It's Labor Day - think ski deals

Sporting goods stores offer bargains on gear, clothing at annual sales

Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 30, 2007 at midnight

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Last year's dismal ski season along the East Coast is a boon for Front Range shoppers scouting for bargains at this weekend's annual ski sale extravaganza.

Specialty Sports Venture's Ken Gart said there were "ridiculous" deals for last year's gear after dozens of East Coast ski resorts never opened because there was so little snow.

"There's a lot more merchandise at distressed prices," said Gart, president of Specialty Sports Venture, which owns Colorado Ski & Golf.

Both the sixth annual Ski Rex, run by Colorado Ski & Golf and Boulder Ski Deals outlets, and Sports Authority's 52-year-old Sniagrab square off again this Labor Day in the unofficial kickoff to the ski season. The rival chains boast steep discounts on last year's equipment and apparel and the best prices of the early ski season.

Sports Authority has expanded the size of several of its Sniagrab sale sites around the metro area this year to accommodate the extra merchandise. The Parker store joins the sale for the first time, while the Littleton and Boulder stores moved their sales to nearby buildings instead of parking lot tents.

"It's going to be much easier to shop and to see the products," said Brian Stein, senior vice president of store operations for the central region.

The big show is still at Sports Authority's Sportscastle at 10th Avenue and Broadway, which has about 10,000 pairs of skis and 7,000 ski boots on sale, said Mark Correll, the company's vice president and divisional merchandise manager.

X Games and World Cup gold medalist Steve Fisher is slated to make an appearance at the Sportscastle at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Olympic gold medal snowboarder Hannah Teter will show up at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Ski Rex, meanwhile, promises that last year's merchandise is at least 40 percent off, Gart said. Colorado Ski & Golf offers a Junior Trade-In program, which lets parents swap out used or new equipment for a discount.

"It's the consumer who wins when there are two very strong retailers who are trying to beat each others' prices," Gart said.

U.S. sales of ski and snowboarding equipment at specialty ski stores fell nearly 1 percent last season to $1.78 billion, according to Snowsports Industries America. Of that, sales are split nearly equally among apparel, equipment and accessories.

Sports Authority's Correll expects Volkl's AC4, K2's Apache XTR and Atomic's Metron 7 skis to be the first to fly off the shelves. Ski Rex predicts women will snap up last season's popular K2 Lota Luv skis and new one-piece ski suits from Burton, Bonfire and Obermeyer.

Where to go

Ski Rex

Locations:

Colorado Ski & Golf

• 2650 S. Havana St., Aurora

• 7715 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada

• 8100 W. Crestline Ave., Denver

• 454 Montebello Square Drive, Colorado Springs

Boulder Ski Deals

• 2525 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder

When:

9 a.m.-6 p.m. - Saturday

10 a.m.-5 p.m. - Sunday

10 a.m.-5 p.m. - Monday

Sniagrab

Locations:

Sports Authority Sportscastle

• 1000 Broadway, Denver

Other Sports Authority stores

• 11445 S. 20 Mile Road, Parker

• 3320 N. 28th St., Boulder

• 425 S. College Drive, Fort Collins

• 8055-4 W. Bowles Ave., Jefferson County

When:

8 a.m.-9 p.m. - Saturday

9 a.m.-9 p.m. - Sunday

9 a.m.-9 p.m. - Monday

Hot gear for the slopes

Retail stores that sell the latest in gotta-have-it snow sports equipment have been on the lookout for this season's new stuff for months. To bone up on what's bound to be hot, we tagged along with gear gurus, who descended on Keystone this year to test-drive cutting-edge products at an "on the snow" trade show. Here are a few examples of what we saw:

BURTON EST (EXTRA SENSORY TECHNOLOGY) SNOWBOARD BINDING

• Price: $299.95

• Details: This high-tech snowboard binding, which mounts on the sides instead of under foot, gives riders a better feel for their board and more "flex" because the usual base plate is replaced with a cushioned pad. Mounts on the Burton Infinite Channel System boards, which allow for bindings to be mounted at any angle or stance.

SMITH I/O GOGGLES

• Price: $160

• Details: These rimless goggles have been years in the making and have what this eyewear giant calls "intuitive," interchangeable lenses. Translation: It's easier to swap out the two different lenses, depending on whether it's a bright, sunny day or a snowy, stormy one. Comes in black, red and white and will be available in stores late this fall.

NEW TELEMARK NORM, OR NTN, BINDING FROM NORWAY'S ROTTEFELLA

• Price: $349.95 with brake and $330 without (works with boot models from Scarpa and Crispi)

• Details: This new binding makes its North American debut this season, offering free-heel skiing that enables easier movement in and out of the binding. It also looks and works more like contemporary alpine equipment than the more antiquated telemark bindings.

MOVEMENT SKIS

• Price: The Thunder model retails for $665.

• Details: The company's best-selling model will be back this season, along with more sizes of its Goliath offering. The specialty shop's Thunder brand can best be described as a "hard-charging-type ski for guys who like to go really fast," said Greg Floyd, owner of Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden. "The harder you push it, the better it feels. It's definitely starting to get a name in the free-ride crowd."

For the uninitiated

It's been 53 years since Jerry Gart held the first Sniagrab Labor Day ski sale.

Jerry and the Gart family gave up rights to what's now called Sports Authority and the Sniagrab sale - which Jerry came up with when he turned a cocktail napkin upside down - when they left Gart Sports in 1992.

Jerry's sons - Tom, Ken and John - came back in 2001 at Specialty Sports Venture with their own version of the Labor Day sale, called Ski Rex.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514

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