Sneva’s craftsmanship produces perfect gift under this serious skier’s tree

It’s no surprise my wife, Claire Peterson, discovered the perfect gift. Claire, an especially thoughtful soul who knows me better than anyone, arranged to have T.J. Sneva create a pair of skis personalized to my specifications.

Sneva builds skis and snowboards by hand in a shop at 11120 E. Empire in Spokane Valley. His company, Sneva Mfg, offers 11 twin tip shapes this season. Specs for models ranging from pipe and park to powder pig are listed on snevamfg.com. He brought some to demo day at 49 Degrees North last week.

Sneva has a Spokane auto racing heritage. His uncle, Tom Sneva, won the Indy 500 in 1983. His dad, Jerry, also raced at Indy. A driver himself, he christens his creations with racing in mind. I settled on the 173 cm “Late Model” for its easygoing, playful demeanor – a signature characteristic of Sneva’s skis. The Late Model has the dimensions I felt comfortable with at 144/95/126 – and a glade-friendly 15-meter turning radius.

Testing the Late Model, I could quickly change the shape of my arcs with uncommon ease on hardpack. The poplar core felt lively and responsive under my 165 pounds. I figure the Late Model’s stocky figure will give me lots of float. The tapered tail should help keep the fairly tight radius from hooking in powder.

Sneva let me look over his shoulder while he built my skis. Using a flat pattern of the shape, he traced and cut base material. In a nod to the craftsman, I selected basic black emblazoned with a white Sneva Mfg logo. The edges came first. These are thin metal strips lined with fasteners that bite into the edge of the base.

Building a ski is like making a sandwich. Sneva placed the bases side by side and wet them down with a thick layer of epoxy, then laid down a layer of biaxial weave fiberglass between the edges of each base. He applied more epoxy, followed by a single layer of triaxial weave fiberglass overlapping both bases. Sneva calls this combination of fiberglass layers “penta weave.”

As much as I liked the solid poplar core in the demo, I had Sneva include a half-inch strip of stiffer maple to make my skis a little more aggressive. Instead of adding plastic sidewalls, Sneva extends the core to the edge of the ski and seals it with urethane. Another layer of triaxial weave fiberglass is laid over the core.

For my topsheet, I chose birch veneer from a selection including ash, hickory, cherry and knotty pine. My personal graphics were printed on a special paper and then sublimated into the wood. The paper and topsheet are put into a press, where pressure and 330 degrees change the liquid ink to a gas, infusing the pigment into the wood.

Another press heated to 180 degrees compressed the sandwich into a mold forming the 10 mm camber and upturned tips. A half hour later Sneva pulled the sandwich out of the press and cut the skis away with a band saw. He ground the sidewalls clean, beveled the edges, then sanded and ground the bases.

A layer of spar urethane sealed and enhanced the vintage beauty of the birch topsheet. The finish dried for a few hours, then I was able to take them home. Claire wrapped them in a big red bow and put them under the tree. They lie there this morning in repose, a true work of art, totally unique.