Local Ski Shops

[SkiNurse]

I am a big fan of local mom & pop ski shops. I have had really good experiences with Racer's Edge in Breckenridge, Powder 7 in Golden, Eskimo in Littleton, Pepi's in Vail, the ski shop at Abasin, Geib Alpine Sports and today took skis in to be mounted at Boone Mountain Sports in Evergreen.

I find the employees of the smaller shops to be knowledgeable and not only excited to talk about skiing, but also take the time to really get to know their customers. At Boone, the shop has been open for more than 30 years and is now run by the three children. In addition to ski tuning, they offer a good variety (but not too many) skis, nice clothing & accessories and have a boot shop where one of the brothers is the boot fitter. The kids even decided to expand and open up their own brewery/ restaurant above the shop, which I plan on trying when I pick up my skis on Thursday. Oh, and there were a few dogs hanging out in the shop, too.

Seriously. Skis, dogs, and a brewery. What more could a girl ask for?

 

[SBrown]

@coskigirl was telling me about her local shop, but I can't remember the name....

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I love local ski shops and always try to support them.

 

[Philpug]

Local shops, non chains do have a passion that is unmatched. Remember too, Pugski.com is also a community and have our own "local shops" like @SkiEssentials and @skifotm (Fire on the Mountain), they are also knowledgable and support the community that you also support.

 

[coskigirl]

Yes! My shop in Lafayette is called Snow Hut and they're just a couple miles down the road. Timur is basically a one man show except in the rare days he's not in the shop his sweet little mom tends to it. She also knits hats that the sell in the shop. Timur grew up in what was Yugoslavia then Bosnia-Herzegovina. When I dropped my skis off a couple weeks ago at their season opening party he gave me a big hug goodbye when I left. They're like family!

They are White Dot and Elan dealers and carry some Atomic but their new ski selection is pretty limited. I pretty much go to him for the tuning although I'd like to demo the White Dots at some point. During the season I'll often drop skis off on Wednesday late afternoon and will get a text later that night that they're ready to go.

Funny story. I had sent a friend there for tunes and she sent me a message her first day out on them that something was off. I told her for sure to take them back in and have him check it out. In investigating the situation he discovered that his dad had come into the shop when he wasn't there and changed settings on his machine meaning that there were several tunes done with wrong settings before he realized it. I guess if you're a one man show you don't think that's going to happen. Anyhow Timur made it right with my friend then put a message out on FB to offer to fix anyone's tune that was having issues and a discount on a future tune.

http://snow-hut.com/
https://www.facebook.com/snowhut/

 

[Tony S]

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the quality of local shops and their staffs tends, generally speaking, to drop off precipitously when you get farther away from ski country. No one should be surprised that there is a great ski shop in Breck or Stowe. Most of us don't live there. There are good shops in the flatlands, too, but you have to do your homework. My experience is mostly that you find a good PERSON, and then follow him or her around. Only the smallest or most elite shops with the most dedicated and idealistic owners have great staff across the board. More typically you get rock stars and also-rans, and you never know which you're going to hit on a given day

 

[luliski]

I live in the flatlands, and we have a pretty good local ski (and bike) shop. They don't have the greatest selection, but I was able to purchase skis and boots for my daughter there over the years, and they have a nice trade-in program. Our local high school has a pretty good ski team, and this shop works with them, so they have some knowledgeable staff. I take my skis there for tuning, no issues.

 

[Blue Streak]

Alpine Base and Edge in Boulder was a good shop.
I don't know if they are still around, but they used to have a ski tuning clinic on Tuesday nights (IIRC), including cold Upslope!

 

[Tony S]

I live in the flatlands, and we have a pretty good local ski (and bike) shop. They don't have the greatest selection, but I was able to purchase skis and boots for my daughter there over the years, and they have a nice trade-in program. Our local high school has a pretty good ski team, and this shop works with them, so they have some knowledgeable staff. I take my skis there for tuning, no issues.

If your local high school has a ski team, you don't live in the flatlands.

 

[luliski]

If your local high school has a ski team, you don't live in the flatlands.

I live in the Sacramento Valley. It's flat as a pancake where I live, but we're 1 hour 45 minutes from Sugar Bowl. On a clear day we can see the coastal range to the west and the Sierras to the east. I think many of the kids who are on the ski team are lucky enough to have family with second homes in the mountains.

 

[Tony S]

we're 1 hour 45 minutes from Sugar Bowl. On a clear day we can see the coastal range to the west and the Sierras to the east. I think many of the kids who are on the ski team are lucky enough to have family with second homes in the mountains.

Yah. QED

 

[Pete in Idaho]

Couer d Alene, Idaho is down to 1 and half ski shops. Tri-State outfitters on Hwy 95 is ok but it is hard to find a ski person and their selection is limited. My GO TO local shop is the Ski Shack on Government Way in Hayden (North Couer d Alene). They have a good selection of skis,boots and clothing. The staff is trained and the Back Room does excellent work. I had a core shot of all core shots and they fixed the ski perfectly.

Personally I buy online and from the Ski Shack and am not bashful about supporting and recommending the Ski Shack.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

As normal our favorite local shop had free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for Columbus Day weekend. Still loving that Cherry Garcia.

 

[Tony S]

Free ice cream is easy. Good boot fitting not so much.

 

[luliski]

Yah. QED

Ok. But we are called "flatlanders" here.

 

[SkiNurse]

Ok. But we are called "flatlanders" here.

Hell, Denver is the flatlands around here...

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Free ice cream is easy. Good boot fitting not so much.

Owner turned hand tuning delivery service back in the 70’s into one of Killington’s top ski shops. They are boot fitting pros. Entire shop seriously ski or ride. Trust their advice as we often hang together on the mountain. My #1 source for technical info until Pugski came along. Love being part of the fabric my local shop.

 

[mdf]

Owner turned hand tuning delivery service back in the 70’s into one of Killington’s top ski shops. They are boot fitting pros. Entire shop seriously ski or ride. Trust their advice as we often hang together on the mountain. My #1 source for technical info until Pugski came along. Love being part of the fabric my local shop.

 

[Philpug]

We just lost another "Local" shop when Wick's in Exton Pa was bought by Buckman's, the multi store chain in the Southeastern Pa market. Wick's was the oldest family run ski shop in the nation. Wick's was not a high end shop like a Start Haus or some of the race shops in Vermont or our west, they catered to families, a huge season lease program, about 3,000 out of the one location, probably more than Buckmans does out of all of their other locations combined. Which, I am sure is one of the things that made the acquisition so enticing.

 

[Large Squirrel]

the local shop we call home is alpina ski shop & 940 boards in the Pocono mtn of PA. even though we don't buy all our gear from them, they are our boot-fitter and do all our tune-up/set-up work. we started going there specifically for their boot-fitting reputation. in addition to their knowledge and experience, we have become friends with the owners there, and dropping in their shop after a ski day has become part of our après routine.