Yellowstone Rendezvous 2026 Wax Recommendation

Yellowstone Rendezvous 2026 Wax Recommendation

Nathan Schultz

Event Details

The Yellowstone Rendezvous is one of the longest-running cross-country ski races in the US. All races are Saturday, March 7, 2026 with 2km, 5km, 10km, 25km, and 50km options in both skate and classic categories. Event website.

Wax Service & Testing

Boulder Nordic Sport will not have anyone on-site waxing or testing. We can turn race skis around in 24-48 hours at the Boulder shop who is traveling to the Rendezvous.

Weather Forecast

Click here for the latest weather forecast

Hourly Forecast

Thursday Afternoon — Snow, mainly after 5pm. High near 32. Light WSW wind. 80% chance of precipitation. 1–3" of snow possible.

Thursday Night — Snow likely, mainly before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, low around 15. Calm wind. 60% chance of precipitation. Under ½" of new snow possible.

Friday — Slight chance of snow before 2pm and after 3pm. Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then sunny. High near 37. Calm wind becoming NW ~5 mph in the afternoon. 20% chance of precipitation.

Friday Night — Partly cloudy, low around 12. Light SSW wind.

Saturday — 30% chance of snow, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, high near 35. Calm wind becoming SW 5–8 mph, gusts up to 24 mph. Little or no accumulation expected.

Wax Recommendation

This is a forecast-based recommendation. We will update this recommendation if the forecast changes.

Base Glide Layer

Rode Graphite R100G or Holmenkol Syntec FF 21

Application: Iron in at the recommended iron temp, let cool, scrape, brush with a fine steel or bronze/brass brush.

Race Paraffin Layer

Rode RX32 Violet mixed with Rode Endurance 1:1 -or- Holmenkol Syntec FF Red

Lower-price option: Holmenkol Beta Mix Red or Rode R30 Violet

Application: Iron in at recommended iron temperature, let cool (10-15min), scrape with a plastic scraper, brush with fine steel or bronze/brass, then polish with nylon or horsehair brush.

Powder

Fluor-free powder will help with durability, speed and dirt repulsion. It is probably not worth it for shorter races (less than 25km). Use the powder OR the liquid, not both.

Holmenkol FF Red Powder

Application: (apply powder over race paraffin, before topcoat)

  1. Sprinkle powder on liberally to coat the base.
  2. Iron in at recommended iron temperature.
  3. Let cool. 10-15 minutes should be adequate.
  4. Scrape powder off, then brush with stiff nylon, followed by horsehair.

View a video on powder application (video is for fluoro powders, but the application is the same for fluor-free powders)

Topcoat

With the new snow on Thursday/Friday and cold temps overnight. Liquids will probably not be the fastest option, but they are a good option for durability and speed if you don't have anything else. Roto Wool block would be the best option.

Recommended Topcoat: Rode RW30 Roto Wool Block. Apply either:
1. With a roto wool or 2. Crayon on, fleece, and then brush with horsehair.
Roto Wool blocks are expensive, but they last incredibly long - each block does about 80 pairs of XC skis.

If you decide on liquids:

Rode RXL Med -or- Holmenkol FF1 Red Liquid

lower-price liquid options: Holmenkol FF2 Liquid Red -or- Rode Racing Liquid (RL) Med 

Application: Apply liquid on brushed ski, allow to dry, polish with a roto wool, roto fleece, or felt brush/cork. The liquid layer should be the final wax layer (over paraffin layer or powder layer).

Structure

Structure will likely be an important part of the race with snow starting cold and warming through the race.Choose a cold to medium grind.

  • Skate Grinds: S1.3 or S2.2 (likely a bit too warm)
  • Classic Grinds: C1.2 or C2.2

Hand Structure:  Holmenkol cross-structure tool with one roller.

Kick Wax

Clean all wax out of the kick zone with a scraper and wax remover. Sand the kick zone with 100-grit sandpaper (use a block to keep the base flat).

Iron in a thin layer of base wax. The snow should not be too abrasive, but longer races may want to use Vauhti Super Base. Other base waxes that are a little faster but not as durable as Super Base: Toko Green, Guru Base, Swix VG30, Rode Base. Let it cool completely before applying wax of the day layers. Pro Tip - don't cork this layer for the fastest application.

Kick waxes to try for race day:

Rode Blue Multigrade, Rode B310, Rode B17, Guru Blue, Swix VP40. If the forecast goes a bit colder, Guru Green could be amazing, but might start to give up kick at the latter half of longer races as the snow warms. You may try 4-5 layers of blue and cover with one thin layer of Guru Green or one of the colder blues.

Updates

We will update this recommendation as it gets closer to race day.

Race/Application Notes

Overnight lows will be pretty cold, so the snow will generally stay colder than air temps through the races. The forecast is for clouds and possible snow flurries after 11AM, which will keep the snowpack colder than air temps.

If you can wax two pairs of race skis, it would be smart to go with a colder option. The forecast for this area is generally warmer than actual conditions, so having a colder pair of skis ready to go in case it gets colder overnight is a good option.