Each ski begins life long before the build process. With acute industry knowledge, James starts by figuring out not only what you like, but what you’re really going to use it for. “If you like skiing on Völkl, for example, then I know you like a stiffer ski,” he says. “And then during a dialogue I find out what you’re actually going to use it for.”

Many want that luscious powder ski but if you normally ski resorts, and only occasionally head off-piste, then there’s little point. For me, I wanted a stiff tourer capable of sticking an edge in corduroy but also floating in powder. For James, that challenge was duly accepted and he proceeds to walk me through the processes. Once all is researched and honed, he adjusts the designs using CAM software, which translates pure design into something the CNC machine can use. He also mocks up and finalises the topsheet design, which can be fully bespoke on all Nix skis.

“It’s something like seven double decker buses worth of pressure”

Nearby, James points out the printer that is finishing my topsheet; it’s a black and white film image I shot in Lysefjord, Norway, and which featured in Issue Two of Mpora magazine. “It’s a two-part printing process where you start off by printing it and then you heat it, and the image is literally sublimated into the surface of the material,” he tells.

“You start off by printing it and then you heat it, and the image is literally sublimated into the surface of the material”

This means that when the topsheet gets nicks and scratches, the image remains as it is within the material itself. The base, a bright yellow one for a punch of colour, core and topsheet are then laid out and assembled between aluminium cassettes – plates that hold everything together when it goes into the press. With touring my primary focus, James reduces weight in my skis by using a bamboo core, precisely laying carbon fibre for the necessary stiffness to hold an edge, with the use of flax sheets to act as a dampener to reduce chatter, all finished with carbon tape in specific locations to adjust how much and where the ski flexes. Using a sandwich construction, the pieces are layered together – base, carbon fibre, core, flax, carbon fibre and topsheet. It’s saturated in bio-resin as the layers are built and then it’s heated and cured in the press.

“We can drop in different tip moulds, rocker profiles, camber profiles, and then a big airbag squashes everything into shape,” says James. “It’s something like seven double decker buses worth of pressure.” After a few hours curing, it’s then a process of hand profiling the edges, grinding the base, waxing, polishing, and installing the bindings. I chose the Salomon S/LAB Shift MNC 13, the leading hybrid binding, which I find offers a better forward pivot position for smoother walking uphill, and one James himself highly recommends.

The entire process features the kind of attention to detail that can never be achieved with an off the shelf ski. A lone wolf in a huge ski industry, I wonder what James thinks when facing the big brands. “It doesn’t faze me that much,” he says. “The big difference is access to materials, as there are limited producers of ski materials. But the use of carbon fibre and flax is proper cutting-edge stuff and as it’s more expensive, it tends to take a while to feed into mass-produced skis.”

“The use of carbon fibre and flax is proper cutting-edge stuff”

The perk here is that when new materials are brought to market, it’s easy for builders like James to trial them on a small scale. But it is also the personal approach. For myself, as a customer in this case, meeting and talking to the person building my skis is one of the greatest delights. And before complaints about pricing come in, let’s quash that here. A made to measure ski from Nix starts at just £895, and a fully bespoke set from £1,675. It’s obviously not pocket change but considering both options produce a ski that is made precisely for you, the price point is altogether considerate. Plus, in an age of mass-consumerism, there’s also value in championing craftspeople, of knowing and seeing exactly where your money goes.

I leave the workshop filled with a newfound appreciation for the tool that provides me such freedom, adventure and thrill. A week later, I receive word from James that my skis are ready. “They’ve come out at 194cm and 1.9kg apiece, which is a great sweet spot for their size.” With bated breath I make my way to the workshop, and my what a sight. They are the skis I always knew I needed, and I ceremoniously name them Greta.

But Greta’s real test is yet to come, and you’ll have to wait until Issue 3 of the Mpora magazine to read about that…

“They are the skis I always knew I needed”

**********

Skis – Nix Snowsports Made to Measure Sentinel 105, from £895. Visit nixsnowsports.com and drop James a line.

Bindings – Salomon S/LAB Shift MNC 13, £450. Visit salomon.com

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