The Secret to Better Skiing: Why You Should Tune Your Own Skis
Author: Christian Hillier Former World Cup Coach
The Secret to Better Skiing: Why You Should Tune Your Own Skis
Have you ever felt like your skis have a mind of their own? Shuddering when trying to steer them, or feeling catchy and grabby in the tails, making them less fun to ski on? This is not uncommon, even with brand-new skis. Yes, that’s right—even skis straight out of the wrapper can misbehave. There’s a simple fix for your unruly skis that takes just a couple of minutes with the right tools. I’ll help you learn to do this yourself later, but first, I want to emphasize just how important your ski tune is, no matter what level skier you are.
A couple of seasons ago, I wanted to get my partner into skiing, so I ordered her some skis, and they showed up the day we were leaving Whistler to visit friends in Sun Peaks, BC. Personally, I rarely, if ever, ski on brand-new skis without tuning them first. However, sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise, and tuning her new pair of 153cm Atomic Vantages wasn’t an option after a long drive, a late-night catch-up with friends, and an early rise the next morning to hit the mountain. “Anyway, they’re brand-new skis and she’s brand-new to skiing, so all should be fine, right? Wrong!”
Learning troubles
We started out on the Poma and set out to learn the fundamentals. Almost immediately, I could see the skis were not making it easy for her to learn the so-called fun-da-men-tals, and from my perspective, it certainly didn’t look fun. We continued to work on the basics for a short time, but I could see her frustration quickly rising. I suggested we take an early break. While she had a tea and a snack, I grabbed her skis from the rack and ran back to the room where I remembered I had a 400-grit diamond stone and a 1.0 base bevel guide. My other tools were out in the van—too far away to seize this short window of opportunity to turn the day around. I knew I could do the full tune later that evening.
A quick base bevel tune
Time was ticking, and I desperately wanted her first experience on snow to be a positive one. So, I literally threw a towel on the hotel room floor, strapped up the brakes with a ski strap, inserted the 400-grit diamond stone into the base bevel guide, and focused on applying a base-edge bevel to the tips and tails of the skis, where the ‘resistance’ on the stone was greatest. Once these two sections stopped ‘sounding,’ I did a few full-length passes to blend it together and give the skis a 1.0-degree base-edge bevel throughout their entire length.
Watch the video to see how easily you can tune the base bevel.
The Issue: A railed or edge high ski
The skis were ‘railed’ or ‘edge-high’ in the tips and tails, which was confirmed by the simple operation I performed on the hotel room floor, but my suspicion had already been confirmed by observing her skis on the snow. It was clear that she struggled to get the skis to steer because they were far too grabby for her skill level. When you observe this in other skiers, you’ll notice signs like: difficulty pivoting the skis, chattery turns instead of smooth and consistent ones, shaky knees, skis that seem to have a mind of their own and want to go straight, and the skier moving into a defensive stance with the center of mass behind the feet, further decreasing confidence. You’ll also see frustration when executing tasks that would otherwise be simple if the skis were easier to steer and release. If this has ever happened to you due to an incorrect base-edge bevel, you’ll definitely relate to that frustrating feeling when your skis grab so much that they sit back down on the snow instead of tipping up on edge. Even performing a simple, smooth ‘hockey stop’ can be a struggle.
Checkout the video to see an example of a railed ski. Turn up the volume to hear it!
Rule out other potential causes
Of course, you’ll need to rule out other potential causes, such as technical, tactical, physical, or psychological issues, or environmental concerns (e.g., the snow and terrain may be too difficult for the skill level). However, in this case, those factors were quickly ruled out, making it simple to diagnose the issue as equipment-related—more specifically, the tuning! Even though I couldn’t do the full tune I wanted, I was confident that my simple adjustment to the base edges would help in the short window I had. I raced back to the chalet, put the skis back on the rack, and didn’t mention anything. After lunch, we went back on snow, and to her amazement, she could turn with ease, without frustration, and with far less intervention from me. This allowed her more time to practice and ‘learn by doing,’ which is a key aspect of learning.
The Travellers Kit For Tuning
If you are new to tuning your own skis a simple kit to start out with is the Travellers Kit. It includes all you need to get started with polishing your edges and ensuring the base bevel is set to the right angle. Plus it’s a small set easy to take with you on ski trips.