realskiers

Byron, depending on how nasty the gouge is, I will either ignore it or repair it.  The bad ones I will repair, as they delay the need for a base grind.  Those that go right through the PTEX base and expose the core are mandatory repair. 

Repairs are easily done at home, so if at some point you want to start doing this yourself, post back and I can lay out some technique options for you.  As for this new scratch of yours, it's so long that you probably couldn't repair it cleanly even if you wanted to.  It sounds rather shallow, so just do as Todd suggested - shave off any curlies with a steel scraper and go skiing.

As an aside, this has not been a kind season to our bases.  There is so little snow cover that there are stones all over the place that the grooming machines are pulling up to the surface, and all our bases are looking pretty ugly .  Base grinds will be happening for at least 5 pairs after this winter.  Hey, it's part of the cost of having fun.