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.

Ski Helmets

By Mark Kempster

Ski Helmets are becoming the norm for most skiers on the slopes. A few years ago the only people that had a ski helmet on were those you might have regarded as the more extreme or off-piste skiers. Now it is quite the norm to wear a helmet whilst skiing or snowboarding.

A helmet will protect your head from most falls or collisions with other skiers or obstacles. Your head and ultimately your brain are the most important parts of your body to consider protecting from an injury. Damage to your head or brain can have serious injury implications, which in some case can be terminal. Not wearing a helmet while skiing can have some serious effects on your health should you be involved in even the slightest accident and hit your head in some way. The sad death of Natasha Richardson earlier this year is a grim reminder that not wearing a helmet really can have terminal consequences. There are many factors surrounding her death including the length of time it took for her to receive treatment but one thing is for sure, and that is had she been wearing a helmet, the damage to her head and ultimately her brain may not have been so severe. Natasha Richardson is not the only high profile person to die from a head related injury on the slopes. Other well know people in recent years include Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy.

A report from the US shows that over 7,000 head injuries in a season could have been prevented if a ski helmet was worn. The resort of Aspen has made it compulsory for the 09/10 ski season for all the employees working on the snow to wear a helmet and it is widely predicted that before long it will become compulsory in some places to wear a helmet. There is now plenty of evidence to show that wearing a helmet will reduce the injury that the head may sustain in a ski accident. There is no evidence to suggest that wearing a helmet reduces your vision or impairs your hearing in any way or makes you feel off balance.

Fortunately, helmet wearing is on the increase with latest figures showing that some 48% of adults now wear a helmet whilst skiing with a higher uptake in children and the over 65 age group. The days of wearing a helmet and feeling uncool are fortunately now gone. Wearing a helmet is regarded as the sensible option and amongst younger new entrants to the sport, is regarded in many cases as the norm.

Helmets come in all shapes, sizes and colours now and are made by most of the ski hardware manufacturers along with a number of companies that have made helmets for other sports such as cycling, skateboarding and blading. The design of helmets varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but purpose of the design is to protect the head from most sorts of ski accidents. Designs have now become quite stylish, helmets come in most colours, the most popular being black. Some helmets now have a visor integrated as part of it that will come up or down as required and negate the need for goggles.

Expect to pay around £80 - £100 for a good average helmet made by someone like Uvex who have a very extensive range of ski helmets for men, women and children. If you want top of the range, expect to pay up to £400 for a designer helmet made by a designer company. Companies like Poc make a good range of helmets that sit in the middle of the price range and again, offer all shapes, sizes and colours and some now with a fancy chin / face guard.

A good quality helmet will last many years, so think of the purchase of a helmet as an investment in your safe future.

Booking cheap holidays is not easy - you need to know where to begin! Once you understand the reasons cheapholidays exists it should be easy for you to find one! --------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information and articles on Ski Equipment, see www.bestskisource.com.

Dress to Impress Next Ski Season

By Billings Farnsworth

Even though the ski season is over, it's never too early to plan for next year. Be sure to have all of the proper ski clothing ready for your next experience so that you don't freeze or hurt yourself.

Clothing is the first part of your ski equipment that you want to make sure is right. Start with a base layer of thermal underwear to keep yourself warm. Although they do make once piece thermal underwear, wearing a thermal body shirt and pants should still do the trick. Be sure to keep your feet warm with a good pair of ski socks. Depending on which ones you get they can help keep your feet dry, warm and padded against hard impacts. Special snowboarding socks are available in certain stores. On top of that first layer you should wear a fleece jacket or sweater, a good pair of ski pants and some ski boots. Your ski boots will vary depending on the type of binding that your skis have.

Keep your head nice and warm with a ski hat or beanie. If you are an extreme skier or just want a little extra protection, there are helmets made especially for snow sports that you can pick up at specialty stores. Finish off your last layer with a quality ski jacket and gloves. Protect your hands from snow, ice and impact with a pair of specially designed ski gloves that have padding in them. With these gloves your hands will always be protected.

Park's Sportsman sells ski equipment. Billings Farnsworth is a freelance writer.

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See more on Ski Clothing at www.bestskisource.com.