After months of fits and starts (Snowstorms! Droughts! Freezing temps! Record-breaking highs!), we’ve reached the end of ski season. Skis and boards are getting stored, replaced with golf clubs, boats and hiking boots.

It’s important to consider how you pack up your equipment for the all-too-long offseason. Getting your skis properly prepped for a summer in storage will ensure they’re ready to go on the first day of the 2012-13 season.

The first step to storing your skis is the easiest, but also easy to forget. After the Parrothead Festival, Reggae Fest or whatever marks the end of your season, clean off your skis. The final day might leave some mud or grime on your bases, and it can turn into something similar to cement if left for the whole summer. Since ski bases are a bit porous, dirt can seep into the skis, which is not good.

Making sure your equipment is dry is even more important — a little bit of water can cause your edges (and other metal components) to rust. A small amount of rust can be fixed with a competent tune, but more significant rusting can leave dings in your edges significant enough to cause a real headache.

You’ll also want to dry off your boots and take a look at their bases. If you (like me) wear your boots around the base area, you can grind down the toe and heel almost to the boot. If the damage is significant, it’s a good time to start shopping end-of-season sales for a boot that won’t threaten to accidentally release from your binding.

It’s also a good idea to get your skis tuned after you finish up on the hill. For one thing, any scrapes, warped edges or out-of-whack bevels will be fresh in your mind. It’ll be much easier to have your shop deal with them now than to try to remember any issues in the fall. On those early days of the season, you’ll be glad to have equipment that can hold an edge and glide on sticky man-made snow.

If you’re looking to keep your skis absolutely pristine, some shops I spoke to suggested getting a coat of wax on the base and edges. The thinking is that wax will practically vacuum-seal the ski, preventing moisture and dirt from reaching the bases and edges. Since this storage coat of wax is heavy, you’ll need to remember to scrape it down before your first day on the skis.

One more trick I picked up this season is to dial the DIN down to a low setting before storage. It makes sense, since a higher DIN means more tension within the binding. After you loosen things up, those pieces get to rest for the offseason. It also means you can reset the bindings in the fall if you shed (or pack on) a few pounds.

For snowboarders, binding maintenance is even simpler. Many tuning professionals suggest simply removing your bindings for the summer.

Dry, dark and cool places are your best bets for storing your gear. Make sure the rest of your gear — boots, poles, parka, gloves, helmet — is clean and dry, and you’ll be all set when the first flakes fall.

Josh Christie is a freelance writer and lifetime outdoors enthusiast. He shares column space in Outdoors with his father, John Christie. Josh can be reached at joshua.j.christie@gmail.com