Power tools rule. But what if you’ve got more power tools than Bob Vila and his friends? Who cares!? When the desire for another tool hits deep in one’s core, there is always another gadget out there you’ve been thinking about but don’t have yet. Consider ski tuning equipment.
Over past seasons we’ve been buying too many 6-packs and baking too many cookies to trade for ski tunes. The boys down at the Gear Exchange in Glenwood Springs picked up a new ski tuning machine, and were giving away their old one for the hauling. Ah yes, hauling, now that’s something we can do.
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| Loading up at the Gear Exchange. This is a small belt sanding system without auto-feed. With practice on the part of the operator it works fine, Gear Exchange upgraded to a wider sander so they could do snowboards. Our TAV Silverado and dual axle trailer were overkill for the hauling — but nice. Would have been tough doing this with a Subraru (but probably possible given a trailer hitch and the right trailer). |
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| Once home with the rig still on our trailer an idea hit. We could haul this to trailheads, fire up a generator, and tune our skis after each fourteener descent! |
Seriously, we’ll install this rig in the famous WildSnow.com DIY shop, give it a refurb, then enjoy effortless P-tex removal. Should be useful for other belt sanding duties as well, like removing sole material to lighten rando boots. Gear exchange also gave us an edger which we’ll play around with. The base sander has a huge electric motor, we’re thinking it might brown-out the whole neighborhood when we turn it on, as in: “There go our lights again Mildred, the Dawsons must be tuning skis…” Full report once we get everything rattling and we hope turning.
By the way, Gear Exchange only gets better and better. They’ve expanded their bicycle parts and restoration into a large warehouse behind their retail store. As always they’ve got tons of ski gear for sale including good deals on used randonnee, tele and alpine. For you old-school telemarkers, know they have a big selection of leather boots. Gear Exchange: 970-945-8500 (no website).
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
