New Ski Brand as Unique as an ‘Echidna’
On a quiet weeknight in July 2024, I meet my American friend, Robbie, from Taos New Mexico at Pinot’s Wine Bar in Jindabyne. The season has been mediocre so far and we are the only ones in the bar. We take a high table and order a bottle of Pinot Noir. As we sip the wine, we begin to chat about my recent endeavours to get back into journalism. “That’s awesome Georgina”, Robbie says (he studied media too). He then tells me about his mate who has started making wooden skis out of a workshop in Leesville. “Now that would make a good story”, he adds.
Robbie’s idea that night inspired me to find out more. I jumped online. There wasn’t a lot of information, but an Instagram profile labelled “Desert Skis” did exist. I scrolled through the posts, fascinated and impressed, and then sent a direct message. A week or so later, I heard back from JP, the co-founder behind the new ski brand.
A few months later the Australian snow season is coming to an early end. It’s a warm spring day and I have organised to meet JP and his partner Steph at their workshop in Leesville. Situated in Percy Harris Street between Jindabyne refrigeration and A&D scaffolding, I enter the workshop via a single unmarked door. It is a generous space, neat and tidy, and a fine selection of wooden skis hang high on the walls. Machines are laid out on each side and a large table takes centre stage. “We were in Western Australia and the borders were closed. We went from working winters and doing seasons and skiing lots to skiing not at all. It was like what can we do to stay engaged, and I thought ok, we could try and build skis?”, recalls JP.
The idea to make skis out of Australian timbers was born during the early years of the ‘pandemic’. JP and Steph were in the United States with a year of travel ahead when Covid hit and changed everything. Finding themselves back in Western Australia isolated and with nowhere to live was testing but brought about a bright idea. Stumbling across a shed style home in the hills, Steph recalls, “Oh, we could do something with this”, and JP replies, “I think we should make skis”.
In the workshop the air is as still as dry sheets on a spright clothes lines, and I take in the surrounds as I revisit my notes. Tall in stature with a beard and soft American accent, JP possesses a calm air of ‘know-how’. Steph, the Aussie, has dark coloured hair and an athletic build and often jumps in before JP to answer a question. Born in Bega, Steph grew up in Mallacoota and admits her family were ocean people and she didn’t go skiing until she was 24 years old. Once she started though, she fell in love with it and would go a few times a year. As a ‘FIFO’ worker, she has always been able to take time off to go skiing. She has never had a winter seasonal job “per se”, but it was on a ski trip to Temple Basin in New Zealand that she met JP.
On the other hand, JP grew up in the US State of Oklahoma and first skied at about 10 years of age. It was a day’s drive to the mountains and if he was lucky, he would go for a spring ski once a year with his family. Following completion of his Mechanical Engineering degree, JP wasn’t keen on his work prospects and instead sent letters to over 150 bars in ski towns all the way from Alaska down to New Mexico. His thinking was that he would work in a bar at night and ski during the day. He landed his first snow job in Taos, New Mexico and fell into doing winter seasons, going between New Zealand and New Mexico. After their chance meeting in Temple Basin, they swapped emails and kept in touch. The following Spring, Steph joined JP on a road trip in the US and they realised things were pretty good between them.
JP stands next to the TOS Model made of 100% Australian Timber with Jarrah sidewalls and a silver wattle top sheet. Photo © @desertskis
“The border closures eliminated the possibility of skiing. My whole life and many of my friends were centred around the ski industry. Then you find yourself in a place so far removed from skiing. I needed something. That was the push” - JP on founding Desert Skis.
For about 2 years Steph travelled between the US and NZ on her breaks from work to be with JP, but it wore her down and in 2018 JP agreed to move to Australia. Like any business venture, the journey of making skis came with hesitancy. “Initially it was more a passion, we wanted to do something because I have free time”, reflects JP. But when the reality of start-up and production costs presented themselves, they had to decide how serious they wanted to be. Were they making skis for themselves, their friends or for business? And the machinery they were to purchase would depend on their intention. The ski press was one of the first and most expensive things they needed to design and build. Luckily Steph’s father was a builder and was able to help them grade the tools they needed which offset some of their start-up costs.
Historically, the snow industry has seen skis made from wood before. “You either have a wood core or polyurethane foam core, these are the two main types for skis”, JP explains. “Wood provides characteristics that are more desirable than foam, but foam is cheaper which you may find in lower end rental skis”. Typically, European timbers such as poplars, beach and maples are used, but JP and Steph had to look for timbers with similar mechanical properties to which they would have access. While New Zealand has some good timbers, they chose specific Australian timbers, mainly Mountain Ash and Victorian Ash.
Back in the Leesville workshop, JP takes a couple of timber skis that are hanging and lays them out on the large table in front of us. “Our skis are made with a composite wood core and Paulownia, often used in surf boards”, explains JP as he points at the smooth surface of timber. “Mountain Ash and Victorian Ash are the timbers we use the most, with Mountain Ash possibly superior as it is readily available with good flex qualities and density”. A striking feature of Desert Skis is the Jarrah sidewalls. JP admits that using Jarrah wood was a gamble, but it has proven to create sidewalls that are heavier, water resistant and durable. Jarrah wood grows only in a small region of southwest Western Australia which also makes it unique. Top this off with eucalyptus, silver wattle and spotted gum as various veneers for the top sheets and you have a beauty of a ski.
Some snaps of inside the Leesville workshop. All wood cores made with Australian hardwoods. Photo © @desertskis
When the borders reopened, JP and Steph were tossing up between heading to Jindabyne or New Zealand to set themselves up. As they were now making skis out of ‘Australian timbers’, it seemed more appropriate to be based in Australia. “We had friends there (in Jindy) and the town is big enough and not too isolated”, remarked Steph. Proximity to the mountains was their priority followed by running a business in a place that they could also live. Jindabyne ‘fit the bill’.
With the first few years dedicated to research and development, the first ski was then pressed in January 2022. And how was it? “Oh, it was terrible”, JP laughs. The first ski was too short and didn’t have any tip rise. The second ski was better, but it was the third ski that could properly be mounted and skied. But it still didn’t have the right flex, and getting the flex right is the trickiest part as JP clarifies, “Flex is a function of the thickness of a ski, and that function is to the third power, which means even a fraction of a millimetre added to the core thickness will have a big impact on the rest of the ski”. JP is now putting his mechanical engineering degree to good use with all the technicalities of building skis. Some of the first skis were sent to their friends in New Zealand to test. JP and Steph were so on edge waiting for the feedback because there are many things to get right with ski construction. They were relieved when the initial feedback was “these are rad”.
Lots of work to get from the raw timber in the back to the good-looking skis in the front. Photo © @desertskis
Desert Skis will offer three different shapes of skis which they will have in various lengths starting from 157cm up to 187cm. The three ski models are called the TOS 104 and TOS 110, the RAZ 99, and the SAG 95. The SAG 95 is a more Australian specific ski and comes a little shorter, The TOS’s have a wider profile and the RAZ is snappier and made mainly for Japan. And what do the skis feel like? “Lively and quick”, says JP, “They feel shorter than their lengths so are easier to turn and pivot. They are also softer and absorbing and don’t vibrate because they don’t have carbon fibre in them”. The price guide for the skis looks to start at around AUD 1800. JP and Steph have extended their prototyping of the skis to friends in Japan, the US and Australia. Sometimes their friends will suggest ski shapes they think might work for the region and they will take that on board. Without the knowledge and background to build a ‘ski racing’ ski, JP confirms that Desert Skis are geared towards skiing all mountain, off-piste and ski touring.
Ryan Taylor is a ski mountaineer in Hokkaido and has been prototyping Desert Skis in Japan. “It’s good having Ryan in Japan because it’s large market and a lot of Australians go there”, says JP. Ryan is a strong supporter of the Desert Skis shapes and has enjoyed testing them in the powder, “Everyone I pass on the slopes compliments me and asks what they are”, he says.
Ryan Taylor prototypes a wacky new shape in deep powder in Japan. Photo © @desertskis
From building the logs and cores with their components, to getting them into the press, to cutting and sawing the skis, sanding the sides and removing the resin, I am discovering that building handmade skis is not for the fainthearted. JP says a crucial step is working to get the consistency before it goes into the press. This can take about 3 hours before it goes into the press for a further 3 hours followed by 7 hours for finishing. JP’s best guess is that it currently takes about 20 hours to make one pair of skis. “I think we’ll get better than that, we must get better than that for it to be viable”.
With resources limited in Australia, making skis in the land down under is challenging compared to the Northern Hemisphere counterparts. But JP and Steph have built a strong network around them with people aware of their venture and always willing to help. Zali Offord at the ‘On The Tune’ ski tuning shop in Thredbo, Mitch Harrison at Harro’s SnowSports in Lake Crackenback, and Geoff, the Montanna Rep have all been great supporters. “They are legends, I will 100% back them”, says Mitch.
Originally with hopes to start selling the skis in Winter 2024, that has shifted to next season. “We don’t want to rush this sort of thing because coming back from a bad reputation would be impossible”, JP declares. “Everything is skiing well, the flexes are good, the shapes are great. It’s just the last little tweaks of getting that durability where we want”.
A few weeks ago, I phone Robbie in New Mexico to ask how his season has been and how the Desert skis felt when he tried them. “I was instantly amazed and captivated by the simple beauty of the skis”, Robbie remarked. Having tested the TOS model in the challenging terrain of Taos Ski Valley, Robbie was pleased with how they rode. “What I liked about it was how natural the skis felt underfoot. It was like I was skiing on water. I think JP and Steph have something amazing here”.
Enjoying afternoon runs on ‘Desert Skis’ in the Side Country Photo © @desertskis
Desert Skis are made to be functional, durable and unique. When I ask about the branding and the idea behind the echidna for a logo, Steph is quick to respond, “We wanted to use something Australian, and the echidna lives everywhere, it’s in the desert, it’s in the snow, it’s all over the place”. “It’s cool to be able to do an Australian product in Australia and use everything that we can from here. I think that’s unique. That’s our trademark”, says Steph.
While they are aware that success in business takes time, JP and Steph are clear about their goals. “We want to make this a full-time business. That would mean not having to have another job. That would be perfect”, says Steph. “And to build a presence in Jindabyne. The community here has been great”. The long hours and late nights they are putting in to build Desert Skis is no easy feat, but there is no better feeling than when running testing days with friends on the slopes and seeing the skis in action, as JP says, “That’s when it hits you and makes it all worthwhile”.
Follow Desert Skis on instagram with their website www.desertskis.com coming live soon.