Wouldn’t it be cool if you could just build your own skis? Rip a nice big hole in the bottom of your all-mountain skis? Just build new ones! Need a super wide powder ski for an unexpected powder day coming up? Make that 120mm ski, you can do that!
Honestly, if you’re a skier who grew up doing any sort of woodworking or general workshop work, you’ve probably thought of building your own pair. I grew up with extremely little workshop experience, but I still dream of slapping together my own set. Unfortunately, the equipment needed to build an actually useful pair of skis is extremely expensive and not very easy to get your hands on, basically making it impossible unless you have access to an existing ski shop with the necessary tools.
Getting access to something like that usually means working in a place like that, or at least being really close to someone who works in a place like that, which most of us probably aren’t. If you’re spending a bit of time in the Chamonix Valley, though, and have a few days to spare, you can head over to Ronin Skis, where Build Your Own Skis experiences are available.
YouTuber and IFMGA guide Dave Searle went to Ronin Skis to build his own skis, and he filmed it all and shared it with the world. So far this is just a part one, so he doesn’t actually finish the skis in the video, but it is pretty darn interesting to see the early stages of the process.
“In this video we meet Jonno, the owner and creator of Ronin Skis Chamonix (https://www.roninskis.com/) and we begin the process of making my Custom 108 LTE skis. The process was fun and rewarding and I learnt loads about ski building and sustainability in the ski building industry. I would strongly recommend checking out their ski range and remember you can also build your own ski’s in Chamonix.“
Related: Skiing on a Budget: 15 Ways to Save Money While Skiing This Winter
Image Credit: Dave Searle via YouTube