The art in skiing

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Story Published: Jan 8, 2009 at 11:43 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jan 9, 2009 at 12:41 AM MDT

By Mary Sturgill

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JACKSON, WY - This week I went to Jackson, Wyoming for I-Witness Idaho. You know ski season is in full swing and I found a group of guys who may just have the best job in the world.

Skiing is art in motion, but I'm not talking about the skiing. I'm talking about the skis. The guys at Igneous Skis in Jackson are taking the sport to a whole new level by making wooden skis. Not only are the skis beautiful, but their performance is spectacular as well.

"Skis are all made as a pair and this is one of the first steps in the layout process is fitting all the parts together, everything is done by hand. The idea is that you fit every part by hand and all the parts fit together really well, they're not likely to come apart." says Igneous Head Engineer, Mike Parris.

And believe me these guys really put their skis to the test.

"I get to go out and ski everyday on different pairs of skis and see how they perform," says Parris.

He adds, "since we're making them by hand and in small quantities, we spare no expense."

It all starts with an interview.

"I'll talk to you about where you ride, how you ride, what you're expecting to get out of a ski. Everything we make is custom. There's no, like stock, or inventory on hand. Every pair is made for a specific rider," says Parris.

In addition to being completely tailored to the client, their style and level of skiing or boarding, each pair of skis or board is made with love and precision.

"Basically taking off any little bit of base, extra base or some of the glue that gets left over," say Igneous President, "Mot" Gatehouse as he works on a snowboard.

So I ask Parris, "what do you want people to know about Igneous Skis?" He replies, "I'm not sure I want them to know about Igneous Skis."

All joking aside, it is quite a balancing act between work and play.

"Definitely no making money involved really, more of a labor of love at this point," says Parris. And if you are a ski bum, you can't beat that life.

If you want a pair of Igneous Skis, they're gonna cost you around 12-hundred dollars and you may wait a while, since they are made by hand. For more information you can go to www.igneousskis.com.

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