[gilper]

You should definitely get your skis tuned. Poorly maintained skis greatly affect the performance and could be why you "suck".

I do most of the work myself but I still get a stone grind every year, maybe every other year if I haven’t put that many days on my skis. The stone grind will make your skis perfectly flat on the bottom so they will track better.

I check my edges and clean up any nicks after every day out. Depending on my edges or snow conditions I will do a full sharpening. Sharp edges will allow you hold an edge and turn on the hard pack and ice.

The most important is wax. I wax before every day out. You want to have the right wax for the current snow conditions or your skis will stick to the snow. Wax does two things. It protects your ski base and it allows your skis to glide.