Losing skis?

[ajl50]

My girlfriend and I are looking to plan a trip out west this winter and it would be our first trip where we take our skis with us. We're really concerned about changing planes and having the skis lost in the change over so we have only been looking at Colorado area mountains since we can get a direct flight from Philly/NYC to denver. Are we too worried? Any tips? Horror stories we need to be aware of?

 

[thetrailboss]

If it is such a big concern, why not pack your boots and rent skis when you are there? Might be a good opportunity to demo some new skis :wink:

 

[montageskier]

If you are really worried, send the skis in U.P.S to the hotel. And pick them up when you get there.

 

[SkiDog]

My girlfriend and I are looking to plan a trip out west this winter and it would be our first trip where we take our skis with us. We're really concerned about changing planes and having the skis lost in the change over so we have only been looking at Colorado area mountains since we can get a direct flight from Philly/NYC to denver. Are we too worried? Any tips? Horror stories we need to be aware of?

I dont personally have any horror stories, but I try to do my travel on non stops, so.....but I have switched and my skis have made it...I think it was Wyoming..nope Utah....had to connect through Chicago...I dont know that i'd worry about it too much...idea..maybe bring the boots on the plane..IMHO those are the most important thing...I see lots of people do this on trips out west. That way if the skis are lost and delayed you can still ski by renting the rest of the equipment. just bring the whole boot bag with the ski pants and everything.

All that being said..nothing wrong with choosing a CO resort...great skiing there...can't go wrong...

Just dont stress it...

M

 

[maineskier69]

I would be more worried about losing the skis in some deep powder. Kind of a nice problem, to much snow. Happened to me at of all places Sunday River 2.5 years ago when we had that early December dump (3-4'). Never did find it again, groomer probably chewed it up.

 

[SnowRider]

This is the perfect time for you to talk your wife into getting new gear :wink: I have heard of friends losing gear in the airport but skis? I just dont know how it would be possible to lose skis in an airport. Now if you were asking about losing skis at the mountain, I would have plenty of stories!

SnowRider

 

[SkiDog]

This is the perfect time for you to talk your wife into getting new gear :wink: I have heard of friends losing gear in the airport but skis? I just dont know how it would be possible to lose skis in an airport. Now if you were asking about losing skis at the mountain, I would have plenty of stories!

SnowRider

I think he means them being "delayed" due to not making the transfer from plane to plane should he have to switch planes..

M

 

[Geoff]

I've flown all over the world with skis and rarely ever had problems. The time to worry about it is booking puddle jumpers in bad weather. If the flight is full and they have to carry enough fuel to divert to an airport with known good weather forecasted, they sometimes have to leave skis sitting on the ground to meet weight & balance. I seem to remember my gear not making it to Aspen for a day once. If I have any doubt, I just ship my gear.

When I'm connecting in the winter, I usually try to pick a warm weather hub. There are tons of jets that go from Dallas to airports near ski resorts. I prefer to stay as far away from Denver as I can since the resorts within 2 hours of Denver are jammed with people. If I want hardpack and 30 minute liftlines, I don't need to fly 2000 miles to find it.

The other option to consider is Salt Lake City since it's a Delta hub with service to everywhere. You have a boat load of world class ski resorts within 45 to 50 minutes from the airport. You can catch a morning flight and be skiing by noon. You can ski 'til 2:00 and still catch the last flight east and sleep in your own bed. For lodging, you can spend as much or as little as you want. You can stay down in the flats in Salt Lake for next to nothing. You can stay slopeside at the resorts at typical premium prices. You can get by with a cheap rental car. If it snows, park it in the lot at the base of the Cottonwood Canyons and take the bus.

 

[Phildozer]

I took my skis from Boston to Chicoutimi, QC via Montreal and didn't have a bit of trouble.

But.

I wish I hadn't. I got up to the place where we were skiing (Valinouet), most of the trails were ungroomed and the mountain is 100% natural snow. My Atomic 9.18s didn't do all that well in the stuff they had there.

If you're going to Colorado, why not demo/rent some skis that are better-suited to the local conditions?

 

[ajl50]

Good suggestions

I've been thinking alot about shipping them. I like the idea of the warm weather hub too.

 

[tree_skier]

I lost a ski on mine shaft at MT Sneux 2 seasons ago. It took me an hour to find the damn thing.

 

[SkiDork]

Question: If you drive to AltaBird from SLC, do you go 80 -> 40, or South on 15/89 and approach from the South?

 

[from_the_NEK]

If you don't bring your own skis and you're an advanced skier I highly recommend not renting. It that senario Demoing higher end skis is definitely recommended. I had a REALLY bad experience with rental skis at Crystal Mtn, Washington in March with a cheap pair of rental skis constantly/dangerously prereleasing and I actually almost lost one in some deep powder.
I have flown with skis from Vermont to CO via NY Laguardia. My skis showed up on a separate Delta flight from New York even though I was on a Frontier Airlines plane. I booked through a website and the cheaper flight involved changing airlines from Delta to Frontier in NY. I don't recommend this. A non-vital piece of my binding ended up broken as well.
From now on I think I will ship my skis or put them in a rigid case.

 

[ChileMass]

It would be pretty unusual to lose your skis going to Denver, especially on a direct flight. My family and I (wife, 2 daughters) have flown to CO about 8 times and to UT twice with all our gear and never had a problem, even when we had to make a connection.

If you really are concerned, Trailboss's suggestion of renting/demo-ing skis and boots out there is a good one. Always lots of fun to try new equipment.

Good luck and have fun!