price $145.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $145.96 CAD -
Rex Wax NF41 Pink/Green UHW Liquid Glider (Sponge Applicator) | 60ml (5C/-20C)
Regular price $104.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $104.00 CAD -
Rex Wax NF11 Yellow Liquid Glider (Sponge Applicator) | 60ml (10C/-2C)
Regular price $104.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $104.00 CAD -
Holmenkol Syntec FF1 Powder YLW |30g (0C/-4C)
Regular price $243.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $243.96 CAD -
Swix PS10 Yellow Liquid Glide Wax
Regular price $34.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $34.96 CAD -
Start RG Race Liquid Glider Red (10C/-2C) | 80ml
Regular price $69.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $69.96 CAD -
Start RG Ultra Gel Finisher Red (10C/-2C) | 30ml
Regular price $99.99 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $99.99 CAD -
Start RG Ultra Glider Red (7C/-3C) | 60g
Regular price $123.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $123.96 CAD -
Optiwax HydrOX Race Block Wet | 5C/-5C
Regular price $130.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $130.95 CAD -
Optiwax Klister Universal Kikkan | 55g (5C/-20C)
Regular price $19.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$25.00 CADSale price $19.96 CADSale -
Optiwax Eco Glide Tape Wide (for alpine skis) (5C/-20C)
Regular price $32.99 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$44.00 CADSale price $32.99 CADSale -
MountainFlow Quick Wax Warm
Regular price $23.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $23.95 CAD -
MountainFlow Molybdenum Paraffin
Regular price $31.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $31.95 CAD -
Save $4.04
Vauhti GW WARM Melt Wax (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $23.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$28.00 CADSale price From $23.96 CADSale -
Vauhti SW WET Yellow Melt Wax Discontinued Version From 2021 Or Earlier | 900g (10C/-1C)
Regular price $74.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$99.96 CADSale price $74.96 CADSale