When Spring skiing near Boston, it’s important to give your skis or snowboard a fresh edge and wax. It’s really easy and some shops will do it right there for you or have them ready the next day. You can typically just hand your gear over and trust the shop to choose the style. Once you get a bit more experienced you might prefer a specific edge, and most prefer to tailor their edge to the skiing conditions.
When sharpening your skis, you can get two basic types of edges.
An Acute Edge has a side bevel higher in degree then the base bevel, giving it an acute angle for sharper turning and better grip on icy or hard packed surfaces.
A 90 Degree Edge Bevel is more of a beginners cut, allowing you to slide and pivot easier and less likely to catch and edge. The downside of this edge is it doesn’t give as much grip on icy slopes.
Remember, when setting the base edge bevel you’re actually shaping the base of the board. Once this is sharpened, you can’t get it back. For a new pair of skis start with a 0.5 degree bevel. Typical angles will be between one and 3 degrees. To get a more advanced 1.0 degree base bevel, keep grinding away at that base bevel for tighter grip and more response. Kids and lighter skiers may find the skis hook up on turns and will want to increase the bevel by a quarter or half degree.
Don’t forget higher angles are quicker to dull and an aggressive edge will give experienced skiers the bite they need. Get your edges sharpened and come on out for great night skiing near Boston. Ski Bradford, ski close to home!
