
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
Kuu MACH 4+ World Cup Warm Yellow (15C/-6C)
Regular price From $40.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price From $40.00 CAD4 in stockKuu MACH 4+ World Cup Warm Yellow (15C/-6C)
Regular price From $40.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price From $40.00 CADKuu MACH 4+ World Cup Warm Yellow (15C/-6C)
Regular price From $40.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price From $40.00 CAD -
STAR TARGET K6 - Silver Klister (2C/-2C) | 60g
Regular price $40.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $40.00 CAD5 in stock -
Save $29.19
Vauhti RACE OLD SNOW LDR Block (5C/-10C) | 12g
Regular price $116.77 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$145.96 CADSale price $116.77 CAD7 in stockSale -
Save $7.15
Holmenkol Klister Silver | 60ml (3C/-1C)
Regular price $19.85 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$27.00 CADSale price $19.85 CAD5 in stockSale -
Save $7.15
Holmenkol Klister Universal | 60ml (4C/-4C)
Regular price $19.85 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$27.00 CADSale price $19.85 CAD5 in stockSale -
Holmenkol Syntec FF1 Powder YLW |30g (0C/-4C)
Regular price $273.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $273.00 CAD4 in stock -
Save $18.00
Start RG Race Liquid Glider Red (10C/-2C) | 80ml
Regular price $70.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$88.00 CADSale price $70.00 CAD7 in stockSale -
Optiwax HydrOX Race Block Wet | 5C/-5C
Regular price $130.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $130.95 CAD2 in stock -
Optiwax HydrOX Race Glider Wet | 5C/-5C
Regular price $87.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $87.95 CAD2 in stock -
Optiwax Klister Universal Kikkan | 55g (5C/-20C)
Regular price $25.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $25.96 CAD1 in stock -
mountainFLOW eco-wax Molybdenum Melt Wax | 130g
Regular price $36.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $36.00 CAD11 in stock -
Save $5.60
Vauhti GW WARM Melt Wax (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $22.40 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$28.00 CADSale price From $22.40 CAD8 in stockVauhti GW WARM Melt Wax (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $22.40 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$28.00 CADSale price From $22.40 CADVauhti GW WARM Melt Wax (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $22.40 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$28.00 CADSale price From $22.40 CADSale -
Vauhti SW WET Yellow Melt Wax Discontinued Version From 2021 Or Earlier | 900g (10C/-1C)
Regular price $74.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$99.96 CADSale price $74.97 CAD2 in stockSale -
Vauhti UP WET Melt Wax Discontinued Version From 2021 Or Earlier (10C/-1C)
Regular price From $44.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $44.97 CAD4 in stockVauhti UP WET Melt Wax Discontinued Version From 2021 Or Earlier (10C/-1C)
Regular price From $44.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $44.97 CADVauhti UP WET Melt Wax Discontinued Version From 2021 Or Earlier (10C/-1C)
Regular price From $44.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $44.97 CADSale -
Save $11.99
Vauhti UP WARM Melt Wax 2024 (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $47.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $47.97 CAD6 in stockVauhti UP WARM Melt Wax 2024 (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $47.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $47.97 CADVauhti UP WARM Melt Wax 2024 (7C/-3C)
Regular price From $47.97 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$59.96 CADSale price From $47.97 CADSale -
Toko Nordic Klister Yellow (0C/-2C) | 55g
Regular price $25.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $25.00 CAD6 in stock -
Toko Nordic Base Klister Green (10C/-30C) | 55g
Regular price $25.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $25.00 CAD6 in stock -
Save $5.00
Swix F4 Warm Performance Wax (10C/-4C) | 60g
Regular price $24.95 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$29.95 CADSale price $24.95 CAD8 in stockSale -
Ski*Go XC Universal Klister (3C/-1C) | 60g
Regular price $26.10 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $26.10 CAD3 in stock -
Rode Skin Ski Evo Kit (20C/-20C)
Regular price $127.96 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$0.00 CADSale price $127.96 CAD80 in stock -
MasterWax Wet DARK Ultra8 PP4 POWER HF Wool-Apply Wax (0C/-3C) | 20g
Regular price $232.48 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$464.95 CADSale price $232.48 CADSpecial OrderSold out -
MasterWax Wet DARK Dark Professional ECOPOWER LF Wool-Apply Wax (0C/-3C) | 20g
Regular price $187.48 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$374.95 CADSale price $187.48 CAD4 in stockSale -
Vauhti Klaebo SpeedPro Universal Liquid Glide (5C/-10C) | 100ml
Regular price $94.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / perPre-Order Available -
Vauhti Klaebo SpeedPro Warm Liquid Glide (7C/-3C) | 100ml
Regular price $94.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / perPre-Order Available