Custom Skis, Part II: How Do You Say...?

By Catherine Lutz

[To see Part I of this blog, click here.]

I had two nearly hour-long conversations with Wagner Custom Skis founder Pete Wagner during the process of designing my ski, and have no idea how he could have possibly gotten any useful information out of them. Lacking knowledge of ski jargon (what exactly is camber, anyway?) I was flailing around the conversation, relating every topic back to what I like and dislike about my current skis -- Volkl Mantras -- and making tricky requests like, “light but punches through crud,” and “powder ski that can handle Aspen Mountain’s midwinter bumps.”

Yes, that’s right. I want a long ski that effortlessly weaves through tight bumps, a backcountry ski that can conquer a groomed, banged-up ski mountain, a fat ski that carves. I want it all.

Wagner, an unabashed gear geek, took it all in stride. In fact, he seemed to take every request seriously – never saying anything was impossible – and translated everything I said into a cohesive series of desires that he bounced off me for approval. He could have easily been a stellar psychotherapist.

That was step two of the custom ski design process. Wagner and his staff are trained experts in translating the wants and needs of the customer into a finished product. They’ve been around the block a few times, most of them logging years in the ski industry, so they actually can make most things happen.

Wagner did rein me in a couple times, brought me back to Earth in some of my requests. Hence the second marathon conversation, during which we tweaked the length and dimensions a few times – until everything was just right.

Coming soon, Part III: The Arrival