I just climbed up from the basement, after waxing my Spatulas so I can get up a little speed in all this new snow. It was the first time I waxed my skis in, oh maybe… 8 years. I used to wax and tune all the time when I was living on the East Coast, but once I moved out west, perfect bases didn’t seem as important. Slathering a coat of wax on my skis reminded me of the instructional articles that I wrote for REI.com this fall on waxing and base repairs. Waxing your own skis is pretty simple and it saves you money and puts you in touch with your equipment. All you need is an iron, some wax, a plastic scraper and something (like a big rubber band) to hold the brakes back. Try to warm your skis up first, the warmer the bases, the better the wax will adhere. Check out the articles for details.