How to Prepare to Go Skiing

By Anthony Herman

You have a ski trip planned with your family, some friends or with a group and you're wondering what to bring and what you need to prepare for your trip. With this article, I'll explain what equipment you need, what clothing you need and some tips to make sure you're not the last one that everyone's waiting for to get ready.

If your trip is a few days out, then you have some time to possibly borrow any equipment that you need. Many people who ski or snowboard often and have their own equipment will have extra things like jackets, gloves, pants and maybe even skis or poles that you can borrow. So ask people you know that go skiing or snowboarding if they have any items that you're missing. Then be sure to return it in good, clean condition.

After checking for any available equipment from friends and family, you should see what's missing. You will also want to decide if you're going to rent any equipment.

Renting Ski Equipment

Find the website of where you're going to go ski and check out their prices for ski rentals. When you rent skis, they should give you poles and the bindings are included with the skis. Boots are usually also included since these places will often want you to use their boots with their skis. Find out if there are different rates for all day or for a partial day. If you want to ski and snowboard, some places will let you trade in one for the other part way though the day, which is a nice thing about renting.

If you don't ski too often, renting equipment is a good deal. You get equipment that's tuned and waxed and all ready for you. There might be some scratches on the equipment but it should be in good working order with the edges sharpened and so forth. You should also look for any package deals where you can get something like a lift ticket, rental and a lesson for one price.

The Ski Rental Procedure

As you go through the rental procedure, you will need to fill out paperwork, which includes a waiver. They will ask for your height, weight and skiing ability. If you don't ski often, you should say you're a level one or beginner skier. They need to know this information so that the bindings are set correctly. The bindings will release your boots from the ski if you happen to fall, so that's an important setting.

Equipment Checklist

Here's a checklist of other things that you will want to consider bringing with you:

Ski jacket - get a good ski jacket that will keep you warm and comfortable. It should keep the snow out and not restrict your movements. A hood can be useful if it snows or rains.

Ski pants - ski pants have about the same purpose of the jacket. Wearing jeans is not a wise decision. They're often too tight and because they're made of cotton, they just soak up any snow or rain. The lift chair may be wet or you may fall and the moment any snow sticks to them, it will soak in and you'll get wet, which is not comfortable. Good snow or ski pants will not let any snow soak in and are comfortable to wear. Under your ski pants you can wear a base layer or long underwear.

Skis, ski boots and poles. Again, you can borrow from someone, bring your own or rent.

Gloves - gloves are very important. Bring two pairs in case one pair gets wet.

Hat or helmet - this keeps your head warm, of course. Bring two hats in case one gets wet.

Goggles - these are more important that you may think. They're nice to have, help you see and keep the wind out of your eyes as you fly down the slopes.

Base and mid layers - dress in layers. Try to find a non-cotton layer for your base layer so that any sweat doesn't get trapped near your skin. There are a lot of good polyester and synthetic materials that keep sweat away from your body.

Other things to consider bringing:

• Facial tissue or a handkerchief
• A face mask in case it's very cold or windy
• Sun block
• Snacks like granola bars or nuts
• Walkie talkies
• A scarf
• Sunglasses

Hopefully with this list, you can better enjoy your ski trip. Plan ahead and you'll be sure to enjoy skiing since the right equipment does make a difference. Have fun!

Find out more about skiing equipment and get other tips on how to prepare to ski. Tony has some great advice about skiing and snowboarding at his website, Love to Ski and Ride. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on Ski Equipment, see www.bestskisource.com.

How to Tune Your Ski Equipment

By Sean Raftree

A finely tuned ski or snowboard can be the difference between a great day on your favorite mountain or a nightmare of an experience trying to get to the bottom of the hill. The reason tuning your gear is so essential is how it affects the performance of your boards. There are many ways to tune equipment and many techniques. I am going to impart some basic knowledge that should help the everyday skier to have an amazing time on their equipment.

1. The first thing you are going to want do is check the base of the skis or snowboard you are riding. If it has an ashey dry look to it, then it desperately needs wax. You will need an iron, a plexi-glass scraper, and a scouring pad to buff out the surface.

2. Secondly, you are going to want to run your finger along the edge of the gear to feel for any burrs (which are nics on the edge that you can feel with your finger). You will want to smooth these out with your hand edging tools. You will need a file and a guide to accomplish this. There are two separated guides you will have to own to get this done: One is for the base edge and the second is for the side edge. These edges have to be smooth in order for the operator of the gear to effectively turn the ski. Burrs and un-smooth edges make it hard for the ski and the skier to charge down the mountain.

3. Third, you will want to do all edging work first because it messes up the finished waxed product. Always move from tip to tail when use a file and a guide on your ski. After a few passes with the file, take your scouring pad and wipe off any metal scraping that may have been left by the file.

4. While you are edging, plug in your iron so it will be hot by the time you need it. Great, now you are ready to begin waxing. Take your iron in one hand and a small piece of temperatured ski wax in the other, and apply a thin coat to the base of the ski. Use the iron to smooth out the wax and evenly apply it to the bottom. Once this is done, you have to let the wax cool and adhere to the ski or snowboard.

5. Once we have given the ski enough time to dry (about 10 min) you are ready to scrape it. You will need a plexi-glass scraper and a scouring pad to finish the job. As with the edging, you are going to scrape tip to tail. Once you have removed the globs of wax from the base, you will take your scouring pad and buff it out. Now you can bask in the glory.

6. Your skis or boards should feel smooth to the touch and appear moist. This is a great sign of a freshly tuned ski. Now that everything is waxed go enjoy how fast and smooth turning your equipment should be.

Visit http://www.skibutlers.com/heavenly-tahoe-ski-rentals or call Sean Raftree at 530.542.1490 for more information. ---------------------------------------------------- For more information and articles on Ski Equipment, see www.bestskisource.com.