Trak Cross Country Skis (2 pairs)

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Fishscale soles

The red waxing knob – centre of picture

Mike Parsons with rucksacks rather than skis

Description

a) Trak Fishscale skis with Rottefella toe bindings, black with red writing on top & sides, grey with white writing & fishscales on base. b) Trak waxable skis with Rottefella toe bindings. Red knob on top to adjust depth of the wax pocket. Black with gold writing on top, White base with red central wax pocket.

Inscription description

a) Fishscales: on top “TRAK COMPETITION CARBON-FIBER”, on base “TRAK SCHUPPEN TRAK FISHSCALE”, on side “TRAK 210 134412”, on binding “ROTTEFELLA”. b) Waxable: on top “TRAK TOP-TEAM TUNING”, stick on green/white label from race on 6.2.1983, on base & side “TRAK”

Acquisition Method:

Donated by Mike Parsons

Number of Objects:

2 pairs

Provenance:

A good friend of ours, Mike Parsons, owned a company called Karrimor back in the latter part of the 20th century when they were the biggest, and probably the best, UK manufacturer of rucksacks. Somewhere, around 1990 we reckon, Mike started importing TRAK skis into the UK to compliment his rucksack enterprise.

Trak skis had been founded back in 1970 by two American guys, Bill Danner and Hans Woitschatzke, embracing the recently invented ‘fishscale’ sole of the ski, which replaced the ‘black art’ of ski waxing, which most recreational skiers found hard to understand. particularly in the UK where skiing was not so ingrained as it is in the Scandinavian countries, here they have a saying ‘født med ski på bena’ (born with skis on [their] legs).

Mike tells us that both these pairs of skis were made in the Italian factory of Marotto, and the core of the ski is wood. The ‘trak top team’ pair are waxable and the little red twist knob is designed to to increase or decrease the depth of the wax pocket, we’ve no idea if it worked or not. Mike did various expeditions on these skis, including the Cairngorm four summits here in Scotland. Having hung up his ski boots and parked his skis, he kindly donated them to us in 2026.

Object Production

Production Place:

Italy

Materials:

wood, carbon-fiber, plastic, rubber, metal

Maker:

Trak/Marotto

Colour:

black, white, gold, red

Dimensions:

a) 210(l) x 4.3(w) cm b) 210(l) x 4.5(w) cm

Object Condition:

Condition Date Check:

Administration

Accession Number:

1864.2026.1(a-b)

Creator:

Kathy Tighe

Accession Date:

04/06/2026

ID:

Category:

Skiing/sledging

Location

Location:

Bohuntin

Current Location

Rules:

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007