Milling 'hooks' and 'catches' from longer skis

A year ago I bought a new pair of skis. The weather being what it was in the East last winter, I wound up using them only half a day. And that was a half day of catching edges, hooking tips, and falling a lot. I was worried. I had gone to a bit longer length -- the current trend -- and wondered whether I had bought myself too much ski.

This winter, however, I took some good advice and dulled the tips and tails of the new skis with a millstone. Instant success! No more hooking and edge catching. Like a good horse, the skis were quickly broken in and now feel as comfortable as and more stable than my old ones.

If you have a new, longer pair of skis and you want to become acquainted with a minimum of adjustment, take a millstone and gently round the sharp, new edges at the shovels and tails. Travel just a little way down from the ends of the skis, leaving plenty of sharp edge under foot and fore and aft.

You'll have all the bite you'll need on the slopes, and you should be able to initiate turns with the longer skis without hooking the tips or catching the edges.