Hands down, the most favorite time to travel to the mountains was March. But it was because everyone like the warmer temperatures and more daylight. Many also said they like to extend their ski and snowboard season because it usually ends the first week of March in the Midwest.

The next favorite time was February for the same reason, a little warmer and more daylight than January but with a possibility better snow conditions than in March. We also got a lot of responses for early December and early April because prices on lodging were a lot lower than the rest of the season and the slopes wer not as croweded.

What we found strange was not one person mentioned January as the month to go on a vacation. Our guess was because it’s so cold and many of us are trying to recuperate from the holidays.

Use this handy ski and snowboard trip checklist to make sure you bring the proper gear on your trip.

Hope this helps you plan our next trip!

Five testers from Alpine Accessories Ski and Board shop went to the Winter Park Demo Days to test the new 2010-2011 equipment from Salomon, K2 and Atomic.  We needed to see ourselves if rocker works before placing orders for next season. After testing, all our testers agreed that rocker allows skis and snowboards to initiate turns easier. So much, that some testers didn’t want to give them back and keep them.  Look for a new trend in equipment.

Pictured here is Ryan, Rick, Laurie, Craig, Ryan and Salomon rep Brian Crespo!

Pictured here is Craig, Rick, Ryan and Ryan

• I never wear my ski socks when I drive to my destination because they’ll be damp when I arrive. Instead, I put them on when I arrive. This way my socks are dry which help my feet stay warm.

• I have a heated boot bag which plugs into my car as I drive to the slopes. When I arrive, my boots, socks, headliner, gloves and helmet are nice and toasty.

• I use my expedition weight base layers and lots of heat packs on cold days to stay warm.

• My zippered neck warmer. It doesn’t allow the heat in my ski jacket to escape and if I get too warm, I can unzip it to vent.

• I recommend anyone that gets cold hands and feet to get battery heated gloves and battery boot heaters. It’s the best investment I’ve ever made to stay warm. I also use them for sitting during football games.

• If I ate before I went on the slopes, I got cold easier. Now I don’t eat until I’ve been on the slopes for a few hours. I also drink a cup of hot chocolate before going out. This gets me warm.

• I’m too old for cold days. I only ski when it’s above 20 degrees and sunny. This way I don’t get cold.

• I cover up any bare skin when I board. Most of the time no one can tell who I am because I have on so much clothing.

• I wear mittens on real cold days and gloves on other days.

• It’s simple, I go inside when I get cold.

• My feet always got damp then they got cold. Someone told me to spray my feet with antiperspirant to keep my feet dry. Try it!

• My Descente jacket and pants. Never again will I cheap out on ski  clothing. I like staying warm.

• I read somewhere if you keep your body core warm, the rest of the body will stay warmer. So I bought a battery heated vest and guess what, it keeps me much warmer!

• When I go boarding on real cold days, I keep moving and get aggressive to work up body heat. If I stop, I get cold.

• They say heat arise so I always wear a hat or helmet.

If you have any further suggestions on how to stay warm, post them here on our blog!

Here are 6 employees that attended!

Rick & Laurie Pasturczak, Patrick Bean, Sean (S50) O’Meara, Rachel Pasturczak & Ashley Tidwell

Close up of one photo!

Mr Patrick Bean & Mr Sean (S50) O’Meara having a little fun!

(making everyone laugh)

Close up of the guys!

A drawing for a $100.00 gift certificate was won by Brian S. of Cary IL.  Congratulations Brian.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE

Maintaining your skis or snowboards is simple. Proper tuning ensures easy turning and control for the beginner to intermediate and more control and performance for the expert. Your tuning efforts will assure you of all the performance and enjoyment your equipment has to offer.

TUNE IT YOURSELF

It’s one of the easiest things you can do to keep your equipment performing like new. Before you start, you’ll need some basic tuning equipment.

Basic tuning equipment should contain:

A ski/snowboard Mill bastard 8″ or 10″ file (Do not use a file from a hardware store. Your edges are made of much harder steel than these files.)

• File cleaner
• Steel scraper
• Plastic scraper (heavy duty)
• Base repair candle, black or white to match bases
• Base wax
• Base cleaner
• A deburring stone or pad

If you get more involved, invest in a vice, brake bands, true bar, beveler, hot wax iron and temperature wax. Once you have your basic tuning equipment, here are some steps on how to go about it.

PREPARATION

Find a well ventilated area to work on your equipment such as a garage or basement workbench. It’s best to wax on a bench over a concrete floor as you’ll probably get some wax drippings which are next to impossible to get out of a carpet.

Make sure your equipment is at room temperature and clean before work begins. Remove old wax and dirt from the bottoms with a good base cleaner. DO NOT use gasoline or household cleaners as they can damage your bases. If you are doing filing, make sure your equipment is secure with a vice.

BASE REPAIR

Remove any loose material by scraping it away with a metal scraper. Clean the gouges then fill by dripping a polyethylene base repair stick in the gouges. Start by lighting the base repair stick with a match or lighter. Once lit, keep the flame low by holding the base repair stick close to the metal scraper. Make sure to rotate the repair stick while it’s lit on the metal scraper until the flame is blue and carbon (black soot) free. Then drip the base repair stick into the damaged area. It’s best to fill a little at a time and in layers until the gouge is full. Allow the repair to cool completely and then level excess with the metal scraper. Large damaged areas are best left to a shop that have the proper tools and experience.

EDGE REPAIR

Damage caused by rock impact can be removed from the edge by using a file or deburring stone. Use the file and stone alternately until the edge is smooth before you move to normal filing procedures. If the edge has pulled away, it’s best have a specialty ski shop do the repair.

BASIC SHARPENING

To enhance control and performance of your equipment, use the file to make the bases flat and the edges sharp. Place the file between both hands and pull the file in one direction only with overlapping strokes. Keep the file flat by placing your thumbs on the file where the file touches the edges. Always try to file from tip to tail. If you can not, your last strokes with the file should be from tip to tail. Keep the file clean with the brush to maximize cutting and prevent the filings from being forced into the base. More advanced tuners will bevel their edges at this point to increase control and performance. This is done by using bevel sleeves or bevel tool. NOTE! The file cuts in one direction only. Drawing it backwards quickly dulls the file. To cut, move the file away from the tang (pointed end). When tuning your equipment, work in an area such as the garage or basement where excess wax and metal shavings can be cleaned easily off the floor. Also, tuning vices are recommended to secure your equipment while you work on them.

HOT WAXING:

There is no substitute for a good hot wax. This allows you to turn easier, glide faster and adds to base durability. Rub on waxes or liquid waxes last for a few runs to a day but don’t offer the protection a hot wax can offer. You require very few tools and for the cost, it’s the best thing you can do for your skis or snowboard.

Before starting,

Make sure your skis or snowboard are up to room temperature. It’s best to wax on a bench over a concrete floor as you’ll probably get some wax drippings which are next to impossible to get out of a carpet. Then secure your gear in a vice. Next, clean your base with a base cleaner or wax remover. DO NOT use gasoline as this can damage your base. Select a proper wax according to the temperature or use a good universal wax.
Using the proper base cleaner to clean your bases is important to a good long lasting finish.
Using anything else can leave a residue which would get waxed into your bases damaging them. The Swix base cleaner will quickly remove wax residue and slope grime from ski and board bases without damaging the bases. The Swix base cleaner is a natural cleaner possessing exceptional strength and versatility. It features a blend of undiluted solvents; each 100% active and 100% biodegradable. The base cleaner is safe for the user and safe for the high end equipment we use.

The base cleaner comes in a 5 fluid ounce aerosol can and easy to use by just spraying on and wiping off.

Don’t use a rag or paper towels to clean your bases. When using a rag or paper towels, they leave a residue or lint. This residue and lint can then be waxed into your bases effecting your hard work and bases.
Swix’s Fiberlene towels are lint free to eliminate fibers from sticking on your bases when removing base cleaner and old wax. You should use Swix’s aerosol base cleaner along with the Fiberlene towels as they are designed to work together.

1. Select the iron temperature (usually between 115 – 120 degrees) that enables the wax to drip off the iron but does not cause the wax to smoke. If the wax is smoking, turn down the temp! Hold the wax against the bottom of the iron and drip the wax onto your base. Use less wax at first as you’ll have less to scrape off later. You can always add more wax until you get the feel of it.
   

   Melting ski wax

   After you drip the wax from the iron, it should form little spots on your base.

   Melted wax on skis

   

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2. After you drip the wax on your bases, start melting the wax drips with the iron and smooth the wax into the bases. (You do not have to wait for the wax to cool.) Make sure you keep the iron constantly moving. Moving the iron too fast will not allow the wax to melt. Take care that no area gets too warm as you can damage your base.
   When done correctly, the melted wax will look like a thick layer of clear water on your base. Make sure the entire base is covered.

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3. After a complete cooling, (about 20 minutes) use a plastic scraper to remove the excess wax from the base. Keep your scraper at a slight angle. Also, don’t forget to scrape the excess wax from the sides.
   TIP! Keep your scraper sharp! A sharp scraper will remove excess wax much easier.



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4. Many skis and snowboards are tuned with a stone grinder and have a structured base. (These are the fine lines in your bases.) This structure allows the base to glide over the snow easier.When you wax your bases, these lines are still filled in by the wax after you scrape. By using a buff pad or brush, it will remove the excess wax the scraper failed to get and will give you the final finish.

How often should you wax? If the slopes conditions are old, coarse and icy, every 3 days MAX! If slope conditions are soft and fresh, you can probably go 5 days before applying a wax. You really can’t wax your equipment too much, so its best to do it more than less.
Recap! Hot waxing adds needed material to your bases that are lost from friction, environment, exposure and use. A hot wax allows your skis or snowboard to glide easier allowing you to turn easier. A hot wax will protect your bases from damage.

For Snowboards nose guards work great to protect your board!
We installed noseguards on the tips and tails of a board. Then the board was tossed out of a car going down the road at 60 miles an hour. The board had scratches but the tips and tails were fine. When you look at skis, almost all have some type of tip and tail guards. But for some reason, board manufactures haven’t gone this route. Possibly because of cost but whatever the reason, boards are unprotected in the tips and tails. Whenever we rest and stand our boards on the ground, it usually gets nicked. Especially if we put it on concrete or asphalt. But you can protect your board with a kit which includes two guards. One for the tip and one for the tail. The noseguards are black in color and install easily. Everything you need is included.

AFTER USE

After your done skiing or snowboarding for the day and before you store your gear, you should wait until your equipment warms for about ten minutes then wipe dry with a cloth to remove dirt, salt and moisture. This will help keep rust from forming on your edges. You should inspect your equipment carefully and look for any damage that might have occurred during use. Sometimes a few quick strokes of the stone or file is all that is required to restore the tune. Store your equipment in a cool, dry place, away from heat sources and concrete. Keep your bottoms separated when storing your skis with a strap or other means. The care that you give will increase both your enjoyment and life of your equipment.

TRAVELING WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT

To protect your equipment while traveling, we recommend the use of a padded bag to protect your investment in both equipment and labor. Proper protection will prevent road grime and baggage handlers damage. Always keep your bottoms separated while traveling with a strap or other means.

We stock a variety of tuning equipment. Visit our tuning equipment section for a selection of tuning aids.

Also find a great selection of bags to protect your skis in our <a
href=”http://www.alpineaccessories.com/SKI-BOARD-and-BOOT-BAGS/depart

High altitude and you.

Approximately 40% of us that travel to resorts with elevations of 6,000 feet or get symptoms of altitude sickness or AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Within the first 3 days, you can experience headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, poor appetite and insomnia. Many who go on trips to the mountains experience some of these symptoms without knowing what causes them. Altitude sickness can look and feel like the “flu”. In more severe cases, thinking and judgment may become impaired and about 1% of these people will develop more serious conditions and can become fatal.

Things you can do to help prevent altitude sickness.

1) Gradually increase in altitude.
Many times this isn’t possible because we fly to the mountains but if you can stay around 5,000 feet for a day first, this may help.

2) Reduce strenuous activities for the first few days.
Give your body a chance to adjust. This may be hard to do because we want to start skiing or snowboarding right away but relaxing the first day can help.

3) Avoid alcohol, sleeping pills, narcotics and hot tubs.
These decrease ventilation, intensify hypoxemia, help dehydrate and make symptoms worse.

4) Take a prescription medication.
Diamox has been shown to speed up the acclimatization process but see your doctor for this.

5) Take oxygen!
Home oxygen is safe, cheap and easy to use. Take oxygen before bed when symptoms are worse.
Take on a regular basis during the day. Example: 3-5 breaths after after every meal.
Also take during the day as symptoms dictate.
Alpine Accessories offers portable personal oxygen systems.

Once symptoms occur, they may improve over several days. However, if symptoms do not improve, they may be relieved with the administration of oxygen or descent to a lower altitude. When in doubt, see a physician.