Celebrating 34 Years of Artech Ski
After 34 years in the alpine ski racing supply business, Utah SKI Gear is sad to see Artech Ski close its doors. Artech Ski was a family-owned and operated business located in Enfield Center, New Hampshire. Offering one of the largest selections of Alpine Ski Race Gear since 1998, Artech Ski started out in a small, single room of the owner’s house before growing its operation into a two-story warehouse in 2014.
Former Artech Ski owner, George Merrill, was known throughout the ski world for his membership with the VARA team, the All East Team, and the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s. In 1970, Merrill was known as one of the best slalom skiers in the world. Upon retiring from skiing competitively, Merrill began coaching ski jumpers at the Lebanon Outing Club and became the head ski coach at Hanover high school, winning 14 New Hampshire state championships. While coaching, Merrill started Artech Ski, the country's first-ever online ski racing business in 1998.
Artech Ski began as a small operation but grew quickly and Merrill had to retire from coaching in 2002. The business grew exponentially, and Artech Ski was soon supplying athletes around the world with high-end skis, racing accessories, and tuning equipment. Artech Ski carried a wide variety of alpine ski race equipment and gear from major brands such as Leki, POC, Head, Fischer, Reusch, and Volkl along with ski wax and tuning supplies from brands like Swix, Toko, Dominator, Holmenkol, and more. Each and every ski Merrill sold met USSA and FIS specification standards and registered athletes had access to discounts and deals from Artech Ski. This allowed Merrill’s brand to connect with elite athletes around the world like Slovenia’s Tina Maze and Norway’s Aksel Svindal.
Alongside their incredibly successful website, Artech Ski sold over 6,000 products on eBay and offered ski tuning services out of their tune shop that were specific to ski racer's specifications.
Not only did Artech Ski have one of the largest selections of ski tuning equipment and alpine ski racing gear, but they were also an educational resource for the community. 9 Years ago Artech Ski debuted two series on their YouTube channel to assist at-home ski tuners and alpine ski racers. The first series features short ski tuning lessons from George Merrill, the owner of Artech Ski. These free lessons include the basics like ski waxing methods, how to brush your skis, and how to select your ski wax. They also dove further into ski tuning with lessons on side and base edge work, ski base repair, and how to ensure a safe ski tuning environment. Merrill was passionate about educating his clients and he believed educated customers were more likely to remain involved in the sport. The second series was geared toward racers and gave detailed instructions on how to select and size ski race poles, helmets, goggles, gloves, and speed suits and how to install ski race gear like ski pole guards. Although Artech Ski has closed its doors, these free videos remain a resource for the ski racing and ski tuning community.
In celebration of Artech Ski’s legacy, Utah Ski Gear is offering a 5% discount code for former Artech customers. Use code: ARTECHSKI5 at checkout.
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