Sad Time of Year

thetrailboss · May 16, 2006

That's right. All this week I have been getting the skis put away for the summer.

I usually enjoy a choice brew while doing it.

Last year I did a "marathon" ski tuning during a rainy weekend. Sharpened, cleaned the bases, and coated edges and bases in wax. A LOT OF work with four pair of skis

This season I have been doing one pair a day and it is going much better.

I usually sharpen an edge, clean it, and then cover it in wax before flipping over and doing the other edge. Then I apply a quick coat of wax and scrap it off before cooling to "clean" the base. Last, a quick coat of U10 so that the skis are ready for winter.

It is tough to see them go away for the summer, but nothing is more satisfying then apply a good coat of wax and looking down to see the base nice and smooth with the fresh wax. And then the first run on a freshly tuned ski....absolute joy!

What is your routine?

andyzee · May 16, 2006

All I do is clean and throw on a quick coat of candle wax to keep the moisture in, don't bother scraping. When the new season comes I scrap off the wax, sharpen, and put on a coat of good ski wax. Yeah, you're rigth tough, it sucks, I didn't expect the end to come so soon. I figured I'd at least have one more day of hiking for turns, but with this rain now, I guess that isn't happening.

riverc0il · May 16, 2006

my routine is to throw the skis in the closet and let the repair dude work it out in the fall. i would bring them into the shop after the season is over, but i don't know a single shop that tunes skis in june.

andyzee · May 16, 2006

riverc0il said:
my routine is to throw the skis in the closet and let the repair dude work it out in the fall. i would bring them into the shop after the season is over, but i don't know a single shop that tunes skis in june.

Braggart

thetrailboss · May 16, 2006

riverc0il said:
my routine is to throw the skis in the closet and let the repair dude work it out in the fall. i would bring them into the shop after the season is over, but i don't know a single shop that tunes skis in june.

I'd say go to East Burke Sports or Village Sports. Peter Glenn is not good. Not good at all.

bvibert · May 17, 2006

My approach is closer to Steve's, but more out of laziness then my season going into Summer.

Actually last season I didn't even bring them in to be tuned at the beginning of the season. Come to think of it I skied all season with out tuning them. Are you saying that I should have them tuned more often than every 2 years??

Greg · May 17, 2006

I usually don't tune my skis before the beginning of the season; but more likely after going out a few times. I'll then usually get another tune mid-season. I'm far from a carving type skier. I prefer snappy, aggressive, short turns which would probably be considered pretty sloppy skiing by some standards. Therefore, a perfectly tuned ski does little for me. I would like to learn how to tune them myself, or at least freshen them up though. If I had the time to learn how, I probably would tune more.

andyzee · May 17, 2006

Greg said:
I usually don't tune my skis before the beginning of the season; but more likely after going out a few times. I'll then usually get another tune mid-season. I'm far from a carving type skier. I prefer snappy, aggressive, short turns which would probably be considered pretty sloppy skiing by some standards. Therefore, a perfectly tuned ski does little for me. I would like to learn how to tune them myself, or at least freshen them up though. If I had the time to learn how, I probably would tune more.

It's not hard to tune. But this year I did it the easy way, just got a season tune at Basin Ski shop and dropped off my skis after every weekend in Killington. This year having nicely tuned edges on the skis made my experience much more enjoyable on days when the snow was very firm or frozen. People with better ski skills than mine were having problems with conditions that I had no issues with. Obviously, they had no edges.

riverc0il · May 17, 2006

thetrailboss said:
I'd say go to East Burke Sports or Village Sports. Peter Glenn is not good. Not good at all.

agreed about peter glenn. they did not have someone hired for ski tuning when i called them in late november or early december last year. i knew they couldn't be serious about tuning skis if it was past thanksgiving and they did not have a shop guy to tune skis. though i have scored two great clothing items on clearance there. i doubt east burke or village sports would still be tuning skis next month either though. village sports did not inspire confidence either, east burke looks like a nice shop. i generally do minor tunes at ski areas any ways, but i will need some major base repairs coming up. sport thoma in north woodstock did fantastic work on my rock skis, i generally bring over night tunes there. lahouts in littleton messed up a mount on one of my skis. there really are not any great dedicated ski shops in this area. sport thoma is definitely the best i have found within an hour of StJ.

thetrailboss · May 17, 2006

Surprised to hear about Lahout's slipping...their products and prices are good but their service can be :roll: Burke Mtn's ski shop has done a good job on my skis, but I doubt they are open. And the place in Newport is just OK. I was going to EB Sports, but they were really, really slow on the last ski work I had done and they seem to have a bad habit of getting ski wax over EVERYTHING besides the bases. :x

Marc · May 17, 2006

Marc's end of ski season maintenance ritual-

Step 1: Open beer

Step 2: Drink beer

Step 3: Look at skis hanging in garage from last trip

Step 4: Drink more beer

Step 5: Repeat steps 1 through 4 until you don't remember what time of year it is

riverc0il · May 17, 2006

marc- how is that different than the winter?

thetrailboss · May 17, 2006

Greg said:
I usually don't tune my skis before the beginning of the season; but more likely after going out a few times. I'll then usually get another tune mid-season. I'm far from a carving type skier. I prefer snappy, aggressive, short turns which would probably be considered pretty sloppy skiing by some standards. Therefore, a perfectly tuned ski does little for me. I would like to learn how to tune them myself, or at least freshen them up though. If I had the time to learn how, I probably would tune more.

Biggest thing is to keep the bases waxed. It offers more protection in case of run-in with rocks and ice. That has really made a big difference for me--fresh tuned skis is sweet.

Marc · May 17, 2006

riverc0il said:
marc- how is that different than the winter?

Hah, good point.

Let me amend that to "Marc's beginning, middle, end and off season maintenance ski ritual."

loafer89 · May 17, 2006

riverc0il said:
my routine is to throw the skis in the closet and let the repair dude work it out in the fall. i would bring them into the shop after the season is over, but i don't know a single shop that tunes skis in june.

I am hoping to get this done at Mammoth in June, I would think they would still have a full service shop open there?
Our ski shop across the street from us, wants nothing to do with skiing from Easter until Labor Day as they sell outdoor furniture and mountain bikes from now until fall.

I also need a pair of ski pants, since I doubt my ski suit will be required in 70F + weather.

awf170 · May 17, 2006

loafer89 said:
I also need a pair of ski pants, since I doubt my ski suit will be required in 70F + weather.

This would be a excellent time to get rid of the ski suit for good. :razz:

loafer89 · May 19, 2006

awf170 said:
This would be a excellent time to get rid of the ski suit for good. :razz:

I think I will keep the ski suit along with many other layers of clothes for the subzero days ahead at Sugarloaf.

I am not really sure what to wear at Mammoth, it's over 11,000' tall at the summit and it can still snow in June.

Sad Time of Year

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