Our skis are Tuned by Robots
We employ three Swiss engineered Montana robots in our shops across Canada. These impeccably precise machines can tune either a pair of skis or a snowboard to absolute perfection. When you see them in action, the first thing you'll notice is a furious storm of sparks coming from the edges. It's a bit terrifying to witness the first time around because this process looks like the toatl destrucstion of a pair of skis. Don't be alarmed. The base grind takes off such a minuscule amount of material that it would take 20 years of regular grinding to wear through the base. And the benefits of this robotic tune base, and only 20% comes from waxing? Give these robots a chance, they won't disapoint you.
1.1 Base Grind: This process takes off a very fine layer of base material (about the same thickness as your fingerpoint), cleaning minor scratches and painting a glide-enhancing structure in your base.
1.2 Belt Grind: The Montana's next generation measurement and guidance systems grind the side edge with surgical precision, taking off just right amount of material.
1.3 Base Bevel: Using a diamond bedded stone, the base edge is polished the full length of the ski at the desired bevel angle without buring the edge.
2.1 Hot Wax: For those who demand the best glide we offer a hand hot wax. Based on the specific snow temperatures this is a sure way to make you get down the hill first.
2.2 Scrape: After the wax is dripped on, heated and deep into the pores of the base the excess is scraped off.
2.3 Brush: The final and most important part of the process is to remove all the wax in the 'structure' of the ski. Most of your speed comes from the structure not the wax.
Quality Assurance: We make sure every ski that leaves the shop is 100% perfect. We don't put the ski on a test run, but are confident that ski will not hook, catch or be over sharp. It will carve better than ever, guaranteed.
With our Swiss partner, Montana, we have updated all of our tuning facilities with three new robots in the last five years. All three robots employ the same mechanisms that result in a perfectly smooth and precisely managed structure. The edges are polished leaving only a smooth sharp edge, free of burrs which cause hooking and catching. In machines in the world that can robotically tune a snowboard. It will put a fast structure on the base while leaving it slightly raised so that the board can drift and not hook, catch or be over-sharp but will hold on ice like never before. Check out our list of locations to get a tune in store.
Artist Profile: Ed Burdick
Ed works as an industrial designer by day but ventures into the vast and nefarious world of art once the sun goes behind the mountains. Originally from Salisbury, England, he's become our own adopted Mr. Darcy (if Mr. Darcy liked a mug of tea and a spot of monkey news). Cartoons can be tricky to draw, so we're amazed that Ed pulled it off with a freshly broken collarbone straight out of the Whistler Bike park - gotta do something with that time off ghe trails!
