Mountainside Service Center
• What is a tune-up?
You hear it around the mountain all winter “I think it’s time for a Tune-up” but many of our guests come to us asking for Tune-up not really know what it is or why they need it. In simplest terms a Tune-up is a renewal of the base and edges of your ski or board.
Your base and edges are like your car tires, to do their job, they must wear out. The job of your edges is to create control; they slice into the hard snow under you feet and hold you along a particular line. The sharper they are the easier it is for you to hold that line and create control, but as you use them they wear, get dull and a dull edge requires more effort from you to stay in control. A tune up re-establishes the edge sharpness for increased control.
Your base material is commonly known as PTEX, it’s a plastic with some very serious thought behind it. When waxed properly, your base will glide on the snow; the wax reduces friction and allows you to create momentum down, or across the hill. As you use it, your base also wears, becomes rough, the wax gets used up, and now you are working harder and gliding less. A tune-up will resurface your base by grinding away the rough surface, leaving a smoother base and reapply new wax for glide.
A tune-up, with sharper edges and smother bases will allow your ski or board to be a better tool, and require less work from you to create control and glide.
• How Often?
We look at it from how often you’ve been on the snow, not how many calendar days have passed since your last tune-up. At Mountainside our rule of thumb is after every 5-6 full days of skiing your edges are probably 30%-40% less effective, which means you're doing more work to get the same result, and the wax in your base has been used up and is gone. So if you want to make life easier on yourself, drop in for some level of base service every 4-6 on-snow days. Most basic services can be done while you wait!
• Levels of Tune-up
Side edge and Wax – The most basic of service levels. Usually performed on bases that were tuned 2 or 3 snow sessions ago and just need a touch up. No base resurfacing is done at this level, just sharpen side edges only and hot wax….$12.95
CD Edge and Wax – An upgrade to the basic edge job. Completed with a Ceramic Disc for a more precise edge. Great for more advanced performance skis and boards, or before race night.... $21.95.
Stone Grind – Your bases are resurfaced back to brand new out-of-the-wrapper condition, edges get a Ceramic Disc edge sharpen and then we wax ‘em slippery smooth. This should be done at least once a season in addition to frequent edge and wax service....$44.95.
• High performance and Race Tuning
Want more precise control, or even more glide, running Nastar or heading out west? We can take your tune-up to a higher level. Our tune tech’s are veterans, some have been with us for over 10 years, we are dialed into the latest techniques, waxes and are sought out by the fastest feet on the hill to help keep them fast. From fluorinated waxes to hand finished edges we can get it done right, stop in and talk to us, we’ll find the right combination of technology and old fashioned elbow grease.
• Do-it-yourself
It’s not too hard to keep your equipment in tune between stone grinds. We have the tools and waxes in stock for you to do the job. We run monthly hand tuning clinics for the novice tuner; we can take all the mystery out of get sharp and smooth!
Service Rates and Packages
|