I own two aprons.
One is for cooking, and the other is to wear when I work on toys.
or I wonder if he knows that its possible to use two-part epoxy without getting it all over everything?
I dont know what it is about working on my own gear, prepping it for the season.
But working with my hands brings a special kind of clarity.
It always takes me a minute to get back into the zone.
But once I find my rhythm, Im in my own little world.
As I tune my skis I get lost in rambling hypotheticals like a stoner trying to explain fractals.
Where does a ski turn truly start?
Does it start when I roll my ankles over inside my boots, shift my weight to the side?
Does it start with my attitude when I got off the lift?
Does it start with how well I waxed my skis last fall?
Does it start with the experience someone was trying to distill when they built those skis?
Does it start with the life of every snowflake thats displaced by that turn?
The world spins and I repair core shots.
How well I detune this edge will affect countless turns, slashes, and spins over the coming weeks.
Binding mounts are different, more analytical.
But theres something personal about printing out the template, or better yet, reverse engineering my own template.
Skiing is engineering after all.
My skis are waxed.
New bindings mounted, DINs adjusted, AFDs checked, and edges detuned.
There are fresh stains on my apron as I look up from my tasks with a clear head.
Its overcast, and the first few snowflakes of the year are dancing toward the ground.
Theyre stacking, building a base, getting ready for those first turns.
