Ski Gear
- Boots - Size 27.0, 315 mm Tecnica Mega 10, 2012 model year (purchased 2013?, ~$250)
- Skis - 161 cm, Saloman QST 85 (purchased 2018, ~$300)
- Bindings - Look NX 11 (purchased 2018, ~$100)
- Poles - Scott Aspect Series 2 (45 inch)
Personal Gear
- Jacket - Rip Curl A Product of the Search (garage sale, 1997, ~$50); a surf wear company that got into mountain sports
- Pants - North Face (2018, ~$100)
- Socks - Smart Wool (various, 4 good pairs, $20-$30 each)
- Goggles - Scott (1997?)
- Helmet - Giro (purchased after the girls started skiing 2013? 2014?)
- Gloves/Mitts - Scott gloves ($,year?), Black Diamond Prodigy Size Medium gloves ($58, 2013), Skydeer mittens ($30, 2020)
Miscellaneous
I have a back-up pair of skis that are an old rental pair that I bought in 2013? for $100 when I bought new boots. I also have a couple of pairs of pants/bibs that do not fit as well as they once did.
I will typically wear long underwear or fleece under my pants depending on temperature. On top I will usually have a cotton t-shirt and/or long sleeve technical shirt with a vest if it is really cold. I have a neck gaiter, but do not often wear it.
My original skis (Dynastar) and boots (Nordica) were purchased in 1997 for around $600 and served me well. The boots were considerably less comfortable when the girls started skiing and I decided to invest in a new pair.
I do not have much maintenance gear, but did recently purchase a gummy stone (Swix, $16). After our skis came out of storage this season, I noticed they were considerably rusted and was informed this was do to magnesium chloride on the roads. Proper care of skis includes wiping them down with a wet rag to get the mag chloride off and drying them. The soft gummy stone removes rust. Due to the extensive rusting, I got all of our skis tuned at Larson's for $45 per pair. My wife got new boots from the neighbor and resetting the bindings was an additional $45.
I feel like I bought the last pair of downhill skis I will ever purchase. In terms of personal gear, I have considered getting some Oakley goggles ($200) and some Hestra mitts ($160).
Before too long, I feel like the girls will be fully grown and I will be buying them, their first set of skis, boots and poles which will likely run between $600 and $800 each.
I want to say the girls started skiing during the 2013-2014 season when Nisha was 4 and Diya was 6. We have got out pretty regularly 3-4 times per season since then at either Arapahoe Basin, Eldora, Keystone, Vail or Loveland. In 2014 we skied a half day at Crested Butte when we were down there for a wedding. The girls took a combination of group and private lessons for the first 4 seasons, but we have been skiing as a family the last 4 seasons.
It is a much different introduction than I had starting in Cascade Mountain, Wisconsin in 1994. I took a lesson at Cascade. In 1997, I moved to Colorado and took a couple of more lessons at Keystone? I skied a lot that first year (about 15 days at Eldora), then considerably fewer the next season with about 5 days again at Eldora in 1998. I did not ski much the next couple of seasons, but picked it up again with Greg and Joe for a couple of seasons around 2001-2003 (typically Vail or Breckenridge). Ratna and I got out a few times when we were dating (2003-2005), but did not ski much from 2005 to 2013. My sisters planned a couple of sibling trips and we skied at Steamboat and Telluride. We did a family trip to Lake Tahoe. I also skied at Winter Park with Nolan.
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