Gear Up and Give Back at Ski Haus

Why Steamboat Locals Can’t Miss Ski Haus’ October Events

October will feature Ski Haus continuing its community focus by ensuring that residents of the Yampa Valley have all that they need to enjoy the best season of the year…winter. 

Ski Haus’ season rental program has been in existence since the business opened in 1969. Their season rental package, offered for both adults and juniors, is reasonably-priced and has a wide variety of equipment to choose from. The affordability, according to manager Toni King, is to ensure that every member of the community, regardless of income level, has access to one of the greatest aspects of living in the Yampa Valley. 

Setups include boots, poles, and skis. The program is popular with parents in the community, as it eliminates the cost of having to constantly upgrade boots and skis as young skiers get bigger. King noted that mid-season swaps are common as children grow and/or ability levels increase.

“It is a great opportunity for families that just want to grab some skis for the season,” said King. “It all starts on October 11th.”

The timing is strategic to ensure that locals have more access and less crowding during the season rental window. That said, King noted that second residence owners from out of town also make the trip to Steamboat specifically for the season rentals that they offer. 

The window for season rentals closes on December 1st. 

The second weekend of October also marks the 55th annual Ski Haus Super Sale, which has become a highly anticipated event for Yampa Valley residents and visitors. Customers have been known to line up for hours before doors open to capitalize on the incredible deals that lay in wait. The entire inventory of the store is marked down 20%. 

Additionally, summer items such as bikes and clothing are marked at deeper discounts to ensure that customers have what they need once winter abates. 

The sale will be held Friday through Sunday (October 11th through 13th).

October 12th will feature the annual Ski Haus community chili contest from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The cook-off has become a fun yet playfully contentious event where cooks compete in red chili, green chili, and pie categories, with the pies being either savory or sweet. 

Adding to the intensity of the competition, the first place finisher in each category is given a pair of skis or a snowboard of their choosing from the Ski Haus inventory. Just for kicks, the second place finishers have been traditionally given a pair of footwear. 

“We have a raffle drawing while we wait for the judging to conclude, as well as music from Ski Haus employee Bobby Alverson,” noted King. 

Judges make small donations in order to receive their judging kits. The proceeds are matched by Ski Haus and the entire amount is then donated to Yampa Valley not-for-profit organizations. Past recipients have included the Routt County Humane Society. 

“What’s really fun is that we have had some repeat winners,” said King. 

One of last year’s repeat winners was a local high school student.

“I think [they won] because his friends who knew he was competing all came over and voted for him,” said King. “It was really fun to have all those high school kids out in the parking lot, having a good time, and sampling some chili.” 

This year’s proceeds will be given to Yampatika, whose mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through education by offering a broad range of programming to children and adults in Routt, Moffat and Jackson Counties. The transition to Yampatika as this year’s benefactor “was a natural fit.” according to King. 

King explained that the three events are intentionally held during the beginning of shoulder season, which provides Yampa Valley residents with a less busy and more personalized experience due to the lack of tourist traffic at Ski Haus and in the community. 

“We definitely gear it around when locals will be here,” explained King. “We’ve changed the date several times knowing when kids are out of school and when people might leave and miss the sale. We feel this is a community event for the locals to get a discount on their gear. We feel like we are doing this for the locals.” 

Ski Haus has, in the past, also offered scholarship-based season rentals to community youth organizations as a way of continuing the tradition of youth involvement in the Steamboat Springs winter sports scene.

Past events have featured bonfires, marshmallow roasting, and ski movies as a way to bring people together after the busy summer months and before the winter ski season kicks off.