How to Put Your Skis to Bed for the Summer: The Ultimate Off-Season Storage Guide

Why It Matters How You Store Your Skis for Summer

When ski season draws to a close, your gear deserves a proper send-off. If you want to store your skis for the summer without delaminated topsheets, dry bases, or rusted edges. Spending a few minutes giving your gear an end-of-year overhaul preserves your investment and ensures you can skip the frantic pre-season shop lines when winter returns.

• Related: Your Ski Gear Needs This Before You Store It for Summer

So here’s a step-by-step, how-to guide on how to properly store your skis for the summer:

Step 1: Deep Clean the Base and Chassis

Spring skiing leaves behind a microscopic film of oil, grease, sap, and road salt on your equipment. If left untouched, these contaminants slowly eat away at the base material and hardware.

• The Wash: Spray down your setup with water to lift surface grit. Grab a rag and a specialized citrus base cleaner to cut through stubborn soot and wax buildup.

• Avoid High Pressure: Keep jet sprays away from the bindings to preserve internal factory lubricants. Ensure the entire setup is bone dry before moving forward.

Step 2: Smooth Out Edge Imperfections

Examine the steel edges for any nicks or rough spots caused by late-season rock encounters. Small burrs retain moisture, creating a breeding ground for rust during humid months.

• Polishing: Run a fine diamond file or a specialized rubber gummy stone along the side and base edges.

• The Goal: You aren’t reshaping the edge angle; you are simply polishing away micro-rust and rough spots so the steel remains intact over the summer.

Step 3: Seal with a Thick Protective Wax Barrier

The single most effective defense against base degradation is a thick layer of unscraped hot wax, which seals the base material from exposure to air.

• Application: Melt a soft, warm-weather or universal base wax onto the ski with a tuning iron, spreading it thickly from tip to tail.

• Skip the Scraper: Leave the thick layer completely intact. This protective skin shields the porous base material from moisture and oxygen, keeping it hydrated and protected until winter.

Step 4: Choose the Right Place to Store Your Skis for Summer

Where you place your gear matters just as much as how you treat it. Fluctuating temperatures and damp air are the primary enemies of high-performance ski materials.

• What to Avoid: Keep your gear out of uninsulated spaces like attics, damp crawlspaces, or backyard sheds, where heat spikes can damage epoxy layers and humidity causes rust.

• The Sweet Spot: Store your gear inside a temperature-regulated closet or beneath a bed.

• Stance: Keep them resting flat or standing straight up on their tails. Avoid fastening them tightly together with restrictive ski straps that compress the built-in camber or rocker shapes, which can warp the wood core over extended periods.

When the temperature drops and winter returns, you will only need to scrape away the protective wax shell, give the bases a quick brush, and head straight to the slopes.

• Related: The Fisherman With a Ski Tuning Service in His Van

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