Ski Bums

Get the very best deals on all your ski and snowboard needs.

Comments (0) By Jessica Centers Thursday, Nov 6 2008

Ski season’s almost upon us — which, if you’re anything like me, means that you missed Sniagrab, still haven’t bought a season pass, never did upgrade those boots like you meant to last year and have just looked in the closet to find your old ski pants and puffy jacket aren’t looking quite as gnarly as they once did. So why not check out the single largest ski and snowboard sale in the state, with 20,000 square feet of merchandise, including 40 to 70 percent discounts on last year’s inventory? The Colorado Ski & Snowboard Expo is the best place to buy cheap gear and get pre-season lift ticket and lodging deals. Or, better yet, to score some free stuff from all the giveaways.

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Now in its seventeenth year, the expo has also become a festival of sorts, with skiers and riders competing on rails, a high-flying trampoline aerialist show and a celebrity appearance from freeskier Glen Plake. You can sign up for a silly contest on the main stage to win prizes, let your kids get the feel for sliding down a slope on skis for the first time at the Breckenridge Kids’ Center, or unload your own skis, poles, boards or boots to be recycled into decking material by Colorado Ski & Golf.

While expo spokeswoman Joan Christensen is sure it’s the good deals on last year’s merch that bring people out each year — especially in this economy — she says there will be plenty of new releases, too, for those who wouldn’t be caught dead in last year’s pants.

The expo runs from noon to 10 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 Fourteenth Street. Admission is $9 at www.onthesnow.com, $10 at Colorado Ski & Golf or $12 (cash only) at the door. For info, call 303-228-8000.
Fri., Nov. 7, 12-10 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 9, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2008