How to Store Cross Country and Telemark Gear for Summer

Ready to put your skis, snowboards, and boots away for the offseason? In this “How to Store Your Snowsports Gear for the Summer” series, members of the 2024-28 PSIA-AASI National Team share their pro tips.

Here, PSIA Cross Country Team Coach Zeke Fashingbauer and PSIA Telemark Team member Keith Rodney share their offseason storage insights. And don’t forget to check out tips from members of the Adaptive, Alpine, and Snowboard Teams. (Pro Tip: Bookmark or print this content for annual use and scroll to the bottom for specific offseason wax recommendations from PSIA-AASI Official Supplier Toko).

Remember that, for safety reasons, certain adjustments should only be made by people with experience. If, for example, you’ve never adjusted a binding, get some guidance before going it alone. This series is not meant to teach you exactly how to tune equipment but is to remind you not to store your gear by tossing it into a corner and then forgetting about it for several months. Happy summer!

Cleaning and Waxing Your Cross Country Skis

According to PSIA Cross Country Team Coach Zeke Fashingbauer, cross country skis get sad if you just chuck them in the garage. He recommends a thorough brushing and hot scrape to clean dirt and residue common in late season snow.

He also suggests you clean off any klister or kick wax as, “This will set up like epoxy in the rafters of your garage if left on the skis,” adding that he preps his skis with the glide wax he plans on skiing first in the fall.

Zeke likes to store his skis in a clean space or in a ski bag to keep the dust off, and his boots get dried, zipped up, and stored neatly to reduce deformation. However, some of his more well-worn gear is still ready to go, as he rotates older boots in for roller ski season. Pole tips also get switched to roller ferrules and its game on.

Waxing Your Tele Skis and Taping Turned-Down Bindings

PSIA Telemark Team member Keith Rodney gets his skis ready for the offseason by doing a hot wax and scrape to make sure he takes off any dirt or grime that occurs in late season skiing in the East.

Next, he does a 30-degree wax for the fall, putting a heavy coating on and making sure the wax covers the edges. He then irons it on, but does not scrape or buff.

After the wax cools, he straps the skis together so that the camber of the skis does not get affected for the upcoming season. He then places a piece of tape on his bindings so that he knows they’ve been turned down.

During the summer, Keith likes to have his equipment standing vertical, with a rack system that allows him to lean his skis against the wall. Finally, he adds lubrication to any screws or springs on his telemark equipment, typically WD-40.

***

Need some tools to help get your gear ready for the offseason? Ian Harvey, head tech of Toko, says Base Performance Red is Toko’s recommendation for summer storage wax. It’s a mid-range wax that’s the perfect hardness for storage waxing. He adds that if wax is too soft, it gets eaten up over the summer. If it’s too hard, the wax doesn’t seal the air and dust out very well. The Red is just viscous enough and just hard enough to be a perfect storage wax.