Sure, it would be nice to ski all year round, but let’s face it: most of us ski for less than a month per season. How to store skis for the remaining eleven months so that they please the owner for more than one season? This will be discussed later.

Modern skis, poles and boots are made of high-quality and high-tech materials, ready to serve faithfully for several years. However, you should not store the equipment in a very warm, too damp or, conversely, too dry room – this will accelerate its “aging” and failure.

The condition of the edging and the sliding surface of the skis should be monitored. After running into stones or a collision with a colleague on mountain skis, scratches and potholes appear on the sliding surface, the sharp surface of the edge becomes dull. These phenomena must be promptly eliminated. The “slide” should be filled with melted plastic so that the defect does not stand out against the background of the surface. Edges need to be sanded and sharpened. If you do not monitor the scratches on the edges, they will grow and eventually destroy the ski.

Kantians have a strange feature: they are afraid of … water! And they will rust easily if you put snowy skis in a case after skiing. To avoid this unfortunate incident, you need to carefully clean your skis of snow with a brush before going home.

If the skis were not damaged during skiing, requiring urgent intervention, they can be taken to the service center for comprehensive maintenance after the end of the season. Specialists will assess their condition, carry out the necessary repairs and properly preserve them for the summer, until the next season.

Regular treatment of the sliding surface with a special paraffin-based lubricant will greatly extend the service life of the skis. Craftsmen used to use melted candles to obtain such an ointment, but now it is easier to visit a store or choose one of the special ointments on the Internet.

Some skiers do not trust anyone with their equipment and carry out the necessary work themselves, even while vacationing at the resort. However, most people take their skis to specialists for repair, preferring to do more relaxing activities after skiing.

Attachments should be inspected after another day of riding for dirt and damage. Modern ski bindings rarely break, but the asking price is so high that an extra inspection never hurts. During skiing and especially after a fall, the adjustment of the bindings is often disturbed, and under specific conditions of skiing (when there is no snow in the landing area of the lift) small pebbles, dirt and sand can get into them.

Ski boots should be thoroughly dried after skiing. The batteries working in the ski storage are not always able to cope with this task, so it would be nice to have special electric heaters that are inserted directly into the boots and work from an outlet.

Regular inspection and maintenance of skis and other equipment does not take much time, but it has many benefits. Timely care will save you from unpleasant surprises during skiing and will allow the skis to last much longer.