On Nov 30, 4:54*pm, Gary Jacobson wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezer_burn

Seems that BNS and others are saying what they used to call base
oxidation isn't that at all. Not sure if they state what they think it
is, and some have theorized that it's not even a bad thing.

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Nathan Schultz & Zack Caldwall's Master Skier Pre-Season 2008 article
"Stonegriding for speed" speaks to the question. They write: "People
genearlly say that a base is 'oxidized', but those white spots on a
ski are generally dry regions or abraded fibers of UHMWPE, not
oxidized." The article notes that UHMWPE is sintered ultra-high
molecular wt. polyethylene or P-tex.