Best "Tune-Up" in the VT, MA, NY Area

[gooded]

I'm looking for a "Tune-Up" on my Stockli Laser AX. I purchased them new last year, and skied 42 days without any maintenance. I figure it's time for a "Tune-up" before next season. I'm afraid that if I just bring my skis to my local shop, I'm going to end up feeling like paid some inexperienced "kid" to mess up my new skis. Reading through this forum, it sounds like you guys REALLY KNOW skis, and the importance of good edges, base, etc. I'm not very knowledgeable about all of this, and don't really care/need to be, but I'm hoping you can recommend a Great Shop in my area. My home mountain is Jiminy Peak, but, for reference, I'm pretty close to Mount Snow and Stratton. I'm willing to travel 2 hours, to get a good tune, or ship my skis across the country if necessary. I only plan to do tune-ups once per year, so don't mind spending a few extra bucks to feel like I got "the best".

Last season, during a Demo Day, the Stockli rep told me there was a place near Windham that had (what he called) a Montana Grinder. He said that's what Stockli uses at the factory, and that he sends his fleet to that shop regularly to be tuned. The skis I demoed felt great, so maybe there's a place near Windham. I googled it, but there were several shops in that area, and without calling each one, I don't know which one has the Montana machines.

Please let me know your thoughts or recommendations. Maybe you think I'm being crazy. If so, please let me know why. Like I said, I'm not very knowledgeable about skis, tune-ups, wax, edges, etc. I just know I don't like paying for poor work. Thank you,

 

[Philpug]

I believe that is at the Windham base lodge, but it has been years since I have been there.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I had a similar experience with a local shop in CT. They fubared the tune on my almost new slaloms. Had my guy at Bromley fix them and never going back to CT place.

Starting gate house in wyndham was recommended to me. Not sure what they have for a grinder. Taking my skis there first weekend in October to get them ready for the season.

 

[James]

Forget what the Stockli rep has to say about machines.
Obsessing over what grinder a shop has is meaningless. I’ve seen guys do fantastic grinds with a $40k old hand fed machine, and people screw up grinds with a $400k robotic machine. The robotics can deliver fancy patterns on the structure, but it’s almost never the structure that's a problem.

About the only place I can recommend off hand now that Edgewise is gone is SkiMd outside Boston. That doesn’t mean other shops aren't capable, just their error rate is too high.

Startingate is very good btw, but it’s been years since I’ve been there. An issue in VT is keeping experienced people to run these machines.

 

[KingGrump]

Like @James said, it ain't the machine. It's the operator that makes the difference.

I remember a few years back, a shop in the Stratton area acquired a machine that costed more than $250K. Oh, the horror stories that came out of that. The machine just allows for a screw up on a faster rate with less effort.

Startingate on Rt 30 at the base of Stratton has been my go to place for years. Talk to Chance Longley. He is in charge of the service area downstairs. 2nd generation. Family owned and operated. They care and do a good job.

 

[gooded]

Thank you all, for the responses. Regarding "Startingate"; I want to make sure I understand which place you're talking about. When I search online, I see a place called "Staringate" near Statton, VT. That's a 1 hour drive for me. I'd love to find a place that close to home. The other place that comes up, is "Starting Gate Action Sports", but that's 2.5 hours south of Windham, in Pennsylvania. Which one are you two speaking of (VT, or PA, or is there another one that I'm missing)? Thank you.

SkiMD is a 2.5 hour drive, but I would gladly drive that for expert service. Their website leads me to believe they may be the perfect match for me and my family. It'd be great if I could bring all of our gear there, once a year, and have it all feel as good as new when we start the season off. I think I'll give them a call later this week and see if I can set up a time to drop off our gear, and explain what we're looking for.

Thank you for the advice, and I'm still open to ideas is anyone else has input.

Thank you,

 

[gooded]

Looks like KingGrump may have answered my question while I was typing my last response. Thank you. As intrigued as I am by the SkiMD website.....a 1 hour drive sounds much better than 2.5. I think I'll check out Startingate. At this point 3 people have recommended them....They've got to be one of the best.

Thank you so much for the help. I'm sure you've saved me years of trial and error, and a lot of headaches. Thank you.

 

[KingGrump]

Glad that we can help.
BTW, Gary Longley is one of best boot fitter around. He started the shop 40 years ago.

Word of advice - When you drop off your skis, DO NOT take you wife.

 

[gooded]

Thank you....that's another service I've been looking for. I bought my last pair of boots from Surefoot near Killington a few years ago (125 ski days). But I'll probably be in the market for another pair in a year or two.

Haha....why not bring the wife?

 

[BC.]

Thank you all, for the responses. Regarding "Startingate"; I want to make sure I understand which place you're talking about. When I search online, I see a place called "Staringate" near Statton, VT. That's a 1 hour drive for me. I'd love to find a place that close to home. The other place that comes up, is "Starting Gate Action Sports", but that's 2.5 hours south of Windham, in Pennsylvania. Which one are you two speaking of (VT, or PA, or is there another one that I'm missing)? Thank you.

SkiMD is a 2.5 hour drive, but I would gladly drive that for expert service. Their website leads me to believe they may be the perfect match for me and my family. It'd be great if I could bring all of our gear there, once a year, and have it all feel as good as new when we start the season off. I think I'll give them a call later this week and see if I can set up a time to drop off our gear, and explain what we're looking for.

Thank you for the advice, and I'm still open to ideas is anyone else has input.

Thank you,

He is talking Starting Gate in VT.....go there...a lot closer...lol

FWIW...there is a very good shop in PA (Marshalls Creek...near Shawnee Mtn.) that is also called Starting Gate that's been around since the 70's....owned by the Law family....(went to school with son..)

 

[KingGrump]

why not bring the wife?

Her new ski jacket will cost more than your Stockli.

Mamie doesn't do hardware. She will ski on anything I drag home. Or more accurately, whatever Brown brings to the door. So her "ski" shopping is a bit more focused.
Her three favorite shop in NA is Startingate, the Bogner shop in the Stratton Village and Gorsuch at the base of the Apsen Gondola.

You have been forewarned.

 

[EricG]

Haha....why not bring the wife?

Starting Gate has a large selection of Bognar and other highend ladies ski wear.

I made the mistake taking my wife there. She found a Bognar jacket she loved, but needed 1 size bigger which was available to be shipped to our house. I convinced her to skip it and got her a Helly Hansen Jacket, that lasted less than a month, she hated it. So I bought her a Obermeyer jacket she liked. She just asked me about ordering her the Bognar she really wanted last week. I told her starting Gate hasn’t opened yet... I am hoping the topic doesn’t come up again.

 

[BS Slarver]

This is the machine at Windham. If Mrs Cohen is still there (pictured ) you will be hard to find a better operator and ski tech. She personally tuned my Stocklis before the move west. At last I knew they were a Stockli dealer as well.

If your near Mass, Mike at skimd is your guy.

 

[ScottB]

MIke at SKIMD is the best and I have had probably two dozen tunes from him. I am bringing him two skis later this week. Mike also only tunes skis, he is not a ski retail shop, although he is in a ski shop. I think he has a partnership with the ski shop he is in. (Summit) Mike controls his manpower, and does a lot of the work himself. None of the ski shop "rats" touch the skis, only Mike or his "apprentices". When I get a ski back from MIke, it skis better than brand new.

Having said that, there are other shops that do very good work. The one that has been suggested to you is certainly worth a try and may be a great one. I don't have any experience or knowledge of them, so sorry I can't help with them. If they don't work out, go to Mike. You can ship your skis, but that might be costly if you have more than one or two.

 

[Karl B]

If you are having your skis serviced once annually you should probably learn how to wax them yourself, even if you use liquid wax. 42 days is quite a stretch for wax.

 

[Scrundy]

If you are having your skis serviced once annually you should probably learn how to wax them yourself, even if you use liquid wax. 42 days is quite a stretch for wax.

My thoughts too, them AX,s ski a lot nicer with sharp edges and fresh wax. I go 3-4 days then wax and touch edges. You can really tell the difference, at 40 days skier invest in at least waxing minimum.

 

[gooded]

View attachment 79513

This is the machine at Windham. If Mrs Cohen is still there (pictured ) you will be hard to find a better operator and ski tech. She personally tuned my Stocklis before the move west. At last I knew they were a Stockli dealer as well.

If your near Mass, Mike at skimd is your guy.

Thank you. One of the problems I'm having though, is understanding what people mean when they say "Windham". When I look at google maps, I don't see a ski shop at the base of Windham. There are several in the area, but none shop up at the main base area. Do you have the name of the shop, or their phone number? Thank you.

 

[gooded]

If you are having your skis serviced once annually you should probably learn how to wax them yourself, even if you use liquid wax. 42 days is quite a stretch for wax.

Good idea. I tried doing it myself a few years ago, but became frustrated, because I felt like the base was in the way of the file, and I felt like I wasn't actually getting a file on the metal, just scrubbing away at the base. I just had one of my buddies in the local ski school recommend a "hidden gem" for touch ups, (still need a real shop for annual tune). Apparently there is a homeowner near the mountain that has a ski rack near his garage. You stop by on your way home, drop your skis in the rack with a "baggy" taped to them (put $30 in the baggy and a note letting him know when you plan to pick them up). When you drive back through, your skis are back in the rack and they've been waxed and sharpened. Apparently the ski instructor use him. Sounds pretty cool for a mid season touch up.

Thank you for the input. I don't have many (any) friends that ski often, so I don't really have anyone to learn these things from (how often to wax, edges, full tunes, etc. I appreciate the ideas.

 

[gooded]

I'd love to try Mike at Ski MD, or Mrs. Cohen at "Windham", but I'm really hoping that Chance Longley at Starting Gate can fix me up. That's only an hour from the house, we LOVE Stratton (when we can afford the tickets), and one of my friends is on Safety Patrol there, so it would definitely be the most convenient if it works out. Sounds like Starting Gate got several recommendations from Pugski in this thread, so I'm leaning that way. I'll call and set up a time to meet (quickly) with Chance when I drop off the skis, so I can ask him to ensure someone qualified does the work. We'll see how it goes. Thank you all, for all your help.

 

[Scruffy]

Sports Page in Queensbury, NY

These guys are doing a bang-up job on tunes right now. I say "right now", because the quality at any shop seems to be fluid and ever changing over time; right now these guys are good. Some of the Master Racers I know are sending their skis to Sports Page, where in the past, Edgewise in Stowe was the goto place. I've gotten really good results there.

https://sportspageski.com/