Unusual design from Colorado's Wagner Custom Skis is featured in the New York Times
Pete Wagner of Wagner Custom Skis -- one of five Colorado-based ski builders featured in our January 2012 cover story on the local "microbrew" ski scene -- caught the attention of The New York Times' Technology section over the weekend: his small factory and design shop in Placerville (near Telluride) is featured in "The Bespoke Ski, Shaped by Science."
Wagner Custom Skis
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Times reporter Nicole LaPorte emphasizes Wagner's "Skier DNA" design software and his streamlined process, and one quote from Wagner helps explain why he and his peers have been so successful at building a cottage snowsports industry in Colorado: "It's a combination of 21st-century, computer-controlled milling and manufacturing equipment and old-world craftsmanship and attention to detail," Wagner says.
The Times reports that business is up -- Wagner made more than 1,000 pairs of custom skis last season, with a starting price of $1,750 per pair -- but that he hasn't lost track of what's important in life.
"We have a powder-day clause at our shop," Wagner says, when asked if he still finds time to ski. "If the Telluride Ski Resort reports five inches or more, then we come in to work at 1 o'clock."
Wagner, incidentally, served as our insider source for how to make the most of a visit to Telluride in the 2012-2013 edition of The Edge, our annual Winter Activity Guide.
For more on Wagner Custom Skis, here's some gratuitous ski porn directed by Ben Knight of Felt Soul Media and Sinuhe Xavier:
Step Up from Wagner Custom on Vimeo.
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