Guido is the man!

Greetings From Turin, Italy. For those who do not know me, I’m Eric Dye. I am the head coach for the Silver Run Ski Team in Red Lodge, Montana. I grew up on cross-country skis and raced through high school and college. Then I switched my roles. For the past 8 years, I have been coaching. I started waxing skis at a very young age, my dad built a bench short enough so I could “help” make a mess in the wax room. More recently however, I have been focused on growing my knowledge in the current world of waxing. 

This past January, I had the amazing privilege to go to Italy and work with the USA Team during the FISU World University Games in Turin. The Cross Country Trails were in Progelato, the same trails as the 2006 Olympic venue. This race series had all the snow conditions you could think of, from super wet, heavy, new snow to very dirty old transformed snow. 

I was able to find and use some ARC (Alpine Research Center) waxes for the first time, and let me tell you, wow! What Guido Charlie (co-owner) has done is amazing! Some new innovative additives can be added in different ratios according to the snow’s humidity levels. ARC has additive powder for dry, mid-range, and humid (dry, vario, wet) conditions. 

Finding ARC in the industrial area of Turin is an experience of its own. Through the chaos of the narrow and busy streets sits the ARC office and warehouse. Walking in, there is a stone grinder busting out skis, Guido running around in the warehouse filling boxes and nerding out on the brushes, waxes, and tools.  

One of my new favorite brushes is made from Tampico fibers. This brush is like a very stiff nylon but does not scratch the ski base, so it is even more versatile. I have used this brush to clean, as well as first, second, and third brushes, depending on the layer of wax going in the ski. This brush also works fantastic as a roto brush for graphite and other very hard waxes to brush and polish. Another Brush I was able to acquire, was the mixed horse hair and soft brass brush. This versatile roto brush also has many uses! 

You can find the lineup of brushes from ARCHERE. 

ARC has some seriously fast wax products on the market right now! During WUG (World Univeristy Games), we were able to test the Metadditive Powder in both the Wet and Vario, as well as the Metadditive Liquid Finish in Med and Hot. These waxes performed very well on the northern Italian snow, which is not too dissimilar to Mountain West and West Coast (think Truckee, California, and Soldier Hollow, Utah). We raced on both the powder and liquid for multiple races with great success. 

Through the years of Flouro and non-Flouro, some products have risen to the top, ARC is one of those. The fantastic brushes and innovative waxes, are a must-have in the wax box. At competitive prices and being distributed in the States through Andy and enjoywinter.com ARC products need to be added to your supply. 

 See you on the trails or in the wax room! 

Eric Dye- silverrunnordic@gmail.com