How To Prep Your Ski Gear For Spring Skiing

The depths of winter are all about enjoying deep powder days, crisp temps and cozy après sessions by a warm fireplace. Don’t get me wrong, I love mid-winter skiing more than anything, and most years, I can’t get enough of it and never want it to end. Hey, this is POWDER Magazine, after all. Luckily, though, spring skiing comes a very close second in our hearts here. Did anyone say WIGGLE?

The longer days, soft corn and slush snow, and plentiful sunshine make skiing an absolute blast, whether you’re ripping slushy groomer laps at Grand Targhee, Chair 23 laps in June at Mammoth, East Wall steeps at Arapahoe Basin, climbing and skiing volcanoes in Washington, touring the glaciers of Chamonix, or ski touring the fjords of Arctic Norway. I mean hey, who doesn’t love skiing in a t-shirt?

Skiing in the spring does take a toll on your gear, however. Here’s a few considerations to keep your skis, boots, and apparel in fighting shape, plus a few things I always carry when I’m in the mountains in the warmer months.

Tune, sharpen and wax your skis!

There’s absolutely nothing worse than dropping into your favorite line in soft, slushy snow only to have your ski bases glop up and not slide at all. It’s happened to everyone, but the key to preventing this is properly tuning and waxing your bases, and making sure your edges are nice and sharp. While your ski bases might look flat to the naked eye, they’re actually covered by hundreds of microscopic channels that are cut into the base material during the tuning process. On a brand-new or freshly tuned ski, you’ll see that base actually has a visible pattern. That pattern is cut into the base material using a special tuning machine at a ski shop and is designed to hold wax and help create a thin film of liquid water between the base and the snow that lets your ski slide friction-free across the surface. It’s a similar principle to how hockey skates create a film of liquid water to glide on. Here’s a little more info on ski base structure and how it affects your ski’s performance.

The best pattern for your bases actually depends on the snow conditions. Cold, dry snow works better with a different type of pattern than warm, wet snow–so March or so is a good time to get your bases re-ground to accommodate a pattern best suited for springtime snow. Head to your shop and ask them for a warm-temp base pattern!

Choosing wax and keeping up on waxing your skis in the spring is equally as important. Wax comes in various temperature ratings, and choosing a warm-temperature wax will work best when the snow is soft and slushy. Do remember, however, that warm temp wax will likely slow you down if you do end up skiing cold snow again. Skiing abrasive spring snow will remove wax very quickly from your skis, so expect to have to re-wax your bases every few days in the spring. Want to do it quickly at home? Grab an Infrared Waxer from Mountain Flow, and never scrape your bases again.

Finally, sharp edges are especially nice in the spring, especially if you want to ski early mornings before the sun has had time to fully soften the snow. I’d recommend getting your edges tuned when you get a fresh base grind put into your skis.

Related: How To Wax Your Skis

Clean your gear!

Spring skiing means long days, tired legs, and rowdy après sessions. It’s tempting to just throw your skis and boots into your roofbox and head home from the hill after riding all day, but take a minute to knock any snow off your topsheets and bindings, and grab a rag to wipe down your bases before putting your skis away for the day. That will prevent rusty edges and frozen bases the next morning. Besides, it’ll keep everything else in the roofbox (or the back of your Subaru) much dryer. Also, spring snow is usually pretty gross, so it will help from dust and grime building up and ruining bindings and boots.

Secondly, I’d recommended pulling your liners and footbeds out of your boots to let them air dry after a day of skiing. I often skip this step in the winter, but there’s nothing worse than putting your foot into a wet boot on an early morning in the spring. Buzz. Kill.

If you’re ski touring, do whatever you can to get your skins dry at the end of the day. If they are wet and I have a long ski down, I’ll often hang them off the outside of my pack to get a head start on drying instead of shoving them inside my pack. When I’m home, I like hanging them outside in the sun to dry.

Finally, outerwear gets pretty nasty in the spring, so it’s a great time to wash your Gore-Tex and other technical apparel a little more frequently to help it maintain its waterproofing. Here’s a full guide on how to do that, especially if you’re using Gore-Tex’s new PFAS-free ePe membranes.

Related: The 10 Best Resorts for Spring Skiing This Season

What type of outerwear is best for spring skiing?

Speaking of apparel, spring skiing is a great time to wear less. Whether you want to channel your inner Chelsea Handler and ski in a bathing suit is up to you, but I know that it’s pretty damn fun to ski in a short-sleeve party shirt on a hot spring day.

On hot days, I usually skip the baselayers, and just wear running or yoga shorts underneath my Gore-Tex ski pants. In the resort, I like the extra protection of hardshell pants, and will generally wear a long-sleeve baselayer directly underneath a hardshell or softshell jacket. When ski touring, springtime is all about the softshells for me–it’s a great time to take advantage of the added breathability and flexibility of softshell material. I’ll generally carry a small, packable hardshell jacket in my pack for emergencies, but it almost never comes out.

What skis should I choose in the spring?

This is a question I get asked a lot, and my answer is “it depends.” Personally, I really enjoy skiing a fat, playful ski through slushy snow in the resort–it gives me enough platform to push the snow around, float over manky/grabby snow, stomp airs, and generally have the most fun. Skinny skis are fun when things are firm, but I find they get hung up and are much harder to ski when the snow is soft and slushy. Wide skis are much better at battling that dreaded trap-door effect of snow that doesn’t get a good overnight re-freeze.

Beyond waist width, some things I consider in ski choice for spring resort skiing are stiffness and shape, but that’s absolutely up to your personal preference. In these conditions, I’m a fan of relatively soft, floppy skis with a lot of tip and tail rocker like Atomic’s Bent 110 skis, Salomon’s QST X or Blank, Line’s Bacon series, or K2’s Reckoner skis. Stiff, damp skis aren’t nearly as necessary in the spring, because the soft, malleable snow itself provides the suspension.

Conversely, if I’m ski touring in the spring, I tend to opt for a 95-100mm waisted ski that’s light and relatively stiff. Depending on where you ride, spring ski touring tends to mean skiing with a heavier pack to carry glacier gear or technical equipment like ice axes and crampons. A stiffer ski helps me stay in control with a heavy pack, and the mid-waisted ski performs best across conditions ranging from firm, frozen surfaces to slushy midday corn snow. Don’t forget your ski crampons!

Related: Bucket List Trips: The PNW Volcano Spring Roadtrip

What extra stuff should I carry in the spring?

At the resort, I don’t carry much extra in the spring, except for way more sunscreen, lip balm, and a small tin of rub-on ski wax. If I’m skiing without a pack, I’ll carry a small half-liter soft flask water bottle in my jacket or pants to stay hydrated–I get thirsty when I’m hot!

In the backcountry, my technical kit depends on the day’s objective, but I’ll add an extra buff, skin wax, and a small water filter or water purifier to my pack. I always carry avalanche gear, even in the spring when avalanche danger is low–you just never know. Besides, having a probe is useful for probing for cornices or crevasses, and a shovel can be used for all kinds of things. Want to shave weight? Try the PurePeak Avalanche shovel. It’s the lightest fully-rated shovel in the world. A water purifier is really nice to have when my ski tour involves stream crossings! That way I don’t need to carry more than a liter of water at a time, and can safely refill it with clean water later in the day.