Experimental field studies of the cross-country ski running surface interaction with snow

The ability of the cross-country skis to glide freely is of very high importance for both sports and recreational skiing. Significant body of research and development is nowadays devoted to the materials and treatment methods for improving gliding of the ski running surfaces, as well as to the related skiing techniques for optimal use of ski gliding. One of the common concepts here is that the most significant energy loss contribution in such interaction is caused by the pure interfacial friction of the ski running surface and the snow. But this interaction is quite complex and we have proposed that other channels of the energy loss can be of significance. Among the possibilities one can point out to the effects of the snow deformation under the skis, "dragging" of snow by the skis and damping of the ski vibrations by the snow. Present paper reports on the field experimental studies of the ski interaction with the snow. These studies are aiming at developing the measurement technology allowing the assessment of gliding properties of the cross-country skis when data are collected from the sensors placed into the ski track