really even think about the physics of skis.

What's important is having the right geometry,

that's things like the right length and width.

And then, creating a ski that is forgiving

when you need it to be,

but is still smooth and stable

if you're skiing fast or in challenging snow.

We're making skiing more enjoyable and easier for people

by putting them on their perfect equipment.

My name is Pete Wager and I'm the CEO and founder

of Wagner custom skis.

We're a custom ski manufacturer

based in Telluride, Colorado.

We can start with the top sheet of the ski,

that's the graphics that goes on the top of the ski.

That's printed out on just a very large-scale printer

onto a piece of paper that's the full length of the ski.

That piece of paper goes into a press

where the ink goes into the nylon top sheet material.

We do that through a bunch of heat and pressure.

We have stock top sheet designs.

Those are basically graphics that artists have created.

And then we do custom graphics.

Everything from illustrations to cool photographs.

Another step would be the cores.

The cores are vertically laminated hardwoods.

The core of the ski keeps the main structural layers,

which are either fiberglass or metal,

it keeps those two separated.

The further the structural layers are apart,

the stiffer the ski is,

and the closer they are together,

the more flexible the ski is.

If we're building like a race ski or a carving ski,

we'll use a maple and ash core.

That creates a really heavy core

that really likes to hold an edge

and sort of plow through things when you're skiing.

Next, the cores will go to the CNC machine,

where a router moves in three dimensions to shape that core.

So it's thicker in the middle

and it's thinner on the ends.

The CNC moves a very small knife

and cuts the perimeter of the ski.

It also cuts the base material.

The base material is a very hard plastic.

Next, we have to clean off the flashing from the core.

The CNC machine can't completely cut through the core

so it gets finished up by hand.

And then the steel edges are flame treated.

That's done with a small torch.

Next, the steel edges of the ski are attached by hand

to the base material

using some super glue and some special tools

that we've developed to further bend the edge

really precisely to fit the base shape of the ski.

Our building is located in a recycled gas station.

This was the gas station during the mining days here.

And it's got a big red Alamo star out front,

and it reminds me of old Colorado.

It's very unpretentious.

It definitely keeps things real for us.

We're just skiers who are

happy to be sharing our craft with people.

Next, we call it the dry layout process

where we stack all the individual parts in reverse order

so that we can begin the wet layout process

where wet out a layer, add another layer,

wet it out, add another layer, wet it out.

All the individual parts of the ski

are essentially glued together

until the sandwich is constructed.

And then the skis are pressed.

It's a machine that we've essentially built ourselves

here in house.

It's a pneumatic press.

Different tip block

because it's a different rise in the tip.

There's no company that builds ski-making tools, really.

You know, a lot of these machines

are things that we've dreamt up and made ourselves.

End block spacers dictates the length of the press

for the skis.

I really like that better than actually making the skis

is building the machines that make the ski.

The press is the main process

where everything really comes together

and the ski becomes a ski.

As the ski is pressed, all the excess resin

is squeezed out of the ski.

It's my favorite part of the build process, for sure.

Our DNA as a company is to be very fast and nimble.

So we can go from a concept to creating the product

in just a matter of a couple of days.

It's easy for us to do different prototypes,

see how they work,

adopt them or discard them really quickly.

I love being in the southwestern corner of the state.

Just the light, dry snow that we get here.

And we can be working on a ski one day

and be out skiing it the next day to test it out.

The Telluride Valley has a very aesthetic feel to it.

It's a real nice flat valley floor

with steep vertical faces rising right from town.

Beautiful trees.

Aspen forests and large old growth pine forests.

Winter starts earlier here and it ends later.

As a skier, it's one of the best places you can be

because it's winter most months out of the year.

It snows here in July.

After the press, the two skis are in a big block.

It's almost like a diamond in the rough kinda thing.

There's a perfect pair of skis in this block

but they aren't fully realized yet

because they have to be cut out of that block.

It first involves cutting the skis out

that's done with a band saw.

The band saw blade follows the steel edge,

which keeps it from cutting the inner part of the ski.

So the ski from there goes to the edger.

The edger is a small, wet belt sander

that bevels the edge of the ski

to the customer's preference.

Next, ski leaves the finishing room

and comes back to the other side of the shop

where we've got a waxing bench.

The ski gets waxed at this point

where we iron on a really soft wax,

but it helps clean out any impurities left over

from the finishing process.

And then polish and buff the base at that point.

The final, and one of the most satisfying parts

of building the ski is pulling the top tape off

and see the sparkly top sheet underneath that.

It's great that we're able to build skis

so close to where we can test them.

One of the few places in the lower 48

that offers heli-skiing and just allows easy access

to really wild and untouched snow.

Heli-skiing allows you to

only ski perfect, untracked snow every run.

It really spoils people.

You don't have to cross anybody's tracks.

It's always bottomless or deep snow.

When we fit someone with the right equipment,

it makes skiing more comfortable,

it improves your balance, improves your control,

gives you better power,

allows you to ski with better efficiency

so your legs don't get as tired.

And what we're doing is really

making skiing more fun for people,

and ski at a higher level.

How was it?

That was good skiing.