Hacks...or, what makes skiing easier?

[SkiNurse]

Ummm. am I the only one with a flask?

Nope. It's an essential part of any ski day.

 

[Wade]

iPhone case with a wrist strap. Makes answering texts while riding the lift not scary anymore.

Also, my so-far undiscovered secret hiding place at the base for my SkiTrax so they aren't in my pockets all day.

For the Ski Trax, you can also just tuck them into the gaiter of your pants. They’re out of the way there, it’s not really noticable that you’re carrying them, you don’t have to worry about hiding them, and you always have them with you.

 

[Nobody]

If you're a white collar worker with telecommuting privileges, take your laptop up the mountain on a work day and connect either by resort wifi or mobile tethering. Respond to the urgent stuff throughout the day, catch up on real work in the evening. Works better if there's lockers or bag check at the top so that you don't have to carry your laptop all day. Even better if you can accomplish a lot of your work on a phablet.

Been there, done that. But only when on standby call rota. It's not uncommon even nowadays to get a call from colleagues or clients...on weekends when I am not on official standby call...must thank technology for this, not!

 

[TheArchitect]

Late to the party

Bootfitter. No other hack has come close.

 

[Gatopescado]

Knowing the secret parking spots and the knowledge that you will never be towed.

 

[raytseng]

Extras that i didnt see mentioned

Boot horn, if you have tight boots this is a simple and inexpensive device. have gifted to several friends .

Getting boots off the optimal way. learning the optimal techinque and body positioning to use leverage to get your boots off so you don't pull a muscle or strain yourself or fall over. It was over a whole season of bending this way and that fighting against myself and gravity before I saw a youtube video.

My top is agree with the bootdryers/warmers though (and use with a car adapter or inverter if you're driving in)

Others
Phone warming with a batterypack. A portable batterypack works double as the charging will also put off heat to warm. If your phone is in a case it also insulates the phone There are many batteries that have a formfactor of a deck of cards and make it easy to stack and hold with the phone. The 1time disposable chemical warmers are more convenient but to me seem inherently wasteful on principle.

Glove wrist loops on all gloves. Not all gloves have wrist loops. You can just buy the hestra handcuffs separately and now have hestra style wristloops on any glove. I use with glove liners/base gloves that have touchscreen compatible fingertips that also have their own benefits.

 

[Doby Man]

The best all-time hack there is for skiing is to fake your own death and take on a new identity which will cover quitting your job, getting divorced, squashing your debts and sending your snowboarder children to the orphanage all in one fell swoop. Get a storage unit and bank account under a new fake ID in advance and start transferring your money and ski equipment very gradually so it doesn’t go noticed. During that time, start feigning morbid depression and buy a pig about the same weight as you to strap into the car with many canisters of gasoline and a lit cigarette before pushing it off your local cliff. Pulling a few teeth and putting them into the glove compartment will go a long way in throwing everybody off your "trail". Because I like both skiing and women, I’ve had to do this numerous times and have perfected the technique along the way. I just can’t eat anything that requires chewing. For a complete instruction manual for faking your own death, buy my book “Faking Your Own Death for Skiers” on Amazon.com for only $4.99.

Learn the fundamentals of:

• Proper body and weapons disposal
• Erasing your electronic footprint
• Managing DNA transfer
• Proactive manipulation of forensic investigations

My other books, “Getting Away with Murder for Skiers” and “Counterfeiting Lift Passes” are also available through Amazon.

 

[mdf]

Now THOSE are boss-level hacks!

 

[Monique]

My newest hack cost $12 and is worth it. I hang this thing in the door well latch pin and don't have to step on the seats getting to the roof box. View attachment 55606

I saw ads for these, but wondered if it would be yet another "that sounds neat" device that ends up in a pile in the corner. Good to know that it's working for you!

Getting boots off the optimal way.

Yes, by replacing the liners with Intuition wrap liners. Cracking that traditional boot open is a cinch - just pull the cuff open, and the boot gives way. Ahhhh.

 

[Monique]

This is pretty niche, but -

If you have a helmet with built-in headphones, and if those built-in headphones are corded rather than Bluetooth, and if you have an old school Apple Shuffle (no longer being made) -

I bought a 6" (maybe shorter) AUX cable and keep the Shuffle clipped to my chin strap (actually, up by the ear). Battery life is plenty for a day of skiing. Physical controls so that I don't need to look at it to pause or change volume. And I can save my phone battery for critical functions, like texting, posting to social media, and checking my accumulated vertical ;-)

 

[Scruffy]

The best all-time hack there is for skiing is to fake your own death and take on a new identity which will cover quitting your job, getting divorced, squashing your debts and sending your snowboarder children to the orphanage all in one fell swoop. Get a storage unit and bank account under a new fake ID in advance and start transferring your money and ski equipment very gradually so it doesn’t go noticed. During that time, start feigning morbid depression and buy a pig about the same weight as you to strap into the car with many canisters of gasoline and a lit cigarette before pushing it off your local cliff. Pulling a few teeth and putting them into the glove compartment will go a long way in throwing everybody off your "trail". Because I like both skiing and women, I’ve had to do this numerous times and have perfected the technique along the way. I just can’t eat anything that requires chewing. For a complete instruction manual for faking your own death, buy my book “Faking Your Own Death for Skiers” on Amazon.com for only $4.99.

Learn the fundamentals of:

• Proper body and weapons disposal
• Erasing your electronic footprint
• Managing DNA transfer
• Proactive manipulation of forensic investigations

My other books, “Getting Away with Murder for Skiers” and “Counterfeiting Lift Passes” are also available through Amazon.

There was a guy from Whiteface that could have used your book

 

[Dave Marshak]

I searched this whole thread, and I can't believe no one mentioned chairlifts. Chairlifts make skiing easier.

mm

 

[Banzaibikes]

Bright colored small dry bag to fill w snow...and a few cans of beer. Kills me to pay 9$ for a beer at a resort.

 

[RetroSkier]

I have the Anon magnetic face mask and Seirus has a magnamask that detaches and unhinges. The anon is supposed to magnetically attach to anon goggles but I just put some magnets on the bottom of my preferred goggles and it works fine.

I’m looking into getting an Anon face mask or balaclava because of the magnetic integration. How did you attach the magnets to your goggles and where did you find small enough magnets ?

Closest thing I’ve seen for mfi style masks but meant to work with any goggle is from North45. I can pick up sugru at Canadian Tire just not sure about the magnets.

Ideally there’d be a retrofit kit to make any goggles MFI Mask compatible. Mouldable plastic with magnets inside with adhesive to attach to underside of preferred goggles without blocking vents.

Also saw magnemask, interesting but definitely not what I’m looking for.

 

[Rod MacDonald]

I’m looking into getting an Anon face mask or balaclava because of the magnetic integration. How did you attach the magnets to your goggles and where did you find small enough magnets ?

Closest thing I’ve seen for mfi style masks but meant to work with any goggle is from North45. I can pick up sugru at Canadian Tire just not sure about the magnets.

Ideally there’d be a retrofit kit to make any goggles MFI Mask compatible. Mouldable plastic with magnets inside with adhesive to attach to underside of preferred goggles without blocking vents.

Also saw magnemask, interesting but definitely not what I’m looking for.

You can get small neodymium magnets on ebay , glue them on with superglue or other adhesive of your choice. Not all goggle frames are suitable for this though.

 

[RetroSkier]

Backpack with snacks/sandwiches , hotwater or coffee, Camera and hiking shoes/boots + ski boot carrier. Ski bag or velcro straps. Also extra gloves, beanie, thermals. Just more convenient I find.

Thermos of coffee/tea stashed in car + more food. Thermos of even cool spaghetti can be delicious after hours of skiing before the drive home.


Stay hydrated and snack on the slopes. End of day, slip ski boots off and put on winter/hiking boots. Take ski bag or velcro out of backpack and use those to carry skis but only to the car. Use ski boot carrier to carry ski boots. Just nicer being able to walk “normally” back to the car after a day of skiing.

Yes… my skis do fit in my car and AWD plus good snow tires are awesome. 99.9cm skies are a smidge easier to pack than the 200cm ones though.

ski boots will not fit in my backpack but this will.

Also, organizing everything the night before. Velcro will fit easier than a ski bag but I can fit my rolled up ski bag in my backpack.

Now to check out more hacks…

 

[AtleB]

Focus your skiing to the times with best conditions.
I generally ski from morning until lunch.
This is at my home resort though, when on ski trips I want to make the most of it and keep skiing til the lifts close or my legs shut down.
I Keep an extra merino buff and thin merino gloves in my pocket.
On really wet days I dry my goggles with the hand air dryers in bathrooms.

 

[Tony S]

99.9cm skies [sic]

Photo needed!

Eek! @mdf !

 

[Tricia]

I’m looking into getting an Anon face mask or balaclava because of the magnetic integration. How did you attach the magnets to your goggles and where did you find small enough magnets ?

Closest thing I’ve seen for mfi style masks but meant to work with any goggle is from North45. I can pick up sugru at Canadian Tire just not sure about the magnets.

Ideally there’d be a retrofit kit to make any goggles MFI Mask compatible. Mouldable plastic with magnets inside with adhesive to attach to underside of preferred goggles without blocking vents.

Also saw magnemask, interesting but definitely not what I’m looking for.

Great Bump!!
@Andy Mink started this 4 years ago and there are some things that should be revisited.

 

[Tricia]

I saw ads for these, but wondered if it would be yet another "that sounds neat" device that ends up in a pile in the corner. Good to know that it's working for you!



Yes, by replacing the liners with Intuition wrap liners. Cracking that traditional boot open is a cinch - just pull the cuff open, and the boot gives way. Ahhhh.

We have one of those for the Yukon. LOVE IT!