As bright and cheerful as apple tree wood, as elegant and warm as muted elm trees, or rather as earthy and rooted as oak? Each piece of wood has its distinctive, unique wood grain, which gives it an individual character. The colours change from white to beige, silver to grey, red, brown and black. The local woods provide the material used by Timbaer, a manufacturer from Appenzell that makes unique, top-quality ski products. Timbaer is taken from the English word 'timber' and the German word 'Bär' (bear), the heraldic beast of its homeland. The walnut and silver elm are also included in the offer; they are happy to take special customer requests.
So who are the masterminds behind Timbaer? At a visit to their workshop, I got to know the friends and business partners Andreas Dobler and Dano Waldburger. They are skilled carpenters, enthusiastic skiers with racing experience and proper Appenzell lads. With their knowledge and their skill, they have developed a special wood core for skis, which they also make themselves. They attach it to an aluminium-titanium sheet for optimum stability and flexibility, and to finish off the look a cover sheet made from wood. The PRD 14 from Head was tested as an ideal binding. Put together, it results in a ski with outstanding handling for a pure, sporty ride. There are three models to choose from at Timbaer: the 175 Race-Carver (radius: 17 metres), the 165 Slalom-Ski and the 155 Slalom-Ski (radius: 13 metres each). The ski does what the skier wants it to – just stand yourself on it and get going! If you would like to test it out first, you can find the dates on the company’s website. Although the ski is light and can be used without any guidance, it is a fully-fledged racing ski that can be used in competitions. This includes the distinctive cool design that cites the roots it has in the Appenzell carpentry tradition. If you watch both of them working at their machines, which they built themselves, you see their passion for their craft. This is the only way to explain how they have managed to establish themselves so quickly as an exclusive ski manufacturer. And, turning out four hundred pairs a year, they want it to stay that way. Only they and selected specialist shops offer the skis, at a fixed price and with a three-year guarantee. For Andreas Dobler and Dano Waldburger, their skis are the boards that mean the world.
