Y.A.S.R — Yet Another Ski Rack

It seems WildSnow has a thing for homemade ski storage. I can remember a couple of how-to articles we’ve published: here is one, and another ski rack post here. And there are probably more buried in the amazing nearly 4,000 blog posts that comprise our family web-pire. I think this has something to do with bored skiers in the off-season. I know I’m beginning to yearn for winter. Summer weather, sunny rock climbing, and dry hiking are all nice, but they don’t compare to the feeling of cold crystals under Ptex.

Completely unecessary, but kinda fun. I made a quick solidworks model of the rack. It did help me figure out the sizing, and the correct amount of materials. Those are 190cm skis for reference.

How about a project? There’s no denying it, I’ve got a sizable quiver of skis. The quiver has been leaned up against many walls, stuffed under beds, and crammed into many storage units. It was time to figure out a solution once and for all.

I had a few requirements:

1. The rack has to hold at least 15 pairs of skis, of all shapes and sizes (rockered and not, mostly ski touring but a few alpine, ranging in size from 165 to 195.)
2. It can’t be screwed into or otherwise attached to the wall. I’m a renter, and landlords tend to be draconian about how many holes are in their walls. Also, it can’t damage the wall or floor in any way.
3. Dis-assemblable. I move fairly often, and it’d be nice to be able to take my ski rack along with me without hiring a moving van.
4. Cheap and quick to make. I’ve got a small attention span, and a smaller wallet.
5. No hanging skis. I’ve never found a hanging ski rack that can handle the wide variety of rockered tip shapes out there.

The whole thing took only one trip to the home improvement store (a miracle!) and about four hours of work over two evenings. The rack now sits proudly in my basement, and holds quite a few skis and poles. I changed the design a bit from the initial CAD model pictured here, but it’s basically the same. I added some braces to the side, and some screws in the back to hang ski poles. I also moved the metal pipe back a bit, and made the dowels longer, so each slot can hold 2 pairs of fat skis. That raised capacity to a gluttonous 30 pairs of skis! If I ever reach that number in my quiver, I’ll admit I have a serious problem.

I’m happy with the way this ski rack turned out. It’s easy to grab skis and they all look quite nice displayed there. It has room underneath to store ski boots. A major space saver, it only takes up about 2.5 x 7 feet of space, and holds a ton of gear. I spaced the skis about 6 inches apart; while that works fine for tech bindings, it’s a bit tight for alpine bindings. They still fit, they just touch the adjacent skis. Who needs alpine bindings anyway?

Another view.

You’ll also need some plywood for the triangle shaped braces, and 2.5 inch deck screws (we prefer star drive) to put it all together. Add in a few felt protector pads if you’ve got concerns about scratching walls or floor.