Alpine Structure Conundrum

Hi Nordic Gurus, One question. If structure is so important on the base of nordic skis, why don't we hear anything or read anything about structure on Alpine race skis. Is it just that we need structure at lower speeds, and beyound those slower nordic speeds they don't bother? Or, is it that it's so obvious alpine race waxer don't need to talk about it? I bought an expensive structure tool about 6 years ago because of all the hype about how structure can make your skis (not you) faster. But since then, I can't find a single person I ski with that uses a structure tool.
Sign me,
Just Curious about Nordic Ski Structure.

-D

Hey D,

Thanks for writing in. This question pointed out a gap in my knowledge, so I reached out to my friend who works on the Alpine side of things on the World Cup.

The reason why you don’t hear about structure for alpine skis as often as Nordic skis is because it requires a much more aggressive tool, it is harder to apply, and often having a fleet of skis/boards with different grinds is sufficient.

As always, the performance of your skis/board is dependent on the relationship between creating the thin layer of water and repelling that thin layer of water. Grind, structure, and wax all help the ski create or manage the film of water that you are gliding on. At higher speeds, the structure and grind that is being used is going to be more aggressive compared to our Nordic grinds/structure. You can see this just by comparing universal grinds between Alpine and Nordic equipment.

There are not as easy of solution for applying structure for Alpine equipment as there is for Nordic Equipment. There are several user-friendly options available for Nordic structure tools, and as far as I know there is only the Trimaxx tool for alpine equipment.

The aggressive structure required for Alpine equipment would take several applications of wax with a very hot iron to get the structure to pop out of the skis. If you were to use an aggressive rill, then you would have to grind the skis to get them back to zero. Rather than having to hit the skis with an extra hot iron, or take them to the grinder, athletes and techs opt to have a fleet of skis with different grinds.

Of course, with all things tuning, each technician and athlete is different, and I am certain that structure is used extensively by some techs. However, the reason why you don’t hear about Alpine structure as much as Nordic is because it is harder to apply, harder to fix, and a fleet of skis with grinds will cover most conditions and be competitive (with the right wax).

Burning question? Shoot me an email at JacobH@EnjoyWinter.com