Yakima Thule Source for Updated Products and Information

Softride 24232 Ski & Snowboard Rack

January 17th, 2012

People are ALWAYS asking us about putting skis on the back of their cars and quite honestly, there aren’t many options. But, this is one of the better ones. The Softride 24232 Ski & Snowboard Rack when attached to either the Softride 26247 Dura 4 Bike Rack or the Softride 26321 Dura Assist Bike Rack carries skis and snowboards while allowing complete access to the back of the car or SUV while it’s loaded.

The Softride 24232 Ski & Snowboard Rack folded down for rear of vehicle access

Installation of the Ski & Snowboard Rack is a cinch. To attach, first slide out the Dura Bike Rack arms then slide in Ski/Snowboard Rack pieces and just like that you have converted a bike rack into a ski rack. It really is that easy.

The Softride Ski/Snowboard Rack attachment holds the skis at an angle which is ideal when it comes to garage clearance issues.

The Softride 24232 Ski & Snowboard Rack holds skis at an angle for better clearance with garage doors and the ground

The Softide Ski Rack attachment has a lower opening that you slide the tails of your skis into, then they lay over into the upper clamp which closes snugly over the top portion of the skis, above the bindings.

The rack includes a lock at the clamp for a little extra piece of mind. If you have a tall vehicle, no roof rack, issues with garage clearance or just want a ski rack on the back of the car instead of the top, then the Softride 24232 Ski & Snowboard Rack is definitely one of your best options.

The Softride 24232 Ski & Board Rack works nicely with the Softride Dura Bike Racks and is a great solution for carrying skis and or snowboards on the back of your car

Tags: hitch bike racks, hitch mount ski rack, ski rack, ski season, softride racks, softride ski rack, softride snowboard rack
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Thule AeroBlade Flush Mount Ski Rack Hardware

November 4th, 2011

Thule’s new ski racks, the Thule 92724, 92725, and 92726 now come equipped with the new SpeedLink Hardware. The SpeedLink hardware is easy to install, lockable with Thule’s One Key System (included), and fits a broad range of crossbars, including factory installed crossbars, Whispbar Racks and the new Thule AeroBlade Crossbars.

What we have found is that the SpeedLink hardware – while functionally excellent – looks a bit chunky and awkward. Of course this is only our opinion, but when mounting to slotted crossbars like Thule AeroBlade, Rapid Aero, and Whispbar crossbars, we think the install could look and function a little better. That is why we developed an original hardware kit that allows you to flush mount the ski rack to the crossbar by utilizing the T-channel on top of the bar.

Cracks & Racks’ Original Thule AeroBlade Flush Mount Ski Rack Hardware Kit

A small modification to the existing hardware with the new Thule Ski racks enables you to mount the rack flush to Thule AeroBlade crossbars

Thule Flush Mount Ski Rack Install Hardware

Flush mounting a Thule Ski rack is easy when you utilize our Flush Mount Ski Rack Hardware Kit.

Removing the original SpeedLink hardware and replacing it with our Flush Mount Hardware Kit makes the Thule ski racks look really good on top of Thule AeroBlade crossbars

This hardware works perfectly for the following Thule Ski Racks:

Thule 92724
Thule 92725
Thule 724
Thule 725
Thule 91725 (requires drilling out old rivits)
Thule 91724 (requires drilling out old rivits)

This hardware works perfectly for the following Crossbar Styles:

You can download the instructions to installing our Flush Mount Ski Rack Hardware by clicking this link here –> Flush Mount Ski Rack Hardware Instructions

If you’re not sure if this hardware kit will work with your ski rack or your rack system, please contact the shop and we’ll help you make a good decision.

This hardware modification is not recommended for use with the Thule 92726, Thule 91726 or 726 because the natural curve present in the Thule AeroBlade Crossbars and Whispbar Racks will bind the slide-out mechanism. However, if mounting to Thule Xporter crossbars, or other OEM installed racks that have level crossbars, you will find adequate compatibility.

The Whispbar RailBar has a slight curve, which will bind the Pull-Top mechanism of the Thule 92726 Ski Rack

The curve of the Whispbar Crossbars works great with Thule 92724 and 92725 ski racks, but will prevent the Pull-Top ski racks from sliding smoothly

Tags: thule, thule 92724, thule 92725, thule aeroblade, thule ski rack, whispbar racks
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Mini Cooper Cargo Box Install

November 3rd, 2011

If you’re looking to have a cargo box installed on the roof of your Mini Cooper, here are some photos to get some perspective on the size. The box in this photo is a Thule Atlantis 1600 – Black. It’s installed on the OEM roof bars that the customer had installed at her Mini dealer.

Since the roofline of the Mini is so small, we didn’t really want to go with a much larger Thule Cargo Box.

The 686BXT attaches directly to the OEM Mini Crossbars with the included QuickGrip Mounting Hardware

Thule Roof Cargo Box Atlantis 1600 Black

The placement of the Cargo Box allows the vehicle's rear door to open without interference, even with a small spoiler

The short roofline of the Mini dictates the size of the roof box that will fit properly

The Thule Atlantis 1600 complements the roof of the BMW Mini Cooper.

Tags: mini cooper rack, thule 686bxt, thule atlantis 1600, thule cargo box, thule roof cargo box
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Honda Odyssey Roof Rack and Cargo Box

August 9th, 2011

It’s easy to run out of space when you load up the kids and dogs and head out for a family vacation. That’s why a cargo box works so well, and especially well on the roof of this 2010 Honda Odyssey.

We helped this customer choose a Yakima Sky Box 18 to fit his extra gear. With 18cu.ft. of space, this box has excellent carrying capacity without being excessively large on the roof.

As a bonus, like all of the Yakima Sky Box Cargo Boxes, this box opens from both sides of the vehicle. So on a vehicle such as this, with dual-sliding cargo doors, access to the box is easy regardless of how you load it and where you park it.

The base rack used on this Odyssey is the Yakima 0140 Railgrab Kit, which includes a set of 4 of the Yakima 0138 Railgrab towers and a set of Yakima 58″ Roundbars. The extra bar you see sticking out will give this customer the ability to attach a couple of bike mounts in the future, if he elects to in the future. The Yakima fit calls for 48″ bars, so folks looking for a tigher fit will find that length to be sufficient.

The 92" length of the Yakima Sky Box 18 fits the roofline of the Honda Odyssey well

The width of the Yakima Sky Box 18 will make loading and unloading from the dual-sliding doors on the Honday Odyssey a breeze

Tags: honda odyssey roof rack, roof rack, sky box, yakima, yakima 0140 railgrab kit, yakima racks, yakima railgrab, yakima sky box 18
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Thule 430 Tracker II Complete Rack Package w/ TK 13 Fiberglass Application

August 5th, 2011

We mounted a Thule 430 Tracker Complete Rack System on a hard shell fiberglass tonneau cover. This cover happened to be mounted to the bed of a shiny new Ford F-150 Platinum Edition pick up truck. This setup was actually very easy to install, as it was nearly identical to mounting to a fiberglass camper top.

The Thule 430 Tracker II Complete Rack Package equipped with the Thule TK13 installs nicely onto your hard shell tonneau cover for your pickup truck.

The first step to this installation was to figure out the positioning we wanted for the two crossbars. We needed to make sure that our installation would not interfere with the bedrail of the truck when the tonneau was closed. Also, if we mounted our towers too far inside the tonneau cover then we would be installing through a double thick layer of fiberglass that consumed most of the center area of the tonneau.

This customer wanted four Thule 517 Peleton bike racks added, but wanted us to keep the bike racks near the outside of the crossbars, so that loading and unloading was made as easy as possible. The most effective way to achieve this is to orient the inside bike racks backwards and the outside bike racks forwards. This enables the racks to be mounted closer together while avoiding handle bar and pedal interference.

The Thule 917 Peloton Fork Mounted Bike Racks can be positioned closer together when installed in opposite directions.

One unique aspect of this installation that we needed to keep in mind is the clearance behind the backward facing bike trays. We didn’t want them to hit the rear glass on the back of the cab and we also needed enough clearance to have them not hit the rear of the cab when the tonneau cover was raised.
Determining where the rear crossbar should be mounted was crucial to this key aspect of our installation. Once we determined how much space we needed for mounting the backward facing bike racks we could accurately measure and install our rear crossbar. Once the rear bar was mounted we then focused on the front bar. We opted to line up the rear of the tray on the forward facing bike racks with the back edge of the tonneau, giving it a nice symmetrical look. This put the front bar at 33” forward of the rear bar, which is a fine distance for mounting tray style fork mounted bike racks.

The Thule 430 Tracker II Complete Rack Package equipped with the TK 13 Fiberglass Application is the perfect solution for mounting onto a hard shell tonneau cover.

The next step in the installation involves measuring and marking the mounting location of the towers and bases. First, we pre-assembled the rack by sliding the Thule 430 Tracker II Towers on to the Thule Load Bars and then clicking the towers onto the TK13 base. With this system loosely assembled, we set the entire system onto the tonneau cover and used a cloth tape measure to figure out precisely where the towers would be on each side. Before we marked our tower mounting location, With all this in mind and measured out twice, we drew a circle around the TK bases, and then lifted off the towers and bars leaving just the bases on the vehicle. At this point we marked where the holes should be drilled and used a center punch to show exactly where to drill.

The Thule 430 Tracker II Complete Rack Package should have an equal amount of crossbar overhang on either side of the towers when installed correctly.

Now for the fun part… drill the holes, and mount it up. With everything measured and marked this is really the easy part. The instructions tell you what size bit to use, starting with a 1/8” bit pilot hole and finishing with a 9/32” drill bit. Once the holes are drilled, spread some silicone around the holes (included in kit). Next assemble the bases by attaching the base pads and inserting the bolts and washers through holes. Once the TK Bases are positioned on the roof it is time to tighten them down. This is where another person can really be handy, one person on top turning the bolts and the other underneath holding or turning the nuts. Once tight, not too tight (when you hear fiberglass crunching, it’s probably tight enough), you can set your towers and bars into the secured bases. Now adjust the crossbars so that there is an equal amount of bar extending out from each tower and tighten the small allen screw located on the side of the towers. This screw tightens the towers to the bars (not too tight on this one either). The last step is to pop on the end caps (included with the towers) and attach the bike racks.

Tags: thule bike racks, thule custom rack installation, thule rack install, thule tk13, tonneau cover rack install
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2010 Nissan Cube Yakima Roof Rack & Cargo Basket

April 20th, 2011

Here are some photos we did of a Yakima Q Tower system on a Nissan Cube.

Check out the New Nissan Cube equipped with the Yakima Q-Tower Complete Rack Package and Yakima 7080 Mega Warrior Cargo Basket.

At first glance the Nissan Cube seems petite, square, and kinda cool. After working on it for a half an hour, and after installing the Yakima Q-Tower Complete Rack Package and Yakima MegaWarrior Cargo Basket, The Crew at Cracks & Racks really started to like this car. So we decided to snap some pictures of the rack system and tell you a little about it.

The Yakima MegaWarrior really compliments the body lines of the Nissan Cube

The base rack system is a set Yakima 0124 Q-Towers equipped with two packs of Yakima Q-31 Q-Clips and a pair of Yakima 58” Steel Roundbars.

Yakima 0124 Q Towers are the essential components to the base rack system for the Nissan Cube

This install was super easy following the instructions that come with the Q-Clips. With a crossbar spread of 31”, we had a perfect prerequisite for attaching the Yakima 7080 MegaWarrior Cargo Basket.

With 31" of bar spread, the Yakima Q-Tower Base Rack System provided a perfect foundation for the Yakima 3080 MegaWarrior Cargo Basket

This was the perfect size basket for the Nissan Cube. The size of the basket just plain fits the size of the car and the geometry of the basket compliments the overall theme of the Cube. Take a look for yourself!

The Yakima MegaWarrior is the perfect size cargo basket for the Nissan Cube

Tags: cool rack, nissan cube rack, nissan cube roof rack, roof rack, roof racks, yakima, yakima loadwarrior, yakima q towers, yakima rack, yakima racks
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Swing Away Vs. Fold Down – Hitch Mounted Bike Racks

February 22nd, 2011

Most SUVs, trucks and wagons have some sort of lift gate or swing door to access the rear of the vehicle. As a result, current hitch bike racks in today’s market have been designed to allow you access to the back of the vehicle while carrying bikes.

Loading and unloading your bikes is easier with a Hitch Mounted Bike Rack than a Roof Mounted Bike Rack because you only have to lift the bikes up waist-high.

Hitch mounted bike racks are the easiest racks to operate. As opposed to hauling your bikes onto the roof of the car, rear-mounted hitch racks make loading bikes easier since you only need to raise your bike waist-high.

Hitch mounted bike racks also install easily and can be removed easily with a single tool, or sometimes no tool at all, making it a great choice for weekend warriors or people who only want a rack for seldom use. The Thule 970XT Helium 2 Bike Rack is made of lightwieght aluminum and incorporates a no-tool installation.

The Thule 970XT Helium 2 Bike Hitch Mounted Bike Rack is lightweight, has a no-tool installation knob, is fully equipped with locks, and fits 2" and 1 1/4" receiver hitches.

There are many features that round out the lineup of hitch racks. Some racks have folding bike arms that can be stowed when not in use. This feature is handy when parallel parking for example, since the rack is not sticking out behind the car. This is a standard feature on all but a few of the hitch-mounted bike racks.

Yakima has incorporated a very easy-to-use QuickCam Lever that will raise and lower the bike arms simply by moving the lever forward while raising or lowering the arms. This extremely convenient feature is available on the SwingDaddy 4, the DoubleDown Series racks, and the FlipSide 4.

The Yakima Quick Cam Lever makes it easy to fold down the bike rack arms which minimizes the footprint of the rack on the back of the vechicle.

Thule has developed their version, the Hitch-Switch, which allows the bike arms to be raised and lowered with just the lift of a switch. This feature is available on the Revolver 4 bike rack, the Roadway series racks, Helium Series Racks, and the Ridgeline 4 Bike Rack.

Thule has developed there version called the Hitch-Switch which allows the bike arms to be raised and lowered with just the lift of a switch.

This same Hitch-Switch is also incorporated into most Thule bike racks for another benefit, lowering the entire bike rack to gain access into the back of the vehicle. After you unload the bikes from the rack, pull the Hitch-Switch at the bottom of the rack to release the upper portion of the rack allowing it to tilt down away from the vehicle. You now have enough room to open up your tailgate or hatch, gaining access into the back of your vehicle.

The Thule Hitch Switch is also used at the base of the bike rack to allow access to the back of the vehicle

Yakima uses a similar system consisting of a spring loaded pin that, when released, allows the rack to fold down and away from the vehicle giving you complete access into the back.

Yakima Spring Pin controls the racks upright position - pulling the pin releases the rack to be folded down to gain access to the back of your vehicle.

Integrated locking systems not only lock the bikes to the rack, but also lock the rack to the hitch. Both locks are keyed alike, meaning you will only need one key to access either the bike lock or the hitch lock.

The integrated cable lock on the Yakima Swingdaddy is used to lock your bikes to the bike rack and in stored conveniently inside the bike rack when not in use

Vehicles with swing out doors, like the Hyundai Santa Fe, and the Toyota Rav 4 will most benefit from a swing out bike rack. There are many advantages to swing-away bike racks versus fold down bike racks. When the rack is swung open, you are afforded complete access to the rear of the vehicle even when the rack is fully loaded with bikes. This means you do not have to remove every single bike from the rack before folding the rack to gain access to the back of the vehicle.

The Thule 964 Revolver offers complete rear of vehicle access while your bikes are loaded onto the bike rack

The Thule 964 Revolver Swingaway Bike Rack offers complete rear of vehicle access while your bikes are loaded onto the bike rack

On the other hand, using a fold-down bike rack on a vehicle with a swing-open rear door will not provide complete access to the rear of the car, since the rear door will not be able to clear the rack, even when it’s folded down completely. Fold-down bike racks are a great choice for many vehicle applications, especially when access to the rear of the car can be achieved through an independent, lift-up rear glass, like the Toyota 4Runner. While the fold-down rack will allow you to lift any liftback or hatchback door, it is extremely cumbersome and awkward to fold down the rack when bikes are loaded, even with just 2 bikes.

Swing-away racks, such as the Yakima SwingDaddy and the Thule Revolver do require a bit more work to operate than a fold-down rack since you need to completely loosen the wing bolt to open the rack, and reattach it securely to close the rack when preparing for transit.

Preparation for swingaway racks involves loosening the security bolt and pulling the security pin.

If your application requires you to move from a 2″ receiver to a 1 ¼” receiver, have no fear, most of the hitch mounted bike racks from both Thule and Yakima are designed to adapt to either size receiver hitch options. All that you need to do to adapt your rack to a different size receiver hitch is either attach or remove the sleeve located on the rack’s tongue. The only exception to this is the swing-away racks which only fit 2” receiver hitches.

The platform-style upright mounted hitch racks, such as the Yakima 2433 Hold Up, are sold in different varieties designated for hitch size. You cannot attach a 2” upright rack to a 1 ¼” hitch receiver; you must buy the 1 ¼” version bike rack to do that.

Platform-style Upright Bike Racks, like this Yakima 2433 Hold Up, are receiver hitch size specific

Tags: fold down bike rack, hitch bike rack, hitch bike racks, swingaway bike racks, thule 964, thule bike racks, thule helium, thule revolver, yakima 2422, yakima bike rack, yakima bike racks, yakima doubledown, yakima racks, yakima swingdaddy
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Welcome to Cracks & Racks

February 11th, 2011

Here’s a short little excerpt about what we do here at Cracks & Racks. Enjoy.

Tags: bike rack, bike racks, cool racks, hitch bike rack, new racks, roof rack, ski racks thule, thule, thule bike racks, thule racks, yakima, yakima racks
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SmartPhone Apps for Outdoor Enthusiasts

January 13th, 2011

In this new age of the Smart Phone, we can become overwhelmed by the technology available for us to simplify our busy lives, thus not really simplifying anything. But with the Smart Phone you have an all-in-one tool for survival and fun that includes internet access, GPS coordination, cameras and much more. With new apps being developed everyday, you can turn your phone into just about anything that you can think of. We, your helpful Cracks & Racks crew, have put together a small selection of apps that can be fun and useful for outdoor enthusiasts to use during their activities.

AccuTerra

If you like knowing where you are at the touch of a button while skiing in the winter, hiking in the summer, mountain biking, camping, backpacking or whatever your calling may be, then check out AccuTerra. AccuTerra is a one-stop, GPS-based, outdoor recreation app with terrain, trail, and ski area maps designed for the iPhone. While comparable recreation maps for expensive dedicated GPS units can cost hundreds in additional fees – AccuTerra gives you access to millions of square miles at a fraction of the price. Choose from over 220,000 miles of trails, thousands of trailheads, campgrounds, picnic areas — it’s the ONLY app available that displays all major public land boundaries.

GoSky Watch Planetarium & Google Sky Map

Go outside and check out the stars with the GoSkyWatch Planetarium App for the iPhone or Google Sky Map for Android. These are impressive apps, which allow you to easily and quickly identify and locate stars, planets, constellations and more with a just a touch of the screen or by simply pointing to the sky. Have fun with family and friends discovering the night sky. Many of the new features are specifically designed for efficient outdoor use. The red light mode is designed to preserve night vision. The planets are shown with relative brightness for easy identification, and with touchless navigation, heads-up information display, and full 180 degree display you can see at a glance what is in the sky and where. Looking for a planet or star? Just use the finder and let the arrow guide the way.

iBird Pro

During your down-time while you sit back and relax and enjoy the outdoors this year, try out the iBird Pro app. This app, iBird Plus, is an interactive guide to the most popular bird species found in the backyards of North America. Designed for both the iPhone and Android platforms, this product contains illustrations, photos, bird calls and comprehensive facts to help you identify and enjoy 234 North American bird species. With no need for an Internet connection, and all of the data right at your fingertips, you can make bird identification a fun activity no matter what your outdoor passion is.

All-In Pedometer

There are some especially cool apps that you can use every day in your busy life like the All-In Pedometer. The Pedometer is the perfect tool for working out or just measuring how much you walk in a day. The built-in music player will get you pumped for the workout and the body tracker will show you the changes in your body, speeding up the progress toward your ultimate goal. Just start the application, put your iPhone or iPod in your pocket, and get movin’! The Pedometer does all of the calculating for you.

Knot Guide

You don’t have to live by the old saying, “If you can’t tie a good knot, just tie a bunch of bad ones” anymore once you download the Knot Guide for iPhone and Android applications. People of all walks of life since ancient times have found knots both fascinating and essential. Knots are used in sailing, climbing, tree trimming, jewelry making, and everyday tasks such as attaching a load to your vehicle. Whether you’re a novice or you have experience with tying knots, Knot Guide will assist you! 17 different categories include: Bends, Binding Knots, Climbing Knots, Decorative Knots, Fishing Knots, Hitches (End), Hitches (Middle), Lashings, Loops (Fixed), Loops (Slip), Rope Care, Sailing Knots, Scout Knots, Shortenings, Splices, Stopper Knots, and Whippings.

Weather Channel

Planning any outdoor adventure requires you be in touch with the weather, and we prefer to use the app from the Weather Channel because frankly, their forecasts are most accurate. This app takes your weather experience to the next level with full screen maps, extended forecasts, severe weather alerts, and more, all at your fingertips. This app features a full screen, interactive radar map, it uses Google Mobile Maps for faster zooming and panning, it can pinpoint your location at launch, contains seasonal information, and it can post weather directly to your Facebook Wall. Most importantly it shows you the dew point, which we all know is must have info to know when the next big storm is going to hit!

Google Earth

Sometimes exploring the world can be a little confusing. Have no fear – the Google Earth App is here! With Google Earth for Android, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, you can fly to far corners of the planet with just the swipe of a finger. Explore the same global satellite and aerial imagery available in the desktop version of Google Earth, including high-resolution imagery for over half of the world’s population and a third of the world’s land mass.

MyNature Animal Tracks

Another fun and educational outdoor app is the MyNature Animal Tracks. We’ve all been there before, fishing a sandy riverbank, hiking over a lush green forest trail, gliding through a fresh snow fall on a clear crisp winter morning. Then, right there in front of you, you see a set of tracks. You wonder, which way they’re heading, what animal was it, was it just here. Is it a canine or feline or maybe it’s a bear? Animal tracks can be found in nearly every square mile of North America! With the MyNature app you are now equipped with a database with 7 search-able track categories fully illustrated by size and shape for quick selection, illustrations of both fore and hind feet. Plus a complete description of track measurements, full color digital images of an actual track in the wild, gorgeous photos of each individual animal featured, illustrations of the most common gait pattern for each animal, sound files for an example of each animals vocalization, and even range maps showing each animals distribution across North America.

Elevation Pro

For those of you who like to explore the higher elevations check out the Elevation Pro App. It brings worldwide USGS elevation to your fingertips and is now even better with fully integrated Google maps, Twitter sharing, and an iPad UI! You can get elevation for any habitable place on Earth just by touching the location on the map! Share your current Elevation on Twitter and have an unlimited number of Elevation Waypoints in Map, Satellite, or Hybrid views. View two sources of elevation data – GPS and USGS data sources – for unparalleled accuracy.

Camping Recipes

When mac and cheese doesn’t cut it, check out Camping Recipes App for iPhone, where you will find delicious and easy camping recipes that will satisfy big or picky appetites. Do you have a particular way that you like to cook outdoors? Find camping recipes suited to your style of cooking. This app offers easy, delicious recipes for camping and hiking! Why is it that food cooked outdoors always seems to taste better? Now take it to another level.

Tags: cracks & racks, outdoor life, smartphone apps
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Winter Vacation Planning Tips

December 15th, 2010

Insider Tips for Planning a Ski & Snowboard Trip

Are you planning a winter getaway this year? We’re not referring to a “winter escape” to Hawaii or Costa Rica (sounds nice though), we’re talking skiing and snowboarding. There’s nothing like that cold fresh air, crisp powder in your face or flying down freshly groomed corduroy to get your senses tingling and muscles burning.

Here are some ideas from the crew at Cracks & Racks to help you plan and make the most from your trip.

Check These Websites for Great Deals While Planning

If you’re still in the planning phase of your trip, check out websites like ski.com, skitherockies.com, or snowventures.com. These are valuable resources that can help you find a package deal to a number of destinations that may include lift tickets, ski rentals, and transportation to and from the airports to your lodging. If you’re making plans on short notice, you can also find special last minute deals.

Buy Lift Tickets Ahead of Time

Skip the lines at the ticket counter on your first day of riding and buy your lift tickets in advance of your arrival. If you book through a website like Ski.com, your package may already include lift tickets. Many resorts have advanced sales and offer price breaks when purchasing multi-day tickets in advance.

A website like Liftopia.com partners directly with ski resorts to bring you lift ticket deals you won’t find anywhere else. Book online and save up to 80%!

Rent Skis – Buy Boots

Traveling with skis is costly and with ski & snowboard technology changing every year, renting skis & boards makes more sense than purchasing. Instead, purchasing a pair of well fitted boots will be the best investment and last the longest. Renting boards allows you to get the latest equipment, matched to current conditions. Local ski shops can be very helpful getting you the right gear for your level of skiing or riding. You can swap gear too, which is especially nice when the skinny cruising skis you were on yesterday aren’t the best choice for the 8” of new snow that fell overnight.

When you’re renting gear, head over to the ski shop in the evening, before your first day on the mountain, if possible. That way, you won’t spend valuable time in the shop the morning of your first ski day. Even better, contact a company like D2D Ski Rentals, BlackTie Ski Rentals and Ski Butlers will come right to your hotel or condo delivering the latest gear, having you ready to hit the slopes first thing in the morning.

Make Dinner Reservations in Advance

If you want to head out on the town at night for a steak dinner and a bottle of wine, you’d best have a reservation. If your plans are during the high season, around the holidays, you’ll want to make reservations well in advance of your arrival, unless you prefer eating at 9:30 at night. If you’re staying at a hotel, call ahead and speak with the concierge and ask them to make some reservations for you.

If you’re still looking for a place to eat, check out OpenTable.com. You’ll find even the highest rated restaurants here, and with smartphone apps, getting a last minute reservation is possible.

Grab a Local Newspaper

Once you’ve reached your destination, the local newspaper is the best resource for learning about upcoming events you may want to check out like live music shows, or movie listings, or special events, which are typical in resort destination communities. You can learn a little bit about the community and pick up some great ideas for after ski activities. Plus, you can catch up on the latest gossip around town, which can help start some pretty interesting chairlift conversations.

If you’re interested in live music, make sure you check in advance of your arrival for ticket availability. Contact the venue box office prior to your arrival.

Try Something Besides Skiing or Snowboarding

Not a skier or boarder or maybe you just want to take a day off from skiing to rest. Fortunately, there are a bunch of other fun activities besides skiing & snowboarding at most destinations. Cross Country skiing and snowshoeing are fun and inexpensive and allow you to soak up some fresh air, see some countryside and get away from the crowds. Fly fishing is a year-round sport and you’ll likely have the river to yourself during the winter while you chase trout. Ice skating and sledding are fun for all ages, although sledding on the ski area is absolutely forbidden. Soaking up the warmth in the hot tub or local hot springs can be a great way to spend some time too.

Contact the local chamber of commerce where you are visiting for ideas and the names of reputable outfitters to help you with your alternative activities.

Take it Easy on Your First Day

Enduring an entire week of skiing will be easier if you don’t wreck yourself the first day. We understand the thrill and anticipation of getting out skiing, especially on the first day, but remember, skiing can take a toll on your body and you’re going to get sore if you haven’t skied since last season, or done ski conditioning prior to your arrival. Our best advice is to stay hydrated, eat well, get plenty of rest and don’t overdo it on the alcohol, especially at altitude!

We hope you found this article helpful for planning your next winter getaway and hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip.

Tags: online lift tickets, planning ski trip, ski rentals, ski vacation, ski.com, snowboard trip, winter ski trip
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