Ski Butlers Rental Delivery Blog

Bode Miller - Up Close with Ski Butlers at the Olympics

By Bryn Carey, President of Ski Butlers

On Friday night after Bode Miller won the Silver Medal in the Olympic Super G, he told me that he is going out and skiing like he did when he was younger and just pushing the limits and going for it. He also sounded inspired, confident and enjoying these games. These were very good words to come out of Bode Miller’s mouth; a sign of confidence that would later lead to a Gold Medal in the Men’s Super Combined.

Bode Miller and I go back to high school when we raced together in Maine. Bode was always older but none the less a role model. As Bode’s career progressed, my brother Forest Carey became his coach on the US Ski Team. He was then his personal coach for two years on Team America when Bode skied independent from the US Ski Team.

To see Bode win Gold, Silver and Bronze on the biggest ski racing stage in the world, in an Olympics where the media did not see him as a favorite (ask his coaches, they knew he could do this) was something that is special for everyone involved with Ski Butlers, the US Ski Team and of course Bode Miller.

After Bode won gold, he walked out of the finish area and came up to his dad (who I was standing next to and the picture to the left) and gave him a big hug and said “Dad, that was awesome, truly awesome!” He gave the rest of his family hugs and was basically speechless but he had a grin from ear to ear and a look on his face that showed a sense of relief.

In interviews later that day, Bode said, "The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of for the rest of my life. It feels amazing."

Congrats, Bode! From everyone at Ski Butlers!

Go to Facebook.com/SkiButlers to see more photos of Bode and the rest of the Olympic Games.

Go to Twitter.com/SkiButlers to see inside info and tweets from the Olympic events.

Airlines Increase Baggage Fees Again

Park City, Utah…Delta, Continental and United have increased their baggage fees again, now charging $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second. It costs $120 round trip for two bags. What options does this leave the skier or snowboarder?

Rent Gear: Many travelers are leaving their gear at home and renting with services like Ski Butlers. Depending on the ski/board package that you choose this may be the cheapest and easiest way to avoid more baggage charges. In addition you can rent the same skis you may own or skis that are better suited for the conditions and it saves the hassle of schlepping them.

Know your airline: Many airlines offer slight discounts if you check your bags online or travel on Southwest which does not charge for the first two bags.

Get Fee Waived: Baggage fees are generally waived for travelers who are either frequent fliers or have reached elite status.

Ship Luggage: No hassles at the airport. No delayed or lost luggage. Downside: Packing, organizing, shipping and you still need to pay.

Bryn, Park City, UT

Volkl AC 30s @ the Heave!

Rocked some AC 30s at Heavenly yesterday that I scored from Ski Butlers in South Lake Tahoe, and they were awesome!!! I kept doing the long laps from the top of Sky Express to the bottom of Stagecoach in record times! Ski Butlers rocks!!! Best ski rental delivery ever!

Bowling in the Forecast

Each year the great folks of Sierra-At-Tahoe invite local businesses to participate in their "Bowling Nite." It is a great time of year and is always a pleasant welcome to the start of the ski season. We are no "Lebowski's" over here, but we do enjoy pizza and bowling as much as the next guy, (not to mention some free spirits too). It is always nice to mingle with all the ski folks from around town and get pumped on what a fantastic season we have ahead of us. I personally went onto Sierra-At-Tahoe ski resort this week and was amazed with the conditions. The morning pretty much consisted of fresh turns from top to bottom for the first hour of the day then followed by fast groomers for the rest, which was just about all you could ask for so early in the season. I look forward to some serious coverage in the Lake Tahoe Basin so we can carve some nice turns down the Grand View lift line and get that out-of-breath feeling that can only come about from aggressive skiing. Until then, my fat powder ski rentals will have to remain in the closet but not for long. So for now, I'm looking forward to crushing the bowling lanes tonite, gorging on pizza, and reminiscing about deep powder lines from years past. Keep thinking snow because it's working!

Smelling the Roses

Does any one really know what this means and more importantly how often do we follow this golden saying? We all tend to get so busy, even though we live in some of the most beautiful places on earth, we don't take the time often enough to really look around and enjoy. For instance, I take Billie, my border collie, for a walk daily. Walking through all kinds of beautiful forests, to lakes with amazing scenery. Too often, the walk is part of my chores in a busy day, so I'm hurrying or talking on the phone or worse texting and don't really appreciate the beauty around me.

I decided to change this today. There's an Olympic ticket sales booth right across the way from where I work in the Activity Centre. I've watched people line up and always thought, I'll just be too busy during the Olympics with Ski Butlers to be able to watch any of the events. Oh yeah, I gave my head a shake and bought 4 tickets this morning. How many times in my life will I ever have the chance to watch an Olympic event live?!?

So I will be taking part, cheering for the amazing athletes and smelling the beautiful aroma of excitement in February 2010.

Openning Days Continue on LakeTahoe

Lake Tahoe mountain ski resorts continue to open this week. After a nice snowfall last week, Heavenly began operations and opening ski runs. Heavenly Ski resort now has 4 of 29 lifts running with 6 of 94 ski runs open. This Friday two more mountains will open for business, and with the predicted snow storm on the horizon, they might just have perfect timing. Sierra-At-Tahoe will start running lift chairs this weekend and are very anxious for guests to arrive. The great folks at "Sierra" are going to be offering free backcountry tours all year long and are pumped to provide the free service. "Sierra" also just got word that they were voted the #9 Best Park / #9 Best Pipe / #6 Overall Resort in Transworld Snowboarding Magazine's, "2010 Resort Guide." Kirkwood Mountain Resort's long anticipated opening gets underway this weekend. Minimal lifts will be running but they are optimistic that much of the terrain will be available very soon to ski. So get your ski and snowboard rentals ready because it's time to hit the slopes.

Social Media

About a year ago I wasn't sure how I was going to use social media to help Ski Butlers and back then I didn't have a complete understanding of what social media was. Now I do and so do all our franchises! Follow us on Twitter, become a friend on Facebook, see our photos on SkiButlers.com, or view a video on YouTube.

Why are we doing this? To keep our customers and friends informed. We are now becoming the source of valuable and relative information for the ski resorts that we deliver to. Not too mention it is fun telling and sharing our stories. So if you are not following, a friend, or watching us, start to do it today!

Bryn Carey, Founder and President

Snow is comming

After a summer and fall of getting ready for the winter it is very good to see that the weather report is looking positive at just about all our 25 North American resorts with snow on the way and places like Whistler getting dumped on.

When owning a ski shop you can do everything in your power to work hard, advertise, and gear up for the season, but the one thing you can not do is predict the weather and unfortunately our best marketer is Mother Nature. Early Snow = Good Year. At last weeks Park City Lodging Association's luncheon the guest speaker was Brian Mclnerny who works for NOAA and he had some encouraging news; El Nino in the Pacific means a greater chance of a good snow year and we are in an El Nino. Now no one can predict the weather past 7 days but they can make good assumptions based on historical data.

In today's day and age of high tech snow making and groomers, ski resorts have been able to offer a very good product even when mother nature doesn't cooperate. With cold temperatures the past few weeks, places like Park City Mountain Resort, which is right out my back door, have been blowing snow at night when the temperature drops to make sure they are ready there ski season opener November 21st. So no matter what mother nature does, we are going to have good skiing and riding this year, mother nature will just a be a great bonus!

By: Bryn Carey, Park City, UT

All Signs Point 2 Snow

It has been one awfully mild summer in Lake Tahoe, locals are talking, and Mother Nature seems to be tempting us Alpine folks with cold temperatures. These signs usually trick us into thinking winter is around the corner, but this year it just might be. In fact, there was snow on the north side of Mt. Rose until Thursday night from a front that moved through a few days before. The wind today was white-capping the lake on the South Shore just below Heavenly where frost could be seen from town a few days before. It's been cold at night and some sporty parkas have been dawned on the south shore casinos keeping tourists warm. Sail boats seen from Cave Rock where moving quite well in 20 knot wind on Thursday with clouds coming in in the afternoon. From Castle Rock on Friday, larger clouds came across the lake with 40 mph winds. The tree branches were swaying and pine needles and forest debris was blowing. Local ski rental shops have been setting up throughout the Heavenly Valley area. Ski industry purchase have been growing at a faster rate than last year as media coverage begins to offer crazy weather predictions for the season. The oceans affect the weather, and it does appear that the current weather patterns seem similar than in past huge snow seasons here in Tahoe. One local ski rental delivery shop employee believes this year will be similar to the explosive ski season of 2005 where Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Sierra-at-Tahoe received 900" of snow each starting with skiing in October. The concern for the winter could possibly be more rain on snow events with precipitation at different temperatures. This forecast could make it difficult for backcountry skiers to read the snow as the season progresses or just make conditions in the Sierra backcountry more precarious and dangerous. In this case, South Lake Tahoe is well endowed with lift access skiing for some of the most unique powder turns in the country.

Why skiing is better than golf.

Last week I was at a chamber event chatting with a local guy who owns a boot fitting shop, we began chatting about how golf and skiing shared some similarities, but have some huge differences. His similarities stemmed from the fact that he would fix and install custom footbeds in both golf shoes and ski boots. Success in each sport can come easier if the fundamental issues are fixed, i.e. alignment, posture, pronation, etc.

As we further discussed the value of a good footbed he went on to say that the difference between the two lies in the fact that if you go out to play golf and at the end of the 18th hole you are +20, your swing was off and your stance was wrong, and the guy you were playing with was +5 you got beat and don't particularly feel great about it. If you and the same guy are skiing down a trail, sure one of you may make better turns or get down the hill a touch quicker but you're both going to have fun, you're both going to get back on the lift and do the run again and again. I guess the difference is with golf there is a hard number at the end of the day to rate yourself on, with skiing it's all about having fun!

Tallac Turnouts

Each year, during the summer, the local South Lake Tahoe brewery, puts different parties on every weekend. Our brewery here is named Tallac, after the giant peak looming over our town, and they have a great location at the "Y", an area where two different highways intersect in our town. These parties are great and there is usually a pretty good turnout for the festivities. Last night, a couple local bands and DJs where all there to let loose and celebrate the end of the summer. It was actually the last of the summer session parties that are held at the brewery. This usually invokes a somewhat sad feeling but not for us up here, because we know that that only means the changing of the seasons is right around the corner and the snow should begin falling soon. Tallac Brewery is our only local beer brewer on the South Shore and its great to see them bringing the local community together to mingle and celebrate the end of summer. The actual festivities began around two in the afternoon. People slowly began arriving, but as soon as the sun dropped, the party was packed. Everyone drinking libations and blowing off the steam of the work week. These parties are essential for the locals, especially when their ski rentals and snowboard rentals are tucked away in their closets. We all know that as soon as these parties end, Fall begins to rear her head, and the white frozen stuff will soon begin to coat our town. This is how we "REALLY" take care of our stresses in Tahoe. Once the magnificent Heavenly Ski Resort opens, all the local snow hounds will be getting in their turns and carving up a storm. Even at the party last night, all people could talk about was what new kind of ski rentals the would be skiing on and how much snow they think is going to fall. I'm not one to speculate, but joints are acting up and my knees hurt, so bring on the snow!

My knee hurts worse than normal so I know it's going to be a good snow year!

I love the optimism in a ski town this time of year! Everything becomes a sign of a good winter and ski season approaching, and approaching quickly. You hear everything, the most common being "My (insert body part here) aches more than usual, must be a bunch of snow coming!", "The tree in my front yard turned a yellowish red instead of the usual reddish yellow, must be a ton of snow coming!", "My dog has been sleeping on the other side of the bed lately, he must know were in for a ton of snow!" You've heard them before, and true or not they are exciting to hear and latch on to. So what is your favorite way to tell whether it's going to be a good snow year or not? -Riley

Daylight Savings Approaches

As summer officially comes to a close after labor day, most ski towns will go into what we locals like to call "mud season". This is the time of year that buffers the two busy seasons: summer and winter. Locals, in particular, love this time of year because all the tourists are gone and town becomes quite normal for two months or so. They also call it "mud season" because it is usually accompanied by serious amounts of precipitation.
In the Spring, the wet conditions from melting snow and rain keep many locals from enjoying their skitown. However, the fall mud season is quite different. During this time, locals have access to the best mountain bike conditions of the season and can't still enjoy warm weather until daylight savings occurs.
As daylight savings approaches on Sept. 22, locals will scramble to enjoy their last bit of the outdoors before the clocks are set back. Personally, I love daylight savings. It signifies the approach of ski season in Lake Tahoe and other North American resort towns. Summer business will shut down and ski rental shops will start preparing for the busy El Nino winter ahead of us. As many area shops wrap up their labor day sales, many potential lcustomers will start booking their trips for next winter. Also, competition heats up as many area ski and snowboard shops will start selling their services to the local community.

Tired of Stinky Boots?

Countless ski rental shops fail to sanitize and dry their ski boots, thus resulting in stinky ski boots. While this may be a constant in the ski rental industry, there are a handful of shops that actually care about the boots they are renting out.

These elite ski rental companies have a trick. They constantly update their ski boot inventory yearly to maintain a clean slection of boots. Not only do these outfitters have "non-stinky" boots, but the boots are often brand new. And they personally guarantee the perfect fit.

Often, you can even rent your ski package and then purchase the boots that you were using. This is a great way to save money while getting a great a boots that you know work for you. Because, ideally, every skier should have their own boots anyway. This way they know they will have a great boot and they get rent the latest equipment for a bigger discount.

Fall Fever

It seems that every year about this time I begin to dream about the snow falling and all the great lines I intend to carve when Heavenly Ski Resort opens in the Fall. This season, I am interested in all the new ski and snowboard rentals that will be available to experience on the hill. Most people are beach-side burning themselves to a crisp this time of year, but my brain is thinking of cloudy skies, pounding snow, and thundering avalanche cannons. In South Lake Tahoe, the Heavenly Ski Basin receives some of the heaviest snow fall that I have witnessed in North America. This is just one of the many reasons we are blessed to ski in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. With so many major cities around the area, Heavenly Ski Resort is very accessible for families to make a quick trip up and enjoy all of the winter festivities. Families can be assured that they will have an amazing trip and make memories that will last a lifetime. There really is nothing like experiencing the snow and all its glory with your loved ones. One of these days, I might be content with sunny afternoons and bathing suits, but, at this time in my life, all I want is to be on the Heavenly Gondola with some brand new ski rentals, fresh wax, and feet of snow. So for now, I'll just have to deal with my Fall Fever and keep dreaming of snow falling and pray for an early winter season in Lake Tahoe.

Summer Hazards

Every year about this time in the Sierras, fire becomes a major concern for the community. This summer we have been experiencing an awful lot of moisture for our area. In my five years of living in South Lake Tahoe, I have never witnessed so much precipitation in the month of July. Unfortunately, this has created a false sense of safety among the great folks here in Tahoe. These storms can actually be more of a nightmare than a dream for the people living up here in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. One would think that we are receiving ample moisture, therefore fire danger should be relatively low. Resultantly, it allows for multiple lightning strikes to rock the Tahoe Basin and leave us vulnerable for environmental hardships. We also have a lot of dry sage and brush which is indigenous to the region and is extremely flammable. For example, just last week, a lightning strike sparked a small fire right outside the Lake Tahoe Community College and a second strike hit Heavenly Mountain Ski Resort. Luckily, our local South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, Lake Valley Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service were extremely alert and quick to respond to the emergency. They were able to quench the flames and save us from dealing with a huge disaster. Sometimes we don't realize how close we come to devastation, and that there are people out there behind the scenes who are constantly saving the day. These folks don't ask for a pat on the back or any celebration, they just go to work everyday, serve the people of Tahoe, and are the true heroes of our community. On the other hand, a lot of us winter enthusiasts only view the crazy weather as a sign for great things to come this upcoming ski and snowboarding season in Tahoe. We have all heard that this is a "La Nina" year and the precipitation we are experiencing this summer only supports that notion. Hopefully, this will allow us an early opening for Heavenly Mountain and brings us an unlimited amount of snow-pack this season. Still the threat of fire looms while we wait for our ski and snowboard rentals to come out of the garage and onto the hill. Just remember, the next time you bump into your local firefighters, don't forget to tell them, "Thanks for protecting our community and keeping us safe at home."

The people of the airport.

Nothing like a little people watching at the airport to give some perspective on the world. If you ever think you live a diverse life full of all walks of life go to a major international airport and you will realize you are full of it. What is it about airports and flying that bring out the worst in people. Some of the rudest people I have ever seen have been in airports. Customer Service Agents for airlines most likely have the crappiest job in the world. Is it the small cramped seating, the stress and hassle of carting around kids, bags and the world. It should be simple, it is fairly simple, I travel a bit and can deal pretty well, although I don't have 3 screaming kids running in every direction and four bags to carry across an entire terminal.

What a relief Ski Butlers is for your vacation. After all that pain and suffering of traveling, that extra stress of renting equipment could easily break you. But not to worry that stress has been eliminated with our hassle-free award winning service!

A couple thoughts: What is your favorite airline?

What games do you like to play while waiting for your flight? I like to take bets on which group of travelers will lose their cool the first.

To Damage or not to Damage Waiver?

To Damage Waiver or not to Damage Waiver? The age old question. Off all the poeple that use ski rentals, only a handful of select novices should never have it. These skiers are traveling at such slow speeds on green slopes that it is near impossible to damage a piece of ski equipment. However, there is great debate amongst all others about the value of the Damage Waiver.

First, there are varying conditions that warrant the necessity for a damage waiver. Early season as well as spring skiing pose risks for those who opt out of extra equipment protection. There are many obstacles that are hidden during early season when rocks can be covered with just an inch of fresh snow. Also, in the spring, rocks will expose themselves at a moments notice. These are all reasons to have extra equipment protection for your ski and snowboard rentals.

Second, many ski equipment shops have rentals that are valued well above $1000. If you happen to rent this ski equipment package or something similar, you will want to consider the additional cost to repair high-end ski rentals as opposed to basic rentals. Some rental shops even have a more expensive damage waiver for high-end ski and snowboard rentals. By paying $5 per day, you can rest assured there are few circumstances that could warrant any additional cost. And these would be Loss or Theft.

Of course, there are always a couple of ski rentals that get returned damged beyond repair. And this is the scenario in which the Damage Waiver would offer no assistance. As a participant in the rental agreement, you agree to be responsible for the equipment while skiing and riding and thus, no compnesation will be given for people that trash equipment.

Tahoe Ski Rentals

I was looking on the internet for a good place to ski and for ski rentals for our trip to Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe this winter and all of the discovered the ski rentals I needed for Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Sierra at Tahoe. All three are located in the Lake Tahoe vicinity and snowboards are welcome at any resort in Lake Tahoe. I've decided I'm going to South Lake Tahoe for my ski and snowboard tri[p this winter.

Wii Ski School

In the age of technology that we live in, people are now using game systems to practice and train for sports. The Nintendo Wii game system has several sports games that are helpful for athletes and more specifically snowboarders. Sure, the Shaun White snowboarding game is hardly educational, but it has a snowboard deck-like controller from which you control the game. I have never played this game and I wonder if it is really lifelike. Does it help you keep fine tune your riding skills and keep in shape during the off-season?

It is time that Nintendo comes out with a game for alpine skiing. The possibilities would be endless. The game could go from beginner level(green runs) all the way up to expert(double-black diamonds). Imagine, bombing down the resort of choice any time of the year.

I think the biggest hurdle behind this game would be a controller/pad that can realistically simulate downhill skiing. But nonetheless, there is a huge market for a product that can physical educate and train novices and experts alike. The end result would be more skiers at the resorts. Which, inturn, brings revenue to the community through lodging, dining, ski rentals and retail purchases.

Ski Butlers Ski Rentals in Denvor Post

Ski Butlers won the Vail Platinum Service Award for the second year in a row for outstanding customer service and The Denver Post, Park City Record, and The Vail Daily all mentioned it!

Queen Cover Band

Every Tuesday night during the summer the town of Vail has its "Hot Summer Nights" free concerts at Ford Park. Little did I know there was pretty large amphitheater in Vail. The first couple of months have had decent turn outs with decent bands. This past Tuesday however there was a Queen cover band. The turn out was amazing, every seat was filled and you could barely see the lawn because it was packed with people. The band was truly amazing the lead singer sounded as close as anyone can come to singing like Freddy Mecury. And the fact that they were playing Queen songs everyone in the audience was singing along and having the time of their lives. Having gone to many other concerts this summer and normally the music is a background noise and everyone is there to socialize. This night was so different, the music was cranked way up and everyone was facing the band singing/screaming the lyrics to all their favorite Queen songs. As foreseen they closed out with their two most famous songs We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. It was a night to never forget.
JS

Staying in Shape in the Off-Season

It is very important to stay in Shape in the off-season, not only will it make the beginning of your season more enjoyable, it will help prevent serious early-season injuries. A combination of cardiovascular exercises to increase your stamina and endurance, coupled with strength training should have skiing from 1st chair to last without needing to stop. Some quick training tips:

Cardio: This can be anything from running, biking and hiking to anyone of those crazy contraptions at the gym with the Tv's on them. Cardio should be done 3-4 times a week for at least 30 mins each time. If you are just getting started start with 15 mins 3 - 4 times a week and gradually increase 1 - 2 mins each week till you get to 30 mins.

Strength Training: This is going to keep your legs strong so that injuries are less likely to occur, especially in the knee area. Strength exercises should be done 2 - 3 non-consecutive days a week. 1 - 3 sets of 8 - 12 repetitions each, or to muscle fatigue. Again if your just getting back in to it, start with less reps and gradually build up. Great strength exercies are Squats, dead-lifts, lunges and side-step hops.

Another important focus should be core strength and flexibility. Core strength will improve your skiing ability and can be strengthened by ab and back workouts and core centered activities such as pilates and yoga. Flexibility will help all these other workouts, it will also help greatly reduce injuries.

The main thing to remember is you need to keep your head into it - the mind is the biggest part of any workout - if your heads not in it it becomes tough to stay motivated. Here's some motivation for you; keep up with off-season training and while all your friends have called it after a couple runs on a deep powder day you'll still be making fresh tracks and feeling great!

Removing Vinyl from Ski Rental Delivery Vans

Recently decided to change the graphics on my ski rental delivery van. I called around South Lake Tahoe and got some quotes to have the vinyl removed. It was looking like it would cost $800 just for the removal when I discovered a great product called "Vinyl Off".

I have to admit I was very skeptical when shelling out $85 for this product. The online video I saw showed a man removing vinyl like it was nothing. Well the video was completely accurate!! I was able to remove the vinyl and all the adhesive in just over 6hours. Vinyl Off saved my company $800!!! Now my South Lake Tahoe Ski Rental delivery van is primed and ready for some new vinyl graphics.

Little Grommer

Ever since my son was born, I have been dreaming of the day when I will finally get him on some ski rentals in Tahoe. Keep in mind, he is rather small so I am sure he won't get out there until the 2010/11 Lake Tahoe ski season. Although he is small, he has tremendous lower body strength and can manage his weight quite well. I took him to a local ski rental shop last season, and he amazed at all the different kinds of equipment. I could see the excitement growing in his eyes. I can't wait to stuff him in a little one-piece ski suit and watch him shred some Heavenly ski rentals.

What makes a great resort? We'd like to think it was the ski rentals!

Obviously we would be a bit biased and say that anywhere Ski Butlers is offering their hassle-free ski rentals makes for a great resort! That does certainly add to a great resort but does not make the whole enchilada. Their are many attributes that combine and compliment each other to make for a great resort. "Afterthought: I have given them numbers below but now that I think about it, every person will order these to their own preference, think of the numbers as bullets!"

1st, you need to have good snow, luckily here in the west we have that, some winters more than others, but between Utah, CO, WY, CA and B.C you will find tons of snow every season.
2nd, you need to have a great town with other winter activities, great restaurants and bars, and shopping! Take Whistler, B.C. labeled by most that have been there as one of the best ski towns in North America - the nightlife is just incredible. If shopping is more your activity Aspen is your town, you will want to make sure you know your credit card limits, because at Louis Vuitton, Coach, Ralph Lauren, and others you can get there quick.
3rd most important thing to make a great resort, good skiing! It is one thing to have good snow, but the mountains need to be set up so that you can truly enjoy it, a great mix of beginner to advanced. The more that compromise is met the more family oriented it will be and the better time every one will have. Which leads me to my next point:
4th - It needs to be fun, or people need to have fun while they are there!
5th - infinity - there are many more, airport close by, nice weather, public transportation, lots of parking, your favorite beer on tap, etc. Too many to mention here.
A lot goes into making a great resort and I think everyone's taste define which is right for them. But since Ski Butlers is in 25 resorts in North America, most of them defined as the "Top Resorts" of the country, it may be safe to say that ski rentals (Ski Butlers) plays a big part in the decision.

Onslught of Tahoe Madness

Of all the reasons to come to Tahoe, 4th of July definitely draws the largest crowd. As I drove to the beach, I saw six females with open containers hanging out of a cab. This really ruffled my feathers, but I was easily distracted when i noticed a jet ski trailer tipped over on the highway. I thought to myself, "lets get off the highway soon before someone hits us". I finally got to the beach and realized I was in for the biggest crowd in Tahoe since I have lived here. At Zephyr Cove, there were no boat or jet ski rentals available and the cave was absolutely full. I decided to get out of there quick and head home. As I drove back into town, I saw several ski rental shops selling off old equipment. I wonder if any of these summer tourists will be interested in ski rentals in the middle of Summer?

4th of July weekend in Telluride!

I didn’t think it could be possible but Telluride may be more gorgeous in the summer than in the winter! The San Juans still have snow clinging to their summits and you can just make out tracks on different peaks. The town is alive with people and things to do. The bluegrass festival was a couple weekends ago, the wine festival was last weekend and there is more coming ahead. There are great deals being offered as well, like stay 3 nights get the 4^th free over this upcoming weekend. There is round trip airfare from $240 and lodging for $49/night, how can you afford to sit home with deals like this. The perfect chance to check out Telluride in the summer and realize how beautiful it is year-round.

Ski Rentals in Chile

Just got an email form a friend of mine who is on a ski trip in Chile. He described the Andes as the most magnificent mountain range on Earth. The skiing has been alright so-far as it is still early winter in the South Hemisphere. Anyway, checking out local ski rental shops, he noticed that the majority of people at the resort had snowboard rather than ski rentals. Of course, there were ski suits everywhere with straight skis too!!! The ski rentals were out-of-date and snowboards were newer models. I remember when I was at Valle Nevado a few years ago, three or four people asked me if they could buy my Burton Custom X from under me.

Time to Dust Off Ski Rentals

It's that time of the year again, when I will begin trying to sell ski rentals to locals and seasonal employees coming to work at Heavenly next ski season. Perhaps, the main reason why I have already taken on this challenge is because I have already been contacted by several Chilenos and Argentinos seeking employment in Lake Tahoe next year. Ski rental leases are perfect for these seasonal employees of Heavenly Ski rental shops. There are several blog sites to get the message out and there is also a few recruiters in South America that have worked with me in the past. The flip side of this endeavor is selling skis to locals in Lake Tahoe. Of course, few locals are thinking about purchasing ski rentals at this point of the summer. However, making contacts and offering old ski rentals as a kickback is a great way to network for the coming ski season.