Equipment Maintenance & Selection
Q.  How do you wax wooden skis?
Q.  How do you define your wax pocket?
Q.  I have a pair of wooden skis and a waxable fibreglass pair.  Which would be the best type of ski to use and in what conditions?
Q.  Where can I buy ski equipment?  Many of the manufacturers do not carry the touring skis that are needed for your trails.

Fixing Equipment
Q.  How do you fix broken ski poles in the field?
Q.  How do you fix broken ski tips in the field?.
 

Equipment Maintenance & Selection
Q.  How do you wax wooden skis?                                 Back to Top

1. Remove old wax with a paper towel or rag using varsol to dissolve and remove the old wax.  It will remove some tar on the skis as well.

2. Retar skis. You may not have to do the entire ski, but the tips and
   tails are where it wears the most and are typically lighter in colour
   than the mid ski. Brush the tar with an old toothbrush and use heat to make it a little easier to spread.  You can use a heat gun, hairdryer or blow torch.  Once you have an even coat, go over your ski at high heat so that the tar bubbles.  Wipe the excess tar off with a rag while the tar is still warm.

3. Define you wax pocket (see below).

4. Fore and aft of the wax pocket, you can apply a glider wax or paraffin.  Take an old non-steam iron and heat until the wax melts.  Dribble wax on both sides of the groove on the ski.  Now iron the wax flat.  You should have a thin even milky looking surface.  Using a sharp scraper, scrape the excess wax off until you have a smooth shiny surface. If you still have some dips, repeat the process.  Scrape out the centre groove.

5. Apply wax for the day in the wax pocket. Putting softer wax over hard is okay.  To clean off the softer wax, you can use varsol before putting on the harder wax.

6. If the snow is wet, I like the wet universal tar wax rather than the red wax since it's a little easier to work with.  I just have the universal tar, a blue and green.  If it's icy, then I use klister but it is sticky.

Mike S.

Q.  How do I define my wax pocket?                                Back to Top

1. This requires a second person. Place your skis on a level hard surface.  Place a strip of paper 2 inches wide under both skis under the binding.

2. With your ski boots and ski backpack on, step on the skis and place your toes in the bindings.  Look straight forward and distribute your weight evenly between the two skis. The paper should be able to move freely fore and aft of your foot.  f the paper cannot be moved forward of the toes or behind the heel then your skis are not suited for your weight.

3. Assuming that the paper moves forward of the toes, mark the forward most leading edge.

4. Repeat the same process for the heal.  This marks your wax pocket.

Mike S.

Q.  Which would be the best type of ski to use and in what conditions?   Back to Top

1. Coming soon!

Q.  Where can I buy ski equipment?                                                    Back to Top

A.  In the Toronto area, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Taylor's Outdoor Gear carry a full line of touring skis and accessories.  They are familiar with our specific needs, so they will be able to help you with your selection.  Taylor's offers a 10 percent discount to Five Winds members.  This excludes sale items or ski packages as they have already been discounted.

Many members have also picked up wooden skis at secondhand stores such as Goodwill.  You can usually grab these for $10-20 but you should know what you're looking for.  Just ask someone on the bus what to look for.

Fixing Equipment
Q.  How do you fix broken ski poles in the field.                                    Back to Top

1. Coming soon!

    
Q.  How do you fix broken ski tips in the field.                                        Back to Top

1. Coming soon!