Wagner Is the Official Ski Company for the Aspen Collection

It’s not surprising that Aspen, Colo., has long been a hotbed of ski talent, from past icons like Andy Mill and Klaus Obermeyer to present ones like Baker Boyd and Colter Hinchliffe.

But in a place where ski gangs—yes, ski gangs—rule the mountain, that talent is a little, well, atypical. (Follow The Freaks on Instagram, and you’ll know what we mean). It is Aspen, after all, which grew from roots of counterculture, and they just do things differently there.

Wagner x Aspen Collection skis at home in Aspen. Photo: Tiffany Santini

So when Aspen Collection wanted a ski brand to create a demo program for its mountain, they naturally chose Wagner Custom. As one of the only truly custom ski brands in the industry, and located in the San Juan mountains of Telluride, Wagner has made a name for itself by bucking the industry norm. They stay small and focused, with every ski handmade to suit each customer. 

“We want to have an elevated experience for our guests, and that’s where Wagner comes in,” said Blake Nelson, store manager for the Aspen Collection’s Snowmass location. “They can do a truly custom ski from graphics on down. Nobody else is offering that. It’s exciting, so that’s why it fit into what we’re trying to do here at the Aspen Collection.”

The skis—the aptly named Ajax 84 and Highlands 102—were designed specifically for Aspen’s mountains and incorporated input from local ski pros. They’re only available at the Aspen Collection ski shops, which are conveniently located at the base of the Aspen Mountain Silver Queen Gondola and at the base of Snowmass. Skiers can test drive both, see what they like, and either purchase those models or use their experience on them to design their own custom skis.

The Ajax 84 (blue) and Highlands 102 (black) have a range of sizes. Photo: Jack Plantz

“They wanted best-in-class skis that are made using the insight of Aspen locals,” said Pete Wagner, Wagner Custom’s founder. “Our skis are built in Colorado by our ski-bum crew who are obsessed with ski design and the craft of ski making. People can go try our skis, see what they like and don’t like, and have a quick conversation with our designers, who will use their feedback to design their own skis.” 

Nelson himself is skiing on his first pair of Wagners this season. He went through the custom-building process as one of his Aspen Collection consumers would, and he said the process was seamless. “I put my blinders on, went back and forth with the designers, and then they shipped the skis. Everything about the process was first-class. I even got a nice little welcome card. And the skis are great—they’re a real conversation starter on the mountain,” he said.

The Aspen Collection skis in front of the Wagner Custom Factory. Photo: Jack Plantz

The Ajax 84, built for Aspen Mountain or Ajax, as it’s called locally, is an 84 mm-waisted groomer-oriented ski with excellent edge-grip, but it’s capable of venturing all over the mountain, too. It has a birch and beech wood core with a metal layer to dampen vibration and give a smooth, stable ride. It has tip rocker for easy turn initiation and floatation, and a traditional cambered tail for trenching on-piste. 

“It has two sheets of Titanal, so it’s torsionally stiff, but it’s soft enough to be fun on bumps and in variable snow, too,” said Wagner. “It’s a sweet little ski.”

Both skis are only available at the Aspen Collection stores in Aspen and Snowmass. Photo: Tiffany Santini

The Highlands 102, built for Aspen Highlands, is 102 mm underfoot, which makes it floatier and better suited for soft snow and big lines. It has an aspen core, with wood sourced from the nearby Grand Mesa, reinforced with fiberglass structural layers for a light and lively feel. Tip and tail rocker float in the soft stuff, and a carbon fiber torsion-box construction gives it stability without taking away any of its playfulness. 

“It’s either a powder ski for someone who’s just venturing into the deep, or a daily driver for the locals who play in it every day,” Wagner said.

Both skis are only available at the Aspen Collection stores in Aspen and Snowmass. Learn more by visiting the Aspen Collection website.

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