Starting with the 2017/18 season, Madshus will offer our proprietary World Cup grinds to everyone. But what are these grinds and why do grinds matter? Meet the head of the grinding department: Roger Dahl.
Dahl has been involved in grinding skis since the first stone grinders came on the market in the mid- to late 1980s. He was involved with the Norwegian Ski Team’s grinding project that revolutionized the industry in the 1990s. And he has been grinding skis full time at Madshus since 1999.
“Everyone will benefit from the right grind. It doesn’t matter what kind of ski or wax you have if the grind isn’t right for the snow and conditions.”
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Putting his passion to work
On top of his 42 years of experience and a skilled hand for pushing the ski through the grinder, Dahl has a keen eye for detail and a passion for perfection, as well as a nose for invention.
“This is craftsmanship. It requires an attention to detail to a level that this is certainly not a trade for everyone,” Dahl says.
“You have to be meticulous. We are operating with margins that are in the fractions of one thousands, where just a hair too much or too little of the grind patterns separates the medalists from the list fillers,” he explains.
But Dahl thrives on the challenge. He is always looking for improvements to the grinds, and brand new structures.
“We always try to improve glide. We are constantly thinking about ways to adjust the structures or even come up with entirely new patterns.”
Dahl loves working with the community, and puts the feedback to work.
“I feel really lucky to be able to combine my job with my passion. One of the things I love about this job is that I get so close to the community. I meet a lot of people, World Cup athletes and recreational skiers, wax techs and equipment manufacturers, who are passionate about skiing,” Dahl says.
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More than just a pattern
“Grinding and the research and science behind the grinding is probably the most important thing that has happened in this industry,” Dahl says.
“I’ve seen a lot of structures and grinds. It fascinates me how much of a difference just a small adjustment can make. It can be things like the speed of the grinding stone, the speed of the grinding diamond, the speed at which you feed the ski through the machine… Any and all of these parameters can make a ski great or completely destroy it,” he explains, noting that specialty grinds are not just for the World Cup elite.
“At Madshus, all the research that goes into making the perfect grinds for the World Cup skis directly benefits the consumer. I use the same grinds, the same equipment and put the same level of effort an attention into the skis I grind for recreational skiers as I do for the skis I grind for Ole Einar Bjørndalen or Krista Pärmäkoski,” Dahl says.
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Go general rather than specific
Grinds are designed to make skis glide better in various conditions. There are different grinds for different temperatures and conditions, such as warm conditions and cold conditions, new snow, old snow, transformed snow and man-made snow, wet snow and dry snow, and any combination of these.
But while the World Cup skiers have a large quiver of skis and grinds to cover all of these, most recreational skiers don’t. Accordingly, Dahl recommends getting grinds that cover a wider range of conditions, such as a more universal warm grind or a universal cold grind. The 9-6 grind is a good example.
“Our 9-6 grind is one of the most versatile grinds on the market. It covers a wide temperature range and will work on a variety of snow types from quite cold and dry to quite warm. Additionally, the 9-6 is a grind that takes well to a manual rill on top of the basic grind as well, so this is one I recommend as a good, all-round grind,” says Dahl, adding that the 9-6 grind is popular among the World Cup skiers as well.