Now that you've had some experience on the slopes, it's time to learn a skill no skier can live without . . . knowing how to wax skis. Although retail and rental shops can sometimes give your skis a professional hot-wax job, they will charge for their services, and it can easily become an expensive habit. Use only special waxes designed for ski bottoms, not candle wax or other substitutes.

1.Start off by wiping the bottom of your skis with a dry cloth to remove any foreign particles.

2. Lean the skis in a vertical position with the bottoms facing outward.

3. Start off with the first 10 inches, running the bar of wax up and down, not in a horizontal motion. When the area is completely coated with wax, continue to the next 10 inch segment, being sure to overlap the end of the original section to ensure the entire surface is being waxed.

4. Continue the process until the entire ski has been thoroughly coated, then perform the same on the other ski.

5. Once both skis have been coated once, go over them again to check for areas that you might have missed the first time.

6. Some skiers like to go over the wax with a cloth to sort of "buff" the bottoms and remove excess wax. You need not worry about excess wax on the bottom or sides, as such clumps will come off in the first five minutes of skiing just from the snow.

Generally speaking, it is good to wax your skis after every three full days of skiing. For this reason, be sure to bring along extra wax on those long multi-day ski trips. If you've been skiing over rocks and ice for several years on the same pair of skis, it is definitely worth taking them to be sharpened. Sharpening raises your level of control in difficult conditions, and can be done by any ski shop.

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