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I have never had a ski or ski binding break. Perhaps I haven't been skiing for long enough, perhaps my skis and those of the party aren't old enough, or maybe I've just been lucky. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that one of the skis or bindings in your party could break. Here we present some ideas we've seen, heard, or read about. We stress that we have never actually used these techniques ourselves, and they should be considered hearsay. None of them would repair a ski properly; at best, they would be good enough to give you enough mobility to get home on a very large snowshoe, avoiding having to struggle through the snow on foot.
Repair of a broken ski
It is possible to purchase plastic ski tips which fit over the end of a broken ski to give some degree of mobility. Failing that, you might be able to effect a short-term repair of the ski. To use this technique, you will need the following:
- Araldite or other two-part resin
- a piece of stiff-ish metal 10cms long and slightly narrower than your ski (a metal scraper with the handle cut off will do nicely) pre- drilled with eight small holes
- 8 self-tapping screws; they should be short enough not to go through the ski at its thinnest, but long enough to grip the ski properly. Consider four short and four long screws
- Swiss Army Knife or multi-tool with an appropriate screwdriver and an awl, spike, or leather-punch.
1. If your ski has a metal edge and it is intact it may help keep the two halves of the ski together. If it has broken or twisted, you may need to either break through it by working it back and forth with your pliers until the metal fatigues and breaks, or pull it off completely. Do not use bare fingers for this.
2. Place the two halves of the ski back together. It is more likely that a ski will break forward of the binding, perhaps during a heavy impact with a solid object.
3. Place the metal sheet on top of the ski and use the awl or leather-punch on your knife or multi-tool to push some guide-holes into the top deck of the ski.
4. Warm the araldite gently before opening the packaging. Following the directions, mix the araldite up and place some on each side of the break. Gently press the two halves of the ski back together. Keep a small amount of araldite aside for later.
5. Place the metal plate on top of the ski and screw it into place over the break. You could put the screws in place, then unscrew them, pour a small amount of araldite into the hole, and them replace the screw. If possible, wait for the araldite to harden before using the ski.
Repairing broken bindings
Opportunities for repairing broken ski bindings depend on the type of binding.
- 75mm 3-pin bindings could conceivably fail at the hinge; a small piece of wire wound through the hole instead of the rivet or pin might get you home.
- If the cable on a cable binding broke, you might be able to tie a piece of accessory cord around the back of the ski boot instead of the cable.
- NNN (New Nordic Norm) bindings are complex and frankly we have no idea how you’d fix one that’s broken.
If the screws on the binding have come loose, they can be glued back in with araldite. If they have been ripped out of their holes completely, one source we have seen suggests that a golf tee, cut to the appropriate size, can be glued into the hole with araldite to use as a filler so that the screw has something to grip.
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