The layup room is where the pieces of the puzzle all come together before getting glued, pressed, and stamped. You can see the unique ski press in the background of this shot. In the foreground there is a layup in progress.
This past spring, a local DPS employee mentioned their new skis — the Pagoda Tour Series — would be built entirely in Salt Lake City. The company had localized ski production into a single warehouse (aside from bending metal edges, which happens just down the street). DPS feathers the border between a small and large scale ski manufacturer. They have all of their facilities under one roof here in the U.S., but they ship their skis around the world and have gained global recognition.
After a healthy amount of inquiry/pestering, I was invited down to see how the Pagoda Tour skis are made: from rough cut wood plank beginning to snow slashing finish.
DPS: Past
DPS first entered the ski industry spotlight when they made the first ever carbon fiber sandwich ski in 2005. Not to mention when their newly released Wailer 112 RP started turning heads with its new-age, banana-esque look. They now produce a gamut of ski shapes and constructions for all the flavors of skier preference: from playful powder boats to fall line chargers. You might have noticed a slew of acronyms and DPS codewords adorning their topsheets. Those letters denote the shape and construction. Before we get into the factory visit, I’ll shed some light on what they mean.
There’s a striking resemblance here. One is a paradigm-shifting powder ski, the other is a healthy snack.
Shapes
The primary shapes that DPS create are the RP and C2. The RP stands for Resort Powder and is a five-point shape that moves the widest part of the tip and tail closer to the middle of the ski. It’s a lively, pivoty shape that mixes a healthy amount of tip and tail rocker with a short turning radius. This shape can easily ‘slarve’ turns (the beautiful slash-carve) and bounce in and out of snow like a deep powder porpoise.
The C2 (Chassis 2) is a more all-mountain, traditional shape that uses a longer effective edge, more traditional camber and larger turning radius. The C2 is a reliable, predictable ski that will make you feel like a deep-turn-carving rockstar. DPS also makes the Lotus (powder surfing) and Koala (freestyle) shapes that we won’t get into too much detail about. Check them out for more specific stylistic changes. From shape, you can then branch out to a few different DPS constructions.
Constructions
The two prominent constructions that influenced the Pagoda Series were the Tour 1 and the Alchemist. The Tour 1 is an ultralight carbon fiber touring ski that holds a phenomenal surface area-to-weight ratio. The Alchemist is an all-mountain carbon fiber ski designed to be the perfect 50/50 backcountry/resort hybrid. The Tour 1 and the Alchemist stand at two opposite ends of ski touring construction: uphill and downhill oriented [respectively]. The Tour 1 is featherweight, but takes on characteristic carbon chatter when put into variable snow. The Alchemist is solid and damp, but brings with it added weight for the uphill.
The Pagoda Tour line, unveiled at Outdoor Retailer in January 2020.
The Pagoda Tour is a culmination of lessons learned from these two constructions. Merging the ultralight Tour 1 with the stable Alchemist. The Pagoda Tour is a step forward in carbon fiber ski construction. DPS created new techniques to make a lightweight, yet robust backcountry touring ski, and all to our benefit, cheers team. So with that brief debrief into DPS jargon, let’s get to know DPS, their factory, and their new Pagoda Tour ski line.
DPS: Present
The proximity to great skiing from the DPS factory is clearly shown here.
After eight years of overseas manufacturing, DPS moved their facilities to Utah in 2013. This fall, I went to visit their newly restructured space in the Granary District of Salt Lake City. From the front door of their offices, you can easily check snow coverage throughout the Wasatch. Inside their front door was the Marketing and Administrative office. It was an open office with skis and poles just as present as desks and filing cabinets. Behind another door was the manufacturing facility that produces DPS’s advanced carbon skis.
Alex Hunt (Marketing and Communications Manager) was my tour guide through the factory. Turns out Alex and I have mutual friends through his many years spent guiding in Silverton (quintessential example of the small small world of backcountry skiing). He walked me through each room where the skis are manufactured, explaining each step of what goes into making a pair of the new Pagoda Tour skis.
Constructing the Core
The first step for building the Pagoda Tour, and any ski for that matter, is building the core. Raw materials are received at a loading bay and organized onto shelves. This specific core is a combination of Ash, Paulownia and aerospace grade foam. Ash is a dense wood that provides rigidity for the ski. Paulownia is much lighter than ash and brings with it weight savings benefits. Adding aerospace-grade foam gives the ski improved dampening that counters the snappy energy of carbon fiber. The foam demonstrates a recursive theme with the Pagoda Tour. DPS has struck a chord with their carbon fiber skis by balancing the carbon liveliness with other techniques and materials that bring dampening and stability — all without adding excessive weight.
The first room of the construction process is the core room. Wood and foam are laminated and layered into blanks. The blanks get cut in a 3D CNC mill to get their shape, profile, and pour-in sidewall.
DPS layers the core materials with a traditional sandwich lamination, but in multiple vertical orientations. This creates a vertically laminated core of ash, paulownia and foam rather than individual horizontal layers of each material. The vertical orientation adds more labor and precision to building the core, but increases rigidity with the same amount of materials. DPS’s core innovation is adding multiple layers of vertically laminated core material at different grain orientations to provide even more rigidity and energy for (roughly) the same material use. The name Pagoda comes from this construction technique. A Pagoda is a tiered shrine commonly found in western Asia (check out the Pagoda logo). The ski is layered like a Pagoda, with a unique vertically laminated and horizontally layered construction.
The multi-layered core is then milled to give the ski its length and shape, and receives its pour-in sidewall. Plastic is heated up and injected into the circumference of the ski to create a single sidewall. The continuity of the sidewall installation can better absorb energy and creates a more durable ski. Once this process is finished, the core looks like a fancy 2” x 36” plank with a pair of skis drawn on top with melted plastic. During the final stage of the milling process, the Pagoda Tour’s profile is created and excess material is trimmed. These are brought into the next room to be layered with the rest of the materials that make up the ski.
Layering the Layup
The Pagoda Tour layup showing the Pagoda-inspired ‘vertically laminated horizontally layered’ construction.
The Core is received next door where the ingredients for the Pagoda Tour sandwich are put together. The recipe is as follows (from bottom to top):
— Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene (UHMW) base with a tacked-on Rockwell 48 metal edge
— Proprietary pre-impregnated carbon fiber weave
— Vertically laminated core of ash, paulownia and aerospace grade foam
— Another layer of vertically laminated ash for good measure
— Another layer of proprietary pre-impregnated carbon fiber weave because more carbon means more rad
— DPS’s signature textured polyamide topsheet with a HDPE mounting plate underneath
The layup room is where the pieces of the puzzle all come together before getting glued, pressed, and stamped. You can see the unique ski press in the background of this shot. In the foreground there is a layup in progress.
This stack of materials is glued together with layers of epoxy resin; painted in between like frosting in a layer cake. After the sandwich is set, it gets pressed in a high pressure, high temperature oven to receive its final profile. The result is a rectangular DPS Pagoda Tour Monoski. The crude monoski gets moved down the line to The Splitting Room. Here, the skis are finally split into their destined two-planked glory.
Splitting the Skis
The Splitting Room was capitalized for unsolicited dramatic effect. This room consists of a few industrial bandsaws and belt sanders. They cut and sand the individual skis out of their single pressed molds.
Alex looked at me here and said in a dramatic tone, “This is where the twins are split.” That stuck with me.
The skis then receive a high end factory tune at this stage. Belt sanders refine the skis shape and base. A few high end machines then put structure into the base and edges. Now the skis resemble…skis! Perfectly tuned and ready to rip.
The finishing room is where the ‘twins are split’ and refined to a skiable condition. After that edges are sharpened and bases are structured before getting sent for inspection. Here a base structure is being put into a freshly split twin.
Finishing the Product
Each pair of skis gets passed through a finishing room where they are inspected under bright light on a familiar-looking tuning bench. After passing inspection, skis are mounted and PHANTOMed and shipped off to their new mountain homes — be it Hokkaido, Japan or a few miles away in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The final gatekeeper of quality control is the inspection table. After this, the skis are ready to get shipped out the door.
The Pagoda Tour line up consists of five different models. After the factory tour, I asked Alex if he could archetype each size for the Wildsnow community. Apologies Alex if I put you on the spot here. Each model is denoted by its waist wide and shape:
The 112 RP is the Pivoty Powderboat
The 106 C2 is the Do-It-All Jack-Of-All-Trades
The 100 RP is the Agile Couloir Technician
The 94 C2 is the Mountain Tool
The 87 C2 is the Long Mission Machine
Are these crass generalizations or digestible categorizations? You decide, because ultimately these are recommended use cases, not rules. Want to use the 87 C2 as your all season, lightweight touring ski? Do it. Can the 112 RP be a ‘Mountain Tool’? Sure. That’s the beauty of backcountry skiing: you define your own rules. However, I find it helpful to get DPS’s design intent distilled into one proper noun declarative. These skis will be shipped out across the world to be skied up and down all different kinds of mountain terrain. Hopefully they have one common thread: putting big ol’ smiles on skiers’ faces in the process.
DPS: Future
A big takeaway that I took from the DPS facilities is to strive for excellence as a process, not an end goal. DPS will never make the ‘perfect backcountry touring ski’, but they’ll keep striving towards that goal every single day.
See our previous DPS coverage
Shop for DPS skis
Slator Aplin lives in the San Juans. He enjoys time spent in the mountains, pastries paired with coffee, and adventures-gone-wrong. You can often find him outside Telluride’s local bakery — Baked in Telluride.
28 comments
Was DPS actually the first to do sandwich carbon skis? Feel like companies were doing that pre 2015. BUt I could be mis remembering.
Goode, another Utah ski manufacturer at the base of the Wasatch mountains, claim to have built the first carbon ski. Not sure if that is correct or not.
Way too much marketing blather in this article. And, I think “gamut” was meant, not “gambit”.
Lou has been writing on factory visits for decades. Digging into innovation behind ski construction is fun, fascinating, and nothing new.
My comment was not meant to criticize factory visits. Less gushing would be welcome.
Could you elaborate more on how foam is used effectively? I know it is aerospace grade, but what does that mean? How is this not the terrible foam of yesteryear that broke down in less than a season? How is this foam as durable and resilient as the carbon they’re putting in the skis?
Cody
I think Pat at PM gear was slipping a layer of carbon in his Lahasa Pows at least ten years ago. At least the drill shavings came up black on the pair I mounted from that era.
Almost all the larger manufacturers were using carbon and “aerospace” grade PU foam materials over 10 years ago. DPS does build amazing skis, but many manufacturers, are, and have been building skis with vertically laminating wood and PU foam cores for years.
James- the “terrible foam cores of yesteryear” were injected into molds without other materials (like the wood stringers in DPS cores) in them. This allowed the cores to release gasses as they cured. This off gassing caused these cores to lose integrity over a solid wood core. Laminating wood and PU foam, either vertically or horizontally, improves the strength to weight ratio as well as adding the damping qualities of PU into the core.
In my opinion the best DPS skis were made 10+ years ago. The OG lotus 120’s and 138’s were visionary designs.
Since then the skis have gotten heavier, the designs have shifted so as to appeal more too dentists, and they kicked out the founder, Stephen Drake. I hope Drake controls his own brand again soon. Everyone whose life is a little bit better because of big, fat rockered skis owes him a debt of gratitude. He helped change the way we ski.
Dentists?? I have retired after 50 years, but have not retired after 50 years of on and off piste skiing. I now have Alchemists for lift serviced skiing and the lighter Tour for all else. I love them both. Big improvement over wooded touring skis from the 70’s and all others from 80’s, 90’s and beyond.
Enjoyed the article!!
Thanks for the news about Stephan Drake and the “hostile takeover” at DPS. I hadn’t heard, and a search found this:
https://blisterreview.com/industry-news/dps-skis-co-founder-stephan-drake-no-longer-with-dps
Great write up! I feel like I understand the dps make-up and magic a bit better now. Maybe you can take on the myriad of mysteries in the Lib Tech factory next 🙂
I just picked up a new pair of 112 RP a week or so ago, and this article only increased my eagerness to try them out. Great article!
I bought my first pair of DPS Wailer 112’s about 12 years ago on recommendation from a ski buddy in SLC. While they’re a little beat up after many hundreds of ski days, I’m still skiing them on powder days. What has always amazed me about DPS is the durability of the world cup material they use on the bases. I’ve hit many “sharks” over the years with those skis that would have been a core shot on any other ski and they are just a slight blemish on the DPS. They’re expensive skis, but they have outlasted many other skis in my quiver from other manufacturers. I picked up a pair of Pagoda 112’s this summer and can’t wait to get them into the backcountry powder.
I’m not old enough to remember, but didnt Hexcell dabble/make carbon fiber skis in the 70’s?
NJORD
Hexcell! Now there is a blast from the past. Mine would quiver for about 20 seconds after coming to a stop. Aerospace grade aluminum honeycomb turned out to not be the best material in the world for dampening. Especially when skinned with carbon.
I’ll add my name to those who miss the personalized flavor that Lew lent to the old site. There are too many smart people watching and will abandon it if it slips toward being just another advertising platform.
So only smart people can appreciate Lou’s writing?
Or everyone who reads Wild Snow is smart!
So there are some skiers out there who are willing to pay twice as much for a DPS as an Atomic? Or a Blizzard? Or a Salomon?
Thanks to readers who voiced positivity or useful, constructive thoughts. Rarest things on the internet these days.
The thing is Manasseh- I suspect that many including myself (long time lurker) may feel the same way as Jim and Njord. Making their comments both useful and constructive, in guiding the future of WildSnow. Food for thought….
Oops, that should read “Jim and Crazy Horse” above.
Pre-DPS. Another classic pow ski come to mind when I read this.
Decades ago, Miller Soft skis were designed and made in Salt Lk City. Miller (rather narrowly) specialised in pow skis; that may have led to its closure. Miller himself was ahead of his time.
Back in those days (70s, 80s), back-country slopes were wide open, hardly anyone skied off-piste (except for the side-country adjacent to lifts).
I began by tasting the back-country in the ID Tetons and CO San Juans. Then I devoured BC skiing in the Canadian Selkirks and Monashees (gotta say, I have good taste)
For several years in the 80s, I worked at a back-country hut. We had trouble attracting customers. Most of our hut customers had skied for decades and yearned for off-piste, something wilder and quieter. Not just more decades of yo-yo runs from lifts.
By the 90s, back-country skiing slowly began to take off and flourish. Tele gear morphed from cross-country skis (YAY Voile´ plate bindings); wax was smart for climbing but eventually heavy skins took over; so-called fat skis became corpulent; and bindings and boots became much lighter. Collectively, ski gear became much lighter. Meanwhile, snowboards split for the back-country (YAY Voile´ again).
ASIDE: Sometimes, head-wax was involved (aka, cannabis) – best to leave that until you’re back at the hut.
In the 90s, back-country hut businesses sprouted, established, grabbed land tenures, and grew. Saunas crackled, fine dining went alpine, and (some) prices went steep and deep (into the wallet).
Hey Jim, I’m still here! Appreciate your copy editing skills as always. As for the tone of the post, I read through it and it seems okay to me, so long as it’s viewed through the lens of not being a “review” but rather a basic report. That said, all of us here will continue to strive for balance in this sorts of posts. They’re not intended as criticism, but neither do we want them to be a fluff piece. The intent is to present something interesting to check out with your morning coffee. Lou
Jon, good hut history overview, thanks. I’d add that during this evolution of North American huts , the huts in the Alps, Norway and elsewhere were going great guns. And while telemark did perhaps have an evolutionary role in the development of backcountry skiing in Norway, it most certainly did not in the Alps, where the telemark turn was indeed used in the very early days as one of several common ski turns, but went away when skiers began latching their heels down, both on the piste and off.
Right Lou. I think many European skiers had a historic cultural connection with huts and cottages (even family huts), going back many years, or decades, or more.
At VMT (in the 80s), we had some exceptional tele guests – amazing and inspiring skiers. Tele guests were in the minority. Most guests used AT gear; some opted for rental skis with AT bindings.
More pictures! Was hard to get an idea of their new facility with the limited pictures. Agree the copy seemed a little too much like a press release, but still enjoyed. Just need more pics. The pictures make it look like it’s a couple person shop. How many people do they employ? They seem to have plenty of demand by the crowd that thinks the most expensive ski has to be the best.
Kevin, pictures are indeed always good with these factory visit posts. One thing to remember is that what we’re allowed to photograph is often quite limited. That’s happened to me many times in Europe. A few years ago, I had an amazing post ready to publish, illustrating the boot-making process from start to finish. I slaved over the post, then ran it by the company for final approval of the images, as they’d requested this as a condition of visiting the factory. They got cold feet and nixed many of the best photos. It was still an okay post, but not the super interesting one it could have been. Win some, loose some. Life of the blogger… Lou
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